Samantha Balaban
Samantha Balaban is producer at Weekend Edition.
After receiving her M.A. in Journalism and Latin American studies from New York University, she got her start in public radio covering the James "Whitey" Bulger trial for WBUR as an intern. Since coming to NPR in 2014, she has reported on a perfume-loving tiger, traveled to Mexico to meet actor Diego Luna (and cover the elections), ridden with border patrol officers along the Rio Grande River, eaten very well in Houston, interviewed a Bangle and used her waterproof fanny pack to help keep her mic dry during hurricanes. She's also responsible for Picture This, a series of conversations with authors and illustrators.
Most days, you can find her under a pile of books and mail coordinating Weekend Edition's book coverage. On weekends, she's hanging out with her dog, Winnie.
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Papilio is a picture book told in three parts about three stages of a butterfly's life (there are really four stages but egg time is pretty boring). It's also written and illustrated by three friends. -
On Winged Victory, songwriter Willi Carlisle weaves between the absurd and the sentimental. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Carlisle about the 11 tracks of originals and covers. -
Reporter Kevin Sack's new book is a history of Charleston's Emanuel AME Church, the oldest Black congregation in the South, where a white supremacist killed nine worshippers a decade ago. -
Author Andrea L. Rogers and artist Rebecca Lee Kunz met by chance at the Cherokee National Holiday. Then they won the 2025 Caldecott Medal for their story about a helpful little boy named Chooch. -
Afghans are trying to reach Pakistan via the frontier near the Khyber Pass, but Pakistan is wary of more refugees. Cargo trucks are backed up for miles, waiting to deliver goods into Afghanistan. -
Relief supplies are reaching the quake zone, but slowly. Health care workers are exhausted, some at their jobs 24 hours a day as Haiti struggles to care for those affected by the 7.2 magnitude quake. -
Hunter Biden's new memoir is a story of his years of alcohol and drug addiction. He tells NPR that the one constant was the love of his family: "Their light was never not seeking me out." -
Food banks have seen demand climb dramatically this year. Eric Cooper of the San Antonio Food Bank talks about how additional federal dollars could make a difference to his clients.
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Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey have worked together on creative projects since they were kids. Their new book — illustrated with 250+ stamps — is about family, farm life, determination and hard work. -
Veterinarians have suicide rates of more than double that of the general population. One group is building an online community to give advice and help out when stress adds up.
