Ailsa Chang (born January 12, 1976) is an American journalist. She’s a host of the NPR newsmagazine ''

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 ...

''. She is a former host of '' Planet Money'' and previously covered

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

for NPR. Prior to joining NPR in 2012, Chang was an investigative journalist at NPR member station

WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...

in New York City. Since starting as a radio reporter in 2009, she has received numerous national awards for investigative reporting.

Early life and education

Chang grew up in Los Altos, California, in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. Her parents were immigrants from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Chang is a graduate of Mountain View High School. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in public policy from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1998 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

in 2001. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, earning a master's degree in media law. In 2008, she completed a master's degree in journalism at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Career

Chang served as law clerk to John T. Noonan, Jr., a judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...

. After five years practicing law, Chang quit her job at age 30. She volunteered as an unpaid intern at NPR member station KQED in San Francisco, where she was living at the time. She returned to school and earned a master’s degree in journalism at

. After journalism school, Chang joined NPR in 2008 as a Kroc Fellow in Washington D.C., where she wrote an investigative report into the

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

system of Detroit. The piece, which aired on NPR in 2009, was awarded the 2010 Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. She returned to KQED as a reporter, before joining

in 2009, where she covered criminal justice, terrorism and the courts. At WNYC, Chang wrote an investigative report into "stop-and-frisk" search policies of

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

. The series, which aired on NPR in 2011, earned her a silver baton in the 2012 Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Awards. Chang returned to NPR in 2012. She was a correspondent for '' Planet Money'' and also reported on

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

activities, specifically immigration, healthcare and gun control. In 2018, she assumed co-host chair on the afternoon radio program ''

''. Chang has also appeared as a guest on

PBS NewsHour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stat ...

and other television programs for her legal reporting.

Awards

* 2001: Irvine Hellman, Jr. Special Award *2011: Art Athens Award for General Excellence in Individual Reporting for radio *2012: Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Awards, Silver Baton *2015: National Journalism Award from the Asian American Journalists Association for coverage of

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

Personal life

Chang lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, with her dog Mickey, a Shih Tzu, who she describes as “my absolute best friend in the whole wide world.”

References

External links

Staff page
at NPR
Staff page
at WNYC {{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Ailsa American investigative journalists American women journalists American women radio journalists NPR personalities Stanford University alumni Stanford Law School alumni Living people 21st-century American women American people of Taiwanese descent 1976 births