Elise Hu
Elise Hu is a host-at-large based at NPR West in Culver City, Calif. Previously, she explored the future with her video series, Future You with Elise Hu, and served as the founding bureau chief and International Correspondent for NPR's Seoul office. She was based in Seoul for nearly four years, responsible for the network's coverage of both Koreas and Japan, and filed from a dozen countries across Asia.
Before joining NPR, she was one of the founding reporters at The Texas Tribune, a non-profit digital news startup devoted to politics and public policy. While at the Tribune, Hu oversaw television partnerships and multimedia projects, contributed to The New York Times' expanded Texas coverage, and pushed for editorial innovation across platforms.
An honors graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia's School of Journalism, she previously worked as the state political reporter for KVUE-TV in Austin, WYFF-TV in Greenville, SC, and reported from Asia for the Taipei Times.
Her work at NPR has earned a DuPont-Columbia award and a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media for her video series, Elise Tries. Her previous work has earned a Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism, a National Edward R. Murrow award for best online video, and beat reporting awards from the Texas Associated Press. The Austin Chronicle once dubiously named her the "Best TV Reporter Who Can Write."
Outside of work, Hu has taught digital journalism at Northwestern University and Georgetown University's journalism schools and served as a guest co-host for TWIT.tv's program, Tech News Today. She's on the board of Grist Magazine and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
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15-year-old fire survivor Abel Rivera's home in Altadena burned down in January, and he lost everything — including his medal for finishing the 2024 LA Marathon. -
Abel Rivera lost his home in the Eaton fire, along with a beloved medal he got for running in the 2024 L.A. Marathon. On Sunday, he ran again with his mom and other fire survivors from his school.
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A Los Angeles institution spared from the flames gives back to the community with donations and magic tricks to lift evacuees' spirits. -
A network of rescue groups are caring for animals affected by wildfires still burning in the Los Angeles area. A multi-state operation is under way to help relieve local animal shelters. -
At least 153,000 Los Angelenos have had to evacuate their homes and about 166,000 people were under evacuation warnings as of Saturday, according to the LA County Sheriff's Department. -
"It's wild. There's people out here that have just created a chain," said one woman who showed up to volunteer at a YMCA in Los Angeles' Koreatown neighborhood. -
Journalist Zahra Hankir draws a line connecting the cosmetic across civilizations, continents, and eras straight into today — as not only a beauty product but as a means of self expression and more. -
Jungian psychology is having a moment, owing to the TikTok-famous, self-published The Shadow Work Journal. But mind detritus becomes the stuff of great art in the hands of poet Adrienne Chung. -
NPR's Life Kit offers up some tips for telling stronger and more meaningful stories.
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Instead of viewing laziness as something we need to fix or overcome with caffeine or longer work hours, social psychologist Devon Price says to think of laziness as a sign you probably need a break.
