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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When President Obama was elected in 2008, Kenyans rejoiced. U.S.-Kenya relations have had ups and downs since then. Kenyans now eagerly await Obama's first presidential visit to his father's homeland. -
Are solar panels the best way to connect millions of Africans to electricity? That's the plan the president will tout on his visit to Kenya. Critics ask: What about tapping into power lines? -
Nearly two years after a terror attack killed 67 people, Kenya's Westgate Mall is reopening in Nairobi. It comes just in time for a visit to Kenya this week by President Obama.
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They like to cast themselves as Boy Scouts, but dress as police and often resort to violence to quell dissent in the run-up to a controversial election. A rare interview with one militia member. -
Three high school students in Zanzibar have won a prize for a film that tackles a fierce debate: Should the teacher speak in English or the mother tongue? (This piece originally aired June 25, 2015.)
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Three high schoolers in Zanzibar have won a prize for a film tackling a fierce debate in African classrooms: Should the teacher instruct in English or the mother tongue?
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More than 120,000 people have fled unrest in Burundi. While there is currently no war in the East African nation, the fear of one has gotten residents to move to a refugee camp in neighboring Rwanda.
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Protesters are marching against the president's plan for a third term. Some 100,000 refugees have fled. The fear is that one of the world's poorest countries could slip back into civil war. -
In Nairobi, people don't like getting into cabs driven by strangers. They prefer to call drivers they know or who their friends recommend. A new app assigns drivers a trust score based on social ties. -
Kenya wants to close the sprawling refugee camp on its border with Somalia. But the UN says it will do so only if residents leave voluntarily. One man has been tapped to help the refugees return home.
