Jennifer Schmidt
Jennifer Schmidt is a senior producer for Hidden Brain. She is responsible for crafting the complex stories that are told on the show. She researches, writes, gathers field tape, and develops story structures. Some highlights of her work on Hidden Brain include episodes about the causes of the #MeToo movement, how diversity drives creativity, and the complex psychology of addiction.
Since joining NPR in January 2014, Schmidt has also worked as an editor on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She has put together pieces for various news desks, including a story about survivor goats from the California wildfires for NPR's health blog Shots and a piece on a new trend in C-sections in which women can watch their babies being born which aired on Morning Edition.
The recipient of numerous journalism awards, Schmidt has been awarded a PRNDI for feature reporting, a National Headliners award for breaking news, a silver CINDY, an EMMA for editing, and various other awards from the RTNDA, the Associated Press, and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Schmidt's reporting has taken her across both the country and the world, from KPLU in Seattle and WBUR in Boston to freelancing in South Africa and Mexico. After living abroad for almost a decade, Schmidt now lives on a small farm near the Chesapeake Bay with a menagerie of animals including a one-eyed cat from South Africa, chickens, horses, two dogs from Mexico City, and goats.
Schmidt graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.S. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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This week on Hidden Brain's radio show, we tackled a big topic: power. From our conflicted feelings toward the powerful, to the ways we gain and lose power ourselves, and how power really can corrupt. -
The United States has always thought of itself as a nation of immigrants. So why has immigration been such a controversial topic throughout our nation's history? -
As the toll from the Northern California fires continues to mount, with dozens of lives lost and hundreds of homes destroyed, small stories of hope continue to surface. -
When Jessica and Royce James learned that they were going to have a daughter, they decided to raise her in as gender-neutral a way as possible. It was harder than they could have imagined. -
According to research, between 10 and 40% of kids who intend to go to college at high school graduation don't show up in the fall. This phenomenon, known as "summer melt," has puzzled universities. -
Pundits and prognosticators make predictions all the time: about everything from elections, to sports, to global affairs. This week, we explore why they're often wrong, and how we can all do better. -
In the last five years, 12 percent of terrorist attacks in the U.S. were carried out by Muslims and more than 50 percent by far right extremists. So why the media focus on "Islamic terrorism"? -
Olutosin Oduwole was a college student and aspiring rapper when he was charged with "attempting to make a terrorist threat." We explore how perceptions of rap music may have played a role. -
Decades ago, researchers introduced a new theory of policing. It's called "broken windows" and is seen by many as a cure-all for crime. But the idea is often used in ways its creators never intended. -
In general, people show a subtle bias toward the self. This is why we love the IKEA furniture we've built, and gravitate toward others with the same name. But there are much larger implications, too.
