Rhaina Cohen
Rhaina Cohen is a producer and editor for NPR's Enterprise Storytelling unit, working across Embedded, Invisibilia, and Rough Translation.
Previously, she was a producer for Hidden Brain, where she brought together narrative journalism and social science research. Some of the most rewarding stories she worked on include those about why the #MeToo movement took off when it did, how American masculinity makes it harder for men to build close friendships and why we sometimes make decisions that baffle us. Cohen joined NPR as an intern for Planet Money.
She periodically writes for outlets such as The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and The New Republic. Her article about people who make a friend their life partner was selected by Longreads as one of the best articles of 2020. She received some of her earliest journalism training as a research assistant for authors. She worked on the New York Times bestselling book All The Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation and the biography Michelle Obama: A Life.
Cohen was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford, where she earned a master's in comparative social policy (and while there, competed in a dance style that hasn't yet taken off in the United States: acrobatic rock 'n' roll). She holds a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Northwestern University. As a 2018 FASPE fellow, she studied journalism ethics in Germany and Poland.
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From the time of Columbus until the 1900s, as many as five million Native Americans were enslaved. This week, we explore that history, and the psychological reasons it stayed hidden in plain sight.
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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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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.
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In politics, it sometimes feels like we can't agree on basic facts. But according to neuroscientist Tali Sharot, facts are not enough — emotions may be the key to changing our minds.
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Maz Jobrani, an Iranian-American comedian, uses humor to critique President Trump — whom he describes as "good for comedy but bad for the world."