Gregory Warner
Gregory Warner is the host of NPR's Rough Translation, a podcast about how things we're talking about in the United States are being talked about in some other part of the world. Whether interviewing a Ukrainian debunker of Russian fake news, a Japanese apology broker navigating different cultural meanings of the word "sorry," or a German dating coach helping a Syrian refugee find love, Warner's storytelling approach takes us out of our echo chambers and leads us to question the way we talk about the world. Rough Translation has received the Lowell Thomas Award from the Overseas Press Club and a Scripps Howard Award.
In his role as host, Warner draws on his own overseas experience. As NPR's East Africa correspondent, he covered the diverse issues and voices of a region that experienced unparalleled economic growth as well as a rising threat of global terrorism. Before joining NPR, he reported from conflict zones around the world as a freelancer. He climbed mountains with smugglers in Pakistan for This American Life, descended into illegal mineshafts in the Democratic Republic of Congo for Marketplace's "Working" series, and lugged his accordion across Afghanistan on the trail of the "Afghan Elvis" for Radiolab.
Warner has also worked as senior reporter for American Public Media's Marketplace, endeavoring to explain the economics of American health care. He's used puppets to illustrate the effects of Internet diagnostics on the doctor-patient relationship, and composed a Suessian poem to explain the correlation between health care job growth and national debt. His musical journey into the shadow world of medical coding won a Best News Feature award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival.
Warner has won a Peabody Award and awards from Edward R. Murrow, New York Festivals, AP, and PRNDI. He earned his degree in English from Yale University.
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The gelada, found in Ethiopia, makes a gurgling noise that scientists say is close to human speech — at least in how much facial coordination it requires. One theory scientists are trying to test is if the monkey's vocal agility came from its tendency to hang with other geladas in large groups. -
Scientists say that one of the most drought-prone regions in the Horn of Africa is lying atop vast reserves of water. Test drilling has confirmed the existence of two aquifers under Kenya's northern Turkana district. Government officials say the water could provide 70 years' worth of supplies.
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Jan Scannell is a 32-year-old former accountant with a dream: to establish a national holiday in South Africa like July 4 called Braai Day. Braai is a South African barbecue of meat or vegetables over wood embers. -
The fast-growing economy has created a demand for construction workers, and more women are taking those jobs. It's difficult work, but for some it offers a path to independence. -
Gay pride celebrations are held loudly each summer in New York, Paris and Berlin. But when Uganda held its version of the event this weekend, it was done very privately. It came as the Ugandan parliament considers a piece of extremely anti-gay legislation, and as discrimination against gays is widespread
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Some of the worst-paid farmers in Ethiopia were able to get their bean to the specialty coffee ball and sell to top U.S. roasters like Stumptown. But it only happened after the growers got organized and attracted the attention of coffee prospectors from the U.S. -
A billion people worldwide live in slums, largely invisible to city services and governments — but not to satellites. A global movement is putting mapping technology in the hands of slum dwellers to persuade governments and the residents themselves to see these shadow cities in a whole new light. NPR's Gregory Warner visits one slum in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. -
President Obama's trip to Africa comes at a time of increasing African economic growth and declining U.S. influence on the continent. To be successful, he will need to overcome a general perception that the United States has withdrawn from Africa. At the same time, he must convince an American public and private sector that getting more invested in Africa will be good for American jobs and the economy.
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The historic apology — and the unprecedented settlement — has been years in the making. A Harvard graduate student helped bring about the settlement for the surviving Mau Mau victims of torture and abuse at the hands of the British. -
Journalism can be a dangerous profession in any war-torn country. And in Somalia, the youth and inexperience of many reporters can make it even more so. A dozen Somali reporters were gunned down last year, including four at a single organization, Shabelle Media.
