Ailsa Chang is an award-winning journalist who covers criminal justice, terrorism and the courts for WNYC. She found her way into public radio after practicing law for five years, and can definitely say that walking the streets of New York City with a microphone is a lot more fun than being holed up in the office writing letters to opposing counsel.
Since joining WNYC in 2009, Chang has earned national recognition for her investigative reporting. In 2012, she was honored with the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton, one of the highest awards in broadcast journalism, for her two-part investigative series on allegations of illegal searches and unlawful marijuana arrests by the New York City Police Department. The reports also earned an honor from Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Chang has investigated how Detroit's broken public defender system leaves the poor with lawyers who are often too underpaid and overworked to provide adequate defense. For that story, Chang won the 2010 Daniel Schorr Journalism Award, a National Headliner Award and an honor from Investigative Reporters and Editors.
In 2011, the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association named Chang as the winner of the Art Athens Award for General Excellence in Individual Reporting for radio. She has also appeared as a guest on PBS NewsHour and other television programs for her legal reporting.
Chang received her bachelor's degree in public policy from Stanford University, her law degree from Stanford Law School, a Masters degree in journalism from Columbia University and a Masters degree in media law from Oxford University where she was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar.
She was also a law clerk to Judge John T. Noonan, Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Before her arrival at WNYC, Chang was a Kroc Fellow for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. and a reporter for KQED public radio in San Francisco. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ailsa Chang appears in the following:
Monday, March 18, 2024
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Sarah Handel /
Ailsa Chang
NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Jessica Kutz, a reporter for The 19th, about a recent study that sheds light on how polluted air in Louisiana has affected pregnant people and their children.
Monday, March 18, 2024
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Patrick Jarenwattananon /
Ailsa Chang
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with 23-year-old Kelsey Russell, who is bringing printed news to TikTok's Gen Z and Gen Alpha viewers.
Friday, March 08, 2024
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Ailsa Chang
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about President Biden's State of the Union address.
Friday, March 08, 2024
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Patrick Jarenwattananon /
Ailsa Chang
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute where he directs the Program on Palestine and Palestinian Affairs, about the status of Gaza ceasefire talks.
Monday, March 04, 2024
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Ailsa Chang /
Christopher Intagliata : Senior Producer, Science Friday /
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks to reporter Caiwei Chen about the booming livestream shopping trend in China, and how Chinese companies and TikTok are training American influencers to sell on livestreams too.
Monday, March 04, 2024
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Ailsa Chang talks to Ben Golliver of the Washington Post about Lebron's latest career milestone — and how he keeps on scoring, despite being the oldest player in the league.
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
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Justine Kenin /
Ailsa Chang
A clash between tribes in Papua New Guinea led to deaths of at least 49 tribesmen. Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Tim Swanston explains why tribal warfare has gotten more deadly recently.
Friday, February 23, 2024
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Sarah Handel /
Ailsa Chang
Greta Lee stars in the new movie Past Lives. She talks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about the film and the ways language and identity are intertwined.
Thursday, February 22, 2024
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Ailsa Chang /
Sarah Handel /
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino about her latest piece, which chronicles the rollout of New York's social justice-oriented weed legalization program.
Thursday, February 22, 2024
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Ailsa Chang
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Regina Barber and Rachel Carlson of Short Wave about singing gibbons, how tai chi might lower blood pressure, and why women get quicker benefits from exercise than men.
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
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Christopher Intagliata : Senior Producer, Science Friday
NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Katey Lesneski, research coordinator for coral restoration at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. She's been checking on restored corals, which struggled in 2023.
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
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Sarah Handel /
Ailsa Chang
With Beyoncé on top Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Francesca Royster, author of Black Country Music, about the history of Black women in country music.
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
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Justine Kenin /
Ailsa Chang
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Mary Ziegler, UC Davis law professor, about the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that says frozen embryos are people and individuals can be held liable for destroying them.
Monday, February 19, 2024
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Christopher Intagliata : Senior Producer, Science Friday
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Forbes senior editor Dan Alexander about Trump's fortune and the resources he has to pay huge legal settlements.
Monday, February 19, 2024
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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with video game journalist Rebekah Valentine about the trends that are driving layoffs across the industry.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
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Taiwan has endured colonial forces over centuries. The island's indigenous people have borne the brunt of this violent history. Members of one tribe tells us what it means to them to be Taiwanese.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
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Patrick Jarenwattananon
The 1970s-1990s saw a mass wave of Taiwanese immigrants to the U.S. Now, many of their children are moving to Taiwan for a safer future despite the west's perceptions of impending war with China.
Saturday, January 13, 2024
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Ailsa Chang
Lai Ching-te of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party is Taiwan's new president-elect.
Thursday, January 11, 2024
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Leila Fadel /
Ailsa Chang
Taiwan's democracy is only a few decades old — but very active. As Taiwan's consequential presidential election approaches, colorful rallies, campaign events and parties fill the streets.
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
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Mallory Yu /
Patrick Jarenwattananon
Taiwanese comedian Vickie Wang and Chinese comedian Jamie Wang (no relation) work through the lived experience of cross-strait tensions through comedy.