Daniel Zwerdling is an American investigative journalist who has written for major magazines and newspapers. From 1980 to 2018, he served as an investigative reporter for

NPR News National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national syndicator to a network of more than 1,000 publi ...

, with stints as foreign correspondent and from 1993 to 1999, as host of

Weekend 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 ...

. Zwerdling retired from NPR in 2018. He began co-hosting the podcast ''Two Reporters'' in 2021. His work has appeared in ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

''.

Early life and education

Zwerdling attended

Montgomery Blair High School Montgomery Blair High School (MBHS) is a State school, public Secondary school, high school in the Four Corners, Maryland, Four Corners neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. It is operated by Montgomery County Public Schools (M ...

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

, where he was editor of the student newspaper. He then attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and received his degree in 1971.

Career

He was a staff writer at ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' and a freelance reporter. Zwerdling worked at

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

in several positions since 1980, including as their senior investigative correspondent, their first roving Africa correspondent, and their first environmental reporter. From 1993 to 1999, he was senior host of NPR's Weekend ''

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 ...

''. From 1999 to 2002, he was an investigative reporter for ''RadioWorks'', NPR News. His layoff in 2002 provoked controversy among the NPR staff as the organization's decision to remove an investigative journalism line was seen as conflicting with the mission of NPR. From 2002 to 2004, he was NPR's television correspondent on ''

Now on PBS ''Now on PBS'', shown onscreen as ''NOW'', is a Public Broadcasting Service newsmagazine which aired between 2002 and 2010, focusing on social and political issues. History First airing in January 2002, and originally called ''Now with Bill Moye ...

'' with

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers; June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Council ...

. In 2018, Zwerdling retired from NPR amid several allegations of sexual harassment, although he has stated that the allegations are false. His investigative reports have included examining the military's treatment of soldiers who have experienced trauma, the impact of fast food restaurants on animal rights, and the harmful substances in tobacco products. In 2006 and 2007, he reported that officers at

Fort Carson Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, El Paso, Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo, Fremont County, Colorado, Fremont, and Huerfano County, Colorado, Huerfano counties, Color ...

were punishing soldiers who were returning from the

war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. , style="background:#F88" , Coalition of Gulf War, Coalition victory * Kuwait, State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory * Esta ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

with

post traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

and other serious mental health problems. Since retiring from NPR, Zwerdling has completed investigative projects for The David Rockefeller Fund, The Marshall Project, among others. He was an adjunct professor of media ethics at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

and an associate of

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

's Institute for Language and Thinking in New York. Since April 2021, Zwerdling and

David Shipler David K. Shipler (born December 3, 1942) is an American author and journalist. He won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1987 for '' Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land''. Among his other publications the book entitled, '' T ...

have been featured on their podcast, '' Two Reporters - Shipler and Zwerdling'' during which they "interview stellar guests... examine problems and possible solutions... ndjust fascinating stuff" in novel ways.

Awards

* 2017 Alfred I. duPont for “Missed Treatment” (with Colorado Public Radio) * 2016 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for “Injured Nurses” * 2016 NIHCM Foundation award, “Injured Nurses” * 2016 American Psychiatric Association Warren Williams Award, “Missed Treatment” * 2010 George Polk Award for the radio report "Brain Wars" (shared with

ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...

investigative reporter T. Christian Miller and NRP journalist Susanne Reber) * 2008 Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award * 2007

Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award The Robert F. Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism is a journalism award named after Robert F. Kennedy and awarded by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. The annual awards are issued in several categories and were est ...

* Edward R. Murrow Award *

Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences a ...

award in 2004 for "Abuse of Immigrant Detainees" * Overseas Press Club Foundation award for live coverage of breaking international news * American Association for the Advancement of Science Journalism Award * National Press Club Award for consumer reporting * Ohio State awards for international reporting *

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

for a June 2002 report on the fast food industry, "McDonalds New Farm: Fast Food and Animal Rights" (radio long form category) and previously for a 1999 story in radio short category *

George Foster Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in ...

presented in 1995 for an NPR team report about the tobacco industry's use of dangerous chemical substances * Champion-Tuck Award for economic reporting * World Hunger Media Awards

Works

* ''Workplace Democracy'' (Harper & Row, 1980)

References

External links

"NPR Investigative Reporter Daniel Zwerdling Retires Amid Sexual Misconduct Claims"
NPR
"Daniel Zwerdling: The greatest question in journalism "
Stabile Center and the Columbia chapter of SPJ
"'On Location' with NPR is treat for InvestigateWest Editor"
''Investigate West'', Rita Hibbard, 05/07/2010 * , University of California: Berkeley
"McDonald's New Farm: Fast Food and Animal Rights" (American RadioWorks)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zwerdling, Daniel Living people American male journalists American University faculty Bard College faculty NPR personalities Peabody Award winners People from Silver Spring, Maryland The New Republic people University of Michigan alumni Year of birth missing (living people)