Lulu Miller
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Louisa Elizabeth Miller, better known as Lulu Miller, is an American writer and Peabody Award-winning science reporter for
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
. Miller's career in radio started as a producer for the
WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that ...
program ''
Radiolab ''Radiolab'' is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Live shows were first off ...
''. She helped create the
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
show '' Invisibilia'' with Alix Spiegel.


Biography

The daughter of two professors, one in sciences and one in humanities, Miller attended Swarthmore College where she received the Beik Prize for a research paper titled, "The Troubles By Our Women: The Urban Male Perspective on Independent Women in Independent Nigeria" in 2005. She graduated with a degree in history.


Career

After college, she moved to
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
where an interest in sculpture led her to answer a
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ad from a
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who was seeking an assistant. She spent her hours at the woodworking shop listening to the radio, and toward the end of her year working there, she heard ''Radiolab'', which was then a local show on
WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that ...
. She fell in love with the show and wrote them a letter, asking if she could volunteer. She started as an intern, going in one day a week to answer emails and record CDs, and eventually became the show's first hired audio producer. ''RadioLab'' won a Peabody award in 2010, while she was one of its producers. After five years at ''Radiolab'', Miller left to pursue her passion as a writer via a fellowship position at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
(UVA) where she taught and wrote fiction. Before moving to Virginia, she spent a summer
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across the United States, a trip that she documented and featured parts of on ''Radiolab''. After her two years at UVA, Miller returned to radio as a freelance journalist for NPR's Science Desk. On a trip to the
Third Coast International Audio Festival The Third Coast International Audio Festival (TCIAF or TCF), based in Chicago, curates audio stories from around the world and showcases them in various mediums. It is informally referred to as the "Sundance of Radio". The festival was affiliated ...
in Chicago, she met former ''
This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...
'' producer Alix Spiegel who asked Miller to produce a piece she was working on. The two began working on radio stories together and began to conceive a new long-form radio show that would become '' Invisibilia''. Launched in January 2015, the show focuses on "the unseen forces that control human behavior." Excerpts of ''Invisibilia'' were featured on ''
All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'', ''
Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...
'', ''Radiolab'' and ''This American Life'' helping it to debut at #1 on the iTunes
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chart and hold a consistent top-ten ranking in the months following its launch. In 2020, she published ''Why Fish Don't Exist'', a personal memoir incorporating the life and work of David Starr Jordan. Following the retirement of
Jad Abumrad Jad Nicholas Abumrad ( ar, جاد نيكولاس أبومراد; born April 18, 1973) is an American radio host, composer, and producer. He is the founder and former host of the syndicated public radio program ''Radiolab'' with Latif Nasser and ...
in January 2022, Miller became the new co-host of
Radiolab ''Radiolab'' is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Live shows were first off ...
together with producer Latif Nasser.


Personal life

Miller openly admits to being an ophidiophobe, a person with an irrational fear of snakes. She is married to Grace Miller and they have two sons.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Lulu Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American radio producers Swarthmore College alumni NPR personalities American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers Women radio producers