Arun Venugopal is a senior reporter for the WNYC Race & Justice Unit who focuses on issues of race and bias in our region. His reporting also tackles the topics of immigration, faith, and inequality. Arun serves as the regular fill-in host of the station's "U.S. of Anxiety" program.
Arun was the creator and host of Micropolis, a series about race and identity. He is a contributor to NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has appeared on PBS Newshour, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. He also frequently serves as an emcee and moderator of panel discussions on race, religion, and identity issues and has been a guest host of NPR's "Fresh Air." He lives with his family in Queens.
Find Arun's latest reporting on Gothamist.
Arun Venugopal appears in the following:
Mamdani's musical message
Saturday, November 08, 2025
A closer look at the music used at the end of mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's victory speech and the message that it sent.
The future of casinos in the New York City area
Saturday, September 20, 2025
After two casino proposals were rejected in Manhattan, we look ahead to more votes on downstate New York casino projects coming up this month.
The Final Round for NYC Casino Licenses
Thursday, August 21, 2025
The final-round to secure a highly lucrative casino license in New York City is underway, with a winner chosen by year's end. Arun Venugopal, senior reporter for WNYC's race & justice...
How President Trump and His Tariffs Are Affecting NYC Tourism
Monday, August 11, 2025
Arun Venugopal, senior reporter for WNYC's race & justice unit, shares his reporting on how the tourism industry in NYC is suffering because of President Trump's tariffs and other pol...
NYC mayoral hopeful faces sharp jabs from within South Asian community
Sunday, July 27, 2025
At a recent gathering of the Indian American community in Queens, much of the emphasis was on Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani.
'They’re coming for everyone': Fearful NY immigrant families weigh voluntary departures
Tuesday, May 06, 2025
“They’re coming for everyone,” said Yaya, 44, who is a U.S. citizen. She gave birth to their son in April and said their recent stays at the homes of various friends and family member...
Delivery workers accuse DoorDash of wage theft
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Delivery workers in New York City are accusing DoorDash of a pattern of wage theft.
On Coney Island, sword swallower and kitsch square off against casino developer
Friday, March 28, 2025
Longtime sword swallower and strongman Adam Rinn recently presided over a mock funeral for Coney Island, which he says is threatened by a casino proposal.
Report finds that middle-income New Yorkers are the new face of eviction in the city
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Moderate-income New Yorkers are increasingly becoming the face of eviction in the city. That’s according to a new report from the Community Service Society of New York, which found th...
Early COVID Memories
Monday, March 10, 2025
Five years ago this month, the pandemic arrived in New York. The city declared a state of emergency, and began a series of shutdowns. We'll mark this anniversary on the show all week ...
New York City, 5 years after Covid
Sunday, March 09, 2025
The New York City area is still grappling with the effects of the COVID pandemic, five years after it first shut down the city. While many are back at their jobs five days a week, som...
Rikers Island, a present-day protest and a link to NYC’s ‘Kidnapping Club’ past
Friday, February 28, 2025
Nearly 200 years ago, Richard Riker — a powerful judge whose family the island is named after — was at the center of a network that included city officials, police officers and others...
Life after a crackdown on sex work along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Each night, Tsomo Dasel, the owner of Himalayan Yak restaurant on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, lets some of her staff leave work hours before closing. The measure is protective: Most o...
As the migrant 'crisis' recedes in NYC, criticism of the city stands its ground
Monday, October 21, 2024
The Brooklyn Community Board 1 meeting was a sleepy affair, almost entirely populated by members of the board, city officials and police officers who were all on hand to discuss the s...
NY skies, schools, government: Where Turkish interests pressed genocide denials.
Tuesday, October 08, 2024
New York City Mayor Eric Adams' indictment last month on charges he sold his office for favors, including silence about the Armenian genocide, is hardly the first time Turkish interes...
White House move spells doom for migrant program that's aided untold numbers in NY
Tuesday, October 08, 2024
The Biden administration's announcement on Friday that it will end an immigration parole program that gave legal protections to migrants from four countries is expected to affect the ...
Thanks, office workers: Foot traffic in Manhattan nears pre-COVID levels, report says
Wednesday, September 04, 2024
Moritz Masberg, an attorney in Midtown, shows up to his Sixth Avenue office every day, along with about a third of his coworkers. He says he senses a promising trend.“The lunch places...
Eric Garner’s ‘I can’t breathe’ continues to echo across NYC and the world 10 years after his death
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
His dying declaration in Staten Island helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement, but experts say the push for police reform has since stalled.
New Yorkers in ‘disbelief’ over Hurricane Beryl’s toll. Here’s how to help.
Monday, July 08, 2024
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have ties to island nations slammed by Beryl.
At a Queens school, migrant kids gain melodies, and respite from trauma
Wednesday, July 03, 2024
The Academy for New Americans in Astoria creates a welcoming musical home for new arrivals.
