Jackie Northam
Jackie Northam is NPR's International Affairs Correspondent. She is a veteran journalist who has spent three decades reporting on conflict, geopolitics, and life across the globe - from the mountains of Afghanistan and the desert sands of Saudi Arabia, to the gritty prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and the pristine beauty of the Arctic.
Northam spent more than a dozen years as an international correspondent living in London, Budapest, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, and Nairobi. She charted the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, reported from Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and the rise of Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She was in Islamabad to cover the Taliban recapturing Afghanistan
Her work has taken her to conflict zones around the world. Northam covered the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, arriving in the country just four days after Hutu extremists began slaughtering ethnic Tutsis. In Afghanistan, she accompanied Green Berets on a precarious mission to take a Taliban base. In Cambodia, she reported from Khmer Rouge strongholds.
Throughout her career, Northam has revealed the human experience behind the headlines, from the courage of Afghan villagers defying militant death threats to cast their vote in a national election, or exhausted rescue workers desperately searching for survivors following a massive earthquake in Haiti.
Northam joined NPR in 2000 as National Security Correspondent, covering defense and intelligence policies at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She led the network's coverage of the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Her present beat focuses on the complex relationship between geopolitics and the global economy, including efforts to counter China's rising power.
Northam has received multiple journalism awards, including Associated Press and Edward R. Murrow awards, and was part of the NPR team that won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for "The DNA Files," a series about the science of genetics.
Originally from Canada, Northam spends her time off crewing in the summer, on the ski hills in the winter, and on long walks year-round with her beloved beagle, Tara.
-
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin are at the center of the devastating oil price war. President Trump has inserted himself into the fray.
-
While Secretary of State Pompeo denounces China for its handling of what he calls the "Wuhan virus," the U.S. is racing to acquire medical masks and other protective equipment from China.
-
The rampant outbreak of the coronavirus in both countries hasn't stopped the United States from slapping tougher and tougher sanctions on Iran in a cold war that keeps simmering.
-
The State Department has mounted an unprecedented effort to repatriate Americans overseas, contracting private aircraft and lining up military planes.
-
Iran is dealing with one of the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus in the world. But getting help into the country is hindered both by a truculent Iranian leadership and strong U.S. sanctions. -
The U.S. is temporarily stopping visa services at its embassies and consulates due to the coronavirus, as it urges U.S. citizens overseas to return home or be prepared to shelter in place.
-
The Chinese government has announced that the U.S. employees of The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and Timewill have to turn in their journalists' credentials in 10 days.
-
Container ship operators say the coronavirus outbreak is their biggest crisis since 2009. Dozens of sailings have been canceled and vessels are being idled at a record pace.
-
Saudi Arabia's erratic crown prince Mohammed bin Salman spent the weekend playing brinksmanship in oil markets and crushing dissent at home, raising alarms again about his leadership.
-
Have years of U.S. sanctions and efforts to isolate Iran affected the ability to get information about –- or aid to help control –- the coronavirus, as it continues to spread?
