Elissa Nadworny
Elissa Nadworny reports on all things college for NPR, following big stories like unprecedented enrollment declines, college affordability, the student debt crisis and workforce training. During the 2020-2021 academic year, she traveled to dozens of campuses to document what it was like to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. Her work has won several awards including a 2020 Gracie Award for a story about student parents in college, a 2018 James Beard Award for a story about the Chinese-American population in the Mississippi Delta and a 2017 Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in innovation.
Nadworny uses multiplatform storytelling – incorporating radio, print, comics, photojournalism, and video — to put students at the center of her coverage. Some favorite story adventures include crawling in the sewers below campus to test wastewater for the coronavirus, yearly deep-dives into the most popular high school plays and musicals and an epic search for the history behind her classroom skeleton.
Before joining NPR in 2014, Nadworny worked at Bloomberg News, reporting from the White House. A recipient of the McCormick National Security Journalism Scholarship, she spent four months reporting on U.S. international food aid for USA Today, traveling to Jordan to talk with Syrian refugees about food programs there.
Originally from Erie, Pa., Nadworny has a bachelor's degree in documentary film from Skidmore College and a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
NPR's Elissa Nadworny speaks to journalist Caity Weaver about what she learned on her quest to find the best free restaurant bread in America.
-
NPR's Elissa Nadworny speaks to Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings Institution about Iran's long-term goals.
-
NPR's Elissa Nadworny speaks to Jane Kaczmarek about reprising her role as the tough but loving mother, Lois, for the 'Malcolm in the Middle' reboot, "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair."
-
A scientific instrument on the Voyager 1 has been shut off to conserve power as the probe continues its interstellar exploration.
-
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is holding at the same time Iran announced it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again.
-
This was the hottest March ever recorded in the contiguous U.S., going back 132 years. Climate change is driving up temperatures, and making intense wildfires more likely.
-
Between the war in Iran and high gas prices, President Trump needs to regain the voters' confidence ahead of the November midterm elections.
-
A woman tries to make sense of her inappropriate college affair with the help of an unusual saint. NPR's Elissa Nadworny talks with Julia Langbein about her comic novel, "Dear Monica Lewinsky."
-
New data from the U.S. Education Department show the extent of international gifts and contracts to colleges and universities. -
Overall enrollment is up slightly at colleges and universities, driven by gains at community colleges and public four-year programs.
