Liz Baker
Liz Baker is a producer on NPR's National Desk based in Los Angeles, and is often on the road producing coverage of domestic breaking news stories.
Since joining NPR as an Arts Desk intern in 2010, Baker has worked on each of NPR's newsmagazine programs and dozens of hours of special coverage, including every election night and inauguration special since President Obama's second term. She has covered natural and man-made disasters, including Hurricanes Maria, Ida, and Ian, the catastrophic 2019-2020 wildfire seasons in California, Oregon, and Australia, and the Surfside condo collapse in Florida. She also covered mass shootings in Buffalo, NY, Uvalde, TX, and Monterey Park, CA, and high-profile court cases such as the hate crime and murder trial against Ahmaud Arbery's killers in Brunswick, GA, Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault trial in Los Angeles, and Britney Spears' conservatorship hearing.
In 2020, Baker produced on-the-ground coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the summer of racial justice protests following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. She reported extensively on the protests in her hometown of Rochester, NY, which were sparked by police body camera video of Daniel Prude's death and contributed to renewed conversations about policing reform and mental illness.
From 2015 to 2019, Baker produced and directed Weekend All Things Considered; working closely with host Michel Martin to revitalize the program after its move to Washington, D.C. following a 2-year run in Los Angeles.
In her spare time, she enjoys climbing, camping, and clomping around the Santa Monica mountains with a too-heavy pack, always ready to lend first aid and snacks to others on the trail.
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The rape and sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein opened in Los Angeles Monday. Prosecutors described violent encounters between Weinstein and eight key witnesses from 2004 to 2013. -
The town of North Port, Fla., was hit hard by Hurricane Ian, and then days of river flooding. As the waters start to recede, residents are starting to dry out and take stock of the damage. -
After the hurricane damaged the only bridge, the only way to get to Pine Island is by private boat. Residents are returning to salvage what remains of their homes. -
As Hurricane Ian's eye moves closer to the Florida gulf coast, millions of residents have been told to evacuate. Forecasters say Ian will bring winds, a storm surge and tornadoes as it comes ashore.
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Extreme weather events made worse by climate change are hitting some of the poorest parts of the United States hard. Recovery will be extra difficult at a time of high inflation. -
The Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., where 10 people were killed in a racist mass shooting in May, reopened on Friday to mixed reactions in the community. -
Thousands of reproductive rights supporters are gathering Saturday at rallies across the country in protest of the Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. -
Romanians have been welcoming the world's second-largest influx of Ukrainian refugees. It's a marked change from the country's response during Europe's last major migrant crisis. -
Republican lawmakers in Arizona are introducing nearly a hundred so-called voter reform bills this year despite two reviews showing there were no problems with the 2020 presidential election. -
A jury found former officer Brett Hankison not guilty of felony wanton endangerment for shots that went through a neighbor's wall. He's the only officer who has faced charges in the March 2020 raid.
