Lauren Frayer
Lauren Frayer covers the United Kingdom, Ireland and parts of Europe for NPR News. She is a regular contributor to NPR podcasts, and serves as a guest host of Weekend Edition and Weekend All Things Considered.
She moved to London in 2023 after five years in Mumbai, covering South Asia. For her coverage of King Charles III’s coronation, Frayer traced the controversial path of a 105-carat diamond discovered in India, snatched from a 10-year-old Sikh prince and “gifted” to British royals in the 19th century. In northern England, she uncovered a little-known World War II battle between Black and white U.S. soldiers. She has chronicled Sinn Fein’s political makeover, toured pro-Palestinian graffiti in Dublin, and rediscovered one of soccer’s greatest underdog stories.
Her other datelines include Gaza, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Seoul, Dhaka – as well as the Dalai Lama’s monastery, Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, James Bond’s birthplace and Taylor Swift’s favorite London pub.
In India, Frayer reported a five-part true crime podcast called Love Commandos, investigating a Delhi-based vigilante group that offers shelter and aid to couples who cross the boundaries of caste and religion to marry the people they love. She has also reported podcasts about caste discrimination in America, the death of a Jesuit priest in Indian custody, and the changing height of Mount Everest.
Frayer has been honored with two Gracie Awards, the Lowell Thomas Award from the Overseas Press Club of America, a Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, a New York Festival Radio Award and three National Headliner Awards.
She has also contributed to The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the BBC. Her career began at the Associated Press, where she worked in the agency's bureaus in Washington, Jerusalem, Cairo and Baghdad.
Born and raised in Connecticut, Frayer holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from The College of William & Mary in Virginia.
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Porridge has three ingredients: Oats, water and salt. Each fall, foodies gather in Scotland to answer that question. Welcome to the Golden Spurtle! The World Porridge Championships.
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After six years of self-imposed exile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are leaving California and moving back to the United Kingdom.
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An official familiar with their plans tells NPR that Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are planning to move back to the United Kingdom and have enrolled their children in schools there this fall.
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Oxford-educated Jon Harvey's character Count Binface has become a fixture in U.K. politics. If elected, Binface pledges to build at least one affordable house, nationalize the singer Adele, "cut your taxes and raise everyone else's." -
Andy Burnham is Britain's seventh prime minister in the past decade. He says he'll devolve power away from London and to regional and municipal authorities.
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In a transition of power presided over by King Charles, Andy Burnham has replaced Keir Starmer as the United Kingdom's prime minister. Both are from the center-left Labour Party. -
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is stepping down and his successor, Andy Burnham, will take office. He's the former mayor of Manchester and will be the U.K.'s seventh prime minister in ten years.
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The 2008 financial crisis and Brexit shrank the UK economy and led to a revolving door of PMs. Analysts say the first-past-the-post parliamentary system is ill-suited to modern, multi-party politics.
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Born in Liverpool, Burnham went to Cambridge and Westminster. But Manchester made him famous. As mayor, he brought growth to the post-industrial city. Can he scale that nationally as the next U.K. PM?
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The former mayor of Manchester, England, Andy Burnham, may soon replace British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation. Burnham would be the U.K.'s seventh leader in 10 years.
