Liz Baker
Liz Baker is a producer on NPR's National Desk based in Los Angeles, and is often on the road producing coverage of domestic breaking news stories.
Since joining NPR as an Arts Desk intern in 2010, Baker has worked on each of NPR's newsmagazine programs and dozens of hours of special coverage, including every election night and inauguration special since President Obama's second term. She has covered natural and man-made disasters, including Hurricanes Maria, Ida, and Ian, the catastrophic 2019-2020 wildfire seasons in California, Oregon, and Australia, and the Surfside condo collapse in Florida. She also covered mass shootings in Buffalo, NY, Uvalde, TX, and Monterey Park, CA, and high-profile court cases such as the hate crime and murder trial against Ahmaud Arbery's killers in Brunswick, GA, Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault trial in Los Angeles, and Britney Spears' conservatorship hearing.
In 2020, Baker produced on-the-ground coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the summer of racial justice protests following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. She reported extensively on the protests in her hometown of Rochester, NY, which were sparked by police body camera video of Daniel Prude's death and contributed to renewed conversations about policing reform and mental illness.
From 2015 to 2019, Baker produced and directed Weekend All Things Considered; working closely with host Michel Martin to revitalize the program after its move to Washington, D.C. following a 2-year run in Los Angeles.
In her spare time, she enjoys climbing, camping, and clomping around the Santa Monica mountains with a too-heavy pack, always ready to lend first aid and snacks to others on the trail.
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As local officials begin lifting coronavirus stay-at-home orders, individuals also consider what feels safe to them. We asked people around the country how they will make those decisions. -
Have you been refused reentry to a nursing home or care facility after hospitalization for respiratory issues? Share your stories with us. -
Overcrowding, understaffing and poor treatment for inmates with mental health issues held in Los Angeles jails underscore growing failures in America's mental health and justice systems. -
Country star Kenny Chesney went into the studio as therapy after hurricanes tore through the U.S. Virgin Islands, the place he calls home. Those sessions became his latest album, Songs for the Saints. -
The Catalan musicians use their culture's tradition to connect difficult memories of the Spanish Civil War to Spain's democracy today. -
When Hurricane Maria cut off access to electricity and water on the Caribbean island and U.S. territory, some women started to change how they styled their hair. -
The country singer discusses branching out from small-town nostalgia, getting married and bringing Daft Punk to classic country for her latest album, Golden Hour. -
Gregory Alan Thornbury's new book Why Should the Devil Have ALl the Good Music? chronicles the life of the father of the Christian rock genre. -
The CNN correspondent's documentary series examines nuances of intimacy. "I was surprised with how open everyone was, how much everyone wanted to talk, in each and every city we visited," she says.
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His daughter Ashley Campbell and producer Carl Jackson reflect on the joy and laughter that went into making his final album, recorded a year after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
