Russell Lewis
As NPR's Southern Bureau chief, Russell Lewis covers issues and people of the Southeast for NPR — from Florida to Virginia to Texas, including West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. His work brings context and dimension to issues ranging from immigration, transportation, and oil and gas drilling for NPR listeners across the nation and around the world.
In addition to developing and expanding NPR's coverage of the region, Lewis assigns and edits stories from station-based reporters and freelancers that air on NPR's news programs, working closely with local correspondents and public radio stations. He spent a year in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, coordinating NPR's coverage of the massive rebuilding effort and the reverberations of the storm in local communities. He joined NPR in 2006 and is based in Birmingham, Alabama.
Lewis is also a key member of NPR's 'Go Team' — a small group of experienced NPR producers and reporters who respond to major disasters worldwide. He is often among the first on the scene for NPR — both reporting from these sites as well as managing the logistics of bringing additional NPR reporters into disaster areas that lack functioning transportation systems, basic utilities, food, water, and security.
He was dispatched to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, where he helped manage a group of NPR journalists. He created an overland supply line for the NPR team between the Dominican Republic and Haiti and brought listeners stories about the slow pace of supply distribution because of border bottlenecks. In Japan in 2011, he was quickly on the scene after the earthquake and tsunami to help coordinate NPR's intensive coverage. In 2013, he was on the ground overseeing NPR's reporting in the Philippines in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan. Covering the impact of the massive earthquake in Nepal in 2015, he field-produced NPR's coverage and also reported how a lack of coordination by the government and aid workers slowed response. Lewis managed NPR's on-the-ground coverage in 2015 of the terrorist attacks in Paris, France, and reported from Brussels, Belgium. He returned to Brussels in 2016 after the terrorist bombings at the airport and metro station. He helped field-produce NPR's coverage and also reported several stories about the response and recovery. In 2018, he went to Indonesia to field-produce and edit coverage following the earthquake and tsunami in Palu.
Lewis also oversees NPR's sports coverage. He spent six weeks in Brazil in 2014 handling logistics and reporting on the World Cup. In 2015, he did the same in Canada for the Women's World Cup. In 2016, Lewis reported and oversaw NPR's team of journalists at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He also led NPR's coverage from Pyeongchang, South Korea, at the 2018 Winter Olympics and from Tokyo at the delayed Summer Olympics in 2021.
In 2010, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University awarded him a prestigious Ochberg Fellowship. The Fellowship is designed to improve reporting on violence, conflict, and tragedy. Lewis has continued his work with the Dart Center and has trained reporters on behalf of the organization in Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands, and Puerto Rico.
A graduate of the University of Florida, Lewis began his public radio career in 1992 as reporter and executive producer at NPR member station WUFT in Gainesville, Florida. He also spent time at WSVH in Savannah, Georgia, and was Statehouse Bureau Chief at Kansas Public Radio. For six years he worked at KPBS in San Diego as a senior editor and reporter. He also was a talk show host and assistant news director at WGCU in Fort Myers, Florida.
When he's not busy at work, Lewis can be found being creative in the kitchen or outside refereeing soccer games.
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NPR's team in Tokyo put together our favorite moments of the Games, where participants showed their athleticism, sportsmanship, and what motivated them to compete. -
The U.S. defeated Brazil in straight sets to win its first Olympic gold medal. It was the U.S.'s sixth volleyball medal overall and the fourth Olympics in a row the U.S. medaled. -
The U.S. women have not lost a game at the Olympics since the 1992 Games in Barcelona, a remarkable stretch of 55 straight victories and seven gold medals. -
Korda finished 17 under par, overcoming the elements and multiple challengers. A rain delay, and a double bogey slowed her down -
It was not the color medal the U.S. had hoped for, but it was a better result than at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics when the USWNT was bounced out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. -
Naeher was injured in the Olympic semifinal loss against Canada. Naeher landed awkwardly trying to swat the ball away in the first half. She played for a few more minutes and then was substituted out. -
The swimmers are now leaving Japan and the spotlight moves to the track and field events at Olympic Stadium. We'll walk you through the biggest things to watch for until the closing ceremony. -
The U.S. players had a 1-0 loss against Canada in the semifinal. They'll take bronze if they win their next game. The U.S. lost its star goalie to an injury in the first half. -
U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky has won Olympic gold again in the 800-meter freestyle. She repeated her gold medal swim at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics to win at the Tokyo Olympics. -
The U.S. women's soccer team is advancing to the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics after defeating the Netherlands in a tight match that went to a penalty kick shootout.
