Ashley Westerman
Ashley Westerman is a producer who occasionally directs the show. Since joining the staff in June 2015, she has produced a variety of stories including a coal mine closing near her hometown, the 2016 Republican National Convention, and the Rohingya refugee crisis in southern Bangladesh. She is also an occasional reporter for Morning Edition, and NPR.org, where she has contributed reports on both domestic and international news.
Ashley was a summer intern in 2011 with Morning Edition and pitched a story on her very first day. She went on to work as a reporter and host for member station 89.3 WRKF in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she earned awards covering everything from healthcare to jambalaya.
Ashley is an East-West Center 2018 Jefferson Fellow and a two-time reporting fellow with the International Center for Journalists. Through ICFJ, she has covered labor issues in her home country of the Philippines for NPR and health care in Appalachia for Voice of America.
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Thousands of people on Guam still don't have power and electricity after being hit by Typhoon Mawar on May 24. The local government says it aims to change that soon.
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says he won't cooperate with an International Criminal Court probe into his country's war on drugs, which could put Marcos in a difficult spot politically.
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The Korean pop group BTS is on a bit of a break right now, but their fans are not. Especially one group of fans in the Philippines — all of them of a certain age.
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Every year millions of Filipinos leave their homeland to work overseas, sending billions of dollars back home. The death of a female overseas Filipino worker has shaken the country to its core.
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The Department of Defense announced the move that is widely seen as a way to deter China's influence in the region amid a visit to the Philippines by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
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New Zealand's ruling Labor Party will vote for a new leader on Sunday. The new leader will be the prime minister until the next general election on Oct. 14.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced she's leaving office in the coming weeks. The announcement Thursday shocked analysts and has left her party in a bind.
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NATO foreign ministers are now meeting in Romania to discuss how to support Ukrainians as they confront a harsh winter and a constant barrage of Russian attacks on critical infrastructure.
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The Female Pilots of Ukraine is the first of its kind in the country at a time when the Ukrainian military has been using drones for reconnaissance and fighting against Russian forces.
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A new school in Kyiv aims to get more women involved in the war effort by putting them in a driver's seat where few have been before: piloting drones.