Kat Lonsdorf
Kat Lonsdorf is reporter for NPR, often covering national security and international stories. She is based in Washington, D.C.
Originally from Wisconsin, Lonsdorf attended Occidental College in Los Angeles where she majored in Diplomacy and World Affairs. She joined NPR in 2016 after earning her Masters in Journalism from Medill at Northwestern University.
Lonsdorf has produced and reported for NPR around the world, including in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Japan, Kenya, Ukraine, Georgia, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. In 2020, she was NPR's Above the Fray Fellow, reporting out a series of stories looking at clean up and recovery efforts in Fukushima, Japan after the nuclear disaster in 2011. That series made her a finalist for the Livingston Award for international reporting. She's won a Gracie, an Edward R Murrow award and a duPont-Columbia award for her work.
Before she came to NPR, she was a full-time bartender in downtown Los Angeles, and also hosted and produced an education travel video series for kids called Project Explorer, filming in 14 countries across five continents. Lonsdorf has lived in both Japan and Jordan, and speaks Japanese and conversational Arabic. [Copyright 2025 NPR]
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As people start to re-emerge from isolation, there's a lot to navigate and re-learn. Dr. Lucy McBride and theologian Ekemini Uwan field questions from listeners about how to navigate our new reality. -
Even the most mundane purchases are becoming objects of hope as we crave the routines and experiences of daily life in this period of isolation.
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As COVID-19 cases continue to soar across the country, officials are pleading with the public to rethink large holiday gatherings to mitigate the spread.
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Amid a second wave of coronavirus infections, many European countries are introducing curfews and lockdowns.
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Hunkered down but still hair conscious? Stylists and barbers are now guiding people through DIY cuts via video chat. The in-demand service provides otherwise laid-off workers with some income. -
For now, the coronavirus pandemic has stopped tourists from visiting the ancient tree in Fukushima prefecture. "No matter what," says the tree's caretaker, "the cherry blossoms are still there."
