Rachel Faulkner White
Rachel Faulkner is a producer for TED Radio Hour and How I Built This, where she produces, scores and edits episodes.
During her time at NPR, Faulkner has enjoyed directing live events, like the How I Built This Summit, and pitching and producing full-length How I Built This episodes such as "The McBride Sisters," which told the story of long-lost sisters, raised on opposite sides of the planet, who discovered each other in adulthood and went on to build one of the biggest Black-owned wine companies in the world. She has also helped create dozens of TED Radio Hour segments, including a long-form interview on navigating grief and hardship, a look at how family income affects childhood brain development, a conversation on loneliness and human connection and an exploration of outer space and gravitational waves.
Faulkner is part of the TED Radio Hour team that received a 2018 Webby Award for their "Manipulation" episode. She also recently worked as a research assistant for Professor Steven V. Roberts, author of the upcoming memoir Cokie: A Life Well-Lived, about his wife (and one of NPR's Founding Mothers) Cokie Roberts.
Faulkner joined NPR in 2016 as an intern. She started producing while finishing college, coming into the office between classes, and joined NPR full-time after finishing her bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communications from George Washington University.
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The U.S. patent system was designed to foster innovation and serve the public good. But it's no longer working as intended. Lawyer Priti Krishtel explains the consequences and how to change that.
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mRNA vaccines are groundbreaking—but the mRNA inside them is fragile. Kathryn Whitehead explains how scientists have created the right "packing material" to safely deliver these to the right cells.
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Cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar explains a case where deep grief caused takotsubo cardiomyopathy—also called "broken heart syndrome." He examines the connection emotions have with our most vital organ.
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Jason Reynolds is an award-winning author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This hour, Jason speaks with Manoush about reaching kids through stories that let them feel understood.
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But it's also shaped by global norms. This hour, journalist Elise Hu reflects on what's considered beautiful now, and how we'll think about beauty in the future.
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Cone snails are deadly sea predators; their venom can kill fish and even humans. But chemical biologist Mandë Holford says that powerful venom can actually be used for good — to treat human diseases.
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An ear made from an apple, a spinal cord rebuilt using asparagus...it sounds like bizarre science fiction. But Andrew Pelling is working on a way to revive human tissue with a trip to the supermarket.
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As a deaf person, Rebecca Knill is anti-noise and "neutral" on sound. She explains how technology allows her to hear what she wants to hear, and asks why our mindset about ability hasn't caught up.
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In some rural African communities, elephants and humans are competing for space and resources like never before. Zoologist Lucy King shares her solution to the conflict: a simple beehive on a fence.
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Artist Emily Quinn is intersex. She's one of over 150 million people in the world who don't fit neatly into the categories of male or female. She explains how biological sex exists on a spectrum.