Jennifer Ludden
Jennifer Ludden is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk where she covers housing, homelessness, poverty and inequality.
She tells stories of people struggling with the country's massive shortage of affordable housing, and explores policies and programs that try to help. She tracks changing laws around homelessness, and how communities are managing the record number of people without housing. Ludden has reported on millionaires lobbying working-class voters about the dangers of the economic divide; on tackling poverty with cash aid; and the struggle to get AC in public housing. She also helps cover major news stories, including natural disasters that have upended people's lives.
Previously, Ludden edited stories on climate and energy, working with NPR staffers and public radio reporters across the country. They tracked the shift to clean energy, and how people and communities are coping in a warming world. Before that, as an NPR correspondent, Ludden's various beats included changing family life and social trends, immigration, and U.S. national security after the 9/11 attacks.
Before moving to Washington D.C., Ludden reported for NPR while based in Canada, West Africa, Europe and the Middle East. She shared in two awards (Overseas Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists) for NPR's coverage of the Kosovo war in 1999, and won the Robert F. Kennedy Award for her coverage of the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Beyond conflicts, she reported on cultural trends, including the emergence of Persian pop music in Iran and the rise of a new form of urban polygamy in Africa.
Ludden's first public radio jobs were at member stations in Maine and Boston. She has midwestern roots, grew up in Tennessee, and graduated from Syracuse University.
She can be reached via encrypted message at jenniferludden.20 on Signal.
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Housing has long been the largest source of wealth for middle income families. But many renters cannot afford to buy as housing prices soar, which could fuel a generational divide. -
Record high housing costs have pushed the wealth gap between renters and owners wider than ever. It's been a boon for owners even as many others are priced out. -
America's 250th birthday has brought more events and new crowds for Revolutionary reenactors and interpreters. They say Washington's life holds important lessons for our current political divide. -
Months of higher gas prices are taking a toll. We check in on the trade-offs people are making.
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Months of higher gas prices are taking a toll. We check in on the trade-offs people are making.
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A beloved cultural icon who's bright green? Kermit the Frog is also quintessentially American.
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Gen Z homeowners now outpace millennials at the same age. They're more likely to be single and less likely to use help from parents. -
Nonprofits say they face an existential crisis from funding cuts and other moves by the Trump administration. A new survey warns, some are in danger of folding altogether.
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The Star Trek Enterprise evoked Americans' sense of adventure and a utopian vision of humanity. It's part of NPR's 250th anniversary series "America in Pursuit."
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Hundreds of millions worldwide were watching as Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon in 1969. The spacesuit that kept him alive is part of NPR's 250th anniversary series America in Pursuit.
