Liz Baker
Liz Baker is often on the road, reporting and producing within communities affected by natural and man-made disasters.
She produces extensive on-the-ground coverage of communities coming together to survive, recover, and rise from some of their most difficult moments, from a condo collapse in Surfside, Fla., to immigration enforcement sweeps in Minneapolis and L.A., to the aftermaths of Hurricanes Maria, Ian, and Helene. In 2025, Baker was the first NPR journalist on the scene of the urban firestorms that broke out in Los Angeles, and has continued to report on survivors' rebuilding challenges.
Immediately after joining NPR's National Desk full-time in 2019, Baker traveled to Australia during the catastrophic "Black Summer" bushfires, returning to the U.S. just in time to pivot to coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and summer of protest and unrest following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
She has covered mass shootings across the country, including those in Buffalo, NY, Uvalde, TX, and Monterey Park, CA, and reported on high-profile court cases, including the hate crime and murder trial against Ahmaud Arbery's killers in Brunswick, GA, and Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault trial in Los Angeles. Baker also spent time in the Middle East as part of NPR's award-winning team covering the Oct. 7 attacks and escalation of war in Gaza.
Baker first joined NPR as an Arts Desk intern in 2010, then spent time working as a producer/director on each of the network's news magazine shows, most extensively on Weekend All Things Considered, where she worked closely with host Michel Martin to revitalize the program after its move from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.
In addition to producing the National Desk's stellar team of journalists, Baker often reports her own stories on-air and online.
She can be reached via encrypted message at liznbaker.88 on Signal.
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NPR's Books We Love is back with some staff recommendations for novels.
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A dozen miles away from the World Cup games in New York/ New Jersey Stadium, Palestinian-American kids turn to soccer as an escape from the realities of war. -
The Iraq national men's team hasn't played a World Cup in 40 years; a drought that ends Tuesday night, to the excitement of soccer fans in Dearborn, Michigan, home to a large Iraqi diaspora. -
Border czar Tom Homan will be heading to Minnesota, while Gregory Bovino, the bombastic and controversial Border Patrol chief leading the surge, will soon leave the state. -
Videos and eyewitnesses appear to contradict the Trump administration's account of the Minneapolis killing, prompting accusations of excessive force and state concerns about a federal investigation they say is excluding them.
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The ICE detention center in Folkston, Ga., is expanding to become one of the nation's largest immigrant detention centers. Operated by a private prison corporation GEO Group, it will hold more than 3,000 detainees. -
Americans across the country are reacting to Charlie Kirk's death and what his assassination says about the threat of political violence in America.
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Days after students were shot at a school Mass, an outpouring of flowers, ribbons, and grief are bringing people together to support victims and each other.
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Things are quiet in Los Angeles the day after Mayor Karen Bass instituted a curfew for a small portion of downtown.
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Big insurance companies have pulled back from California, forcing thousands to turn to insurers of last resort. Fire victims say the limited policies will make recovery and rebuilding more difficult.
