With two wars waging in Europe and the Middle East, NPR is recasting its State of Ukraine podcast to take on a broader look at international news of the day. The show is morphing into a new podcast called State of the World, which will feature important international coverage and storytelling from NPR journalists on the ground – including the war in Ukraine and the developing conflict in the Middle East.
"NPR's international reporters tell stories that help connect listeners across borders and boundaries to the news that matters," said Didrik Schanche, Chief International Editor at NPR. "The correspondents bring curiosity and compassion to their work, producing fact-based award-winning journalism that brings the world to NPR's audience across platforms. It's journalism that inspires NPR's audience to not just understand the world but to care."
State of the World will release new episodes Monday through Friday. Listeners will hear reporting from familiar NPR voices including its correspondents in Israel, Daniel Estrin and Aya Batrawy, as well as Ukraine correspondent Joanna Kakissis and teams rotating out of these locations.
NPR launched State of Ukraine in March 2022 as a response to listeners' interest in the conflict, similar to how it rolled out COVID-related shows during the early days of the pandemic. Now with State of the World, it looks to again respond to current events with a podcast.
"As the nation's leading audio-first newsroom — with 35 bureaus around the world — NPR is uniquely equipped to deliver on-the-ground reporting and global perspectives to on-demand audiences," said Beth Donovan, Senior Director of News and Daily Habit Podcasts at NPR. "In times of crisis, this work is a vital public service, one we're proud to deliver. In just a few minutes each day, State of the World will feature distinctive, trustworthy and timely journalism on the most important and interesting stories from around the world."