Jennifer Schmidt
Jennifer Schmidt is a senior producer for Hidden Brain. She is responsible for crafting the complex stories that are told on the show. She researches, writes, gathers field tape, and develops story structures. Some highlights of her work on Hidden Brain include episodes about the causes of the #MeToo movement, how diversity drives creativity, and the complex psychology of addiction.
Since joining NPR in January 2014, Schmidt has also worked as an editor on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She has put together pieces for various news desks, including a story about survivor goats from the California wildfires for NPR's health blog Shots and a piece on a new trend in C-sections in which women can watch their babies being born which aired on Morning Edition.
The recipient of numerous journalism awards, Schmidt has been awarded a PRNDI for feature reporting, a National Headliners award for breaking news, a silver CINDY, an EMMA for editing, and various other awards from the RTNDA, the Associated Press, and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Schmidt's reporting has taken her across both the country and the world, from KPLU in Seattle and WBUR in Boston to freelancing in South Africa and Mexico. After living abroad for almost a decade, Schmidt now lives on a small farm near the Chesapeake Bay with a menagerie of animals including a one-eyed cat from South Africa, chickens, horses, two dogs from Mexico City, and goats.
Schmidt graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.S. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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Our culture has long expected that women will be kind, and leaders will be authoritative. So what's a female leader to do when she confronts these conflicting stereotypes?
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The United States has always thought of itself as a nation of immigrants. So why has immigration been such a controversial topic throughout our nation's history?
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What does it mean to be a boy and what does it mean to be a girl? We delve into debates over gender – and explore how some people are moving beyond labels and building gender identities of their own.
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Many of us feel stuck at one point or another: in the wrong city, the wrong job, or the wrong relationship. Self-help gurus have offered lots of advice — but here's a new idea, from the tech world.
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Every time you give in to the buzzing notifications of our phone or computer, you pay a price: little by little, you lose your ability to focus.
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According to research, between 10 and 40% of kids who intend to go to college at high school graduation don't show up in the fall. This phenomenon, known as "summer melt," has puzzled universities.
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In the last five years, 12 percent of terrorist attacks in the U.S. were carried out by Muslims and more than 50 percent by far right extremists. So why the media focus on "Islamic terrorism"?
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Decades ago, researchers introduced a new theory of policing. It's called "broken windows" and is seen by many as a cure-all for crime. But the idea is often used in ways its creators never intended.
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We're often more honest when making searches on Google than when answering surveys or talking to friends. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz explains what these searches tell us about our thoughts and desires.
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Many Americans are increasingly expressing their political beliefs with their wallets. Neeru Paharia explains how we use money to tell stories about ourselves, and to ourselves.