Karen Duffin is a reporter and producer whose work has appeared on Radiolab, The Moth, On the Media, Reply All, UnFictional and others.
She taught radio at the Columbia School of Journalism, and was a two-time Porchlight SF storytelling champ, Moth mainstage storyteller and story coach, and editor at Cowbird and The Rumpus.
Karen Duffin appears in the following:
Planet Money: The Parable Of The Piston
Thursday, April 02, 2020
The scramble is on to manufacture new ventilators fast. Our Planet Money team sees what it takes for a company that normally makes auto parts to turn on a dime and make pistons for a ventilators.
How Digital Billboards Target Passersby (Hint: It's Cellphone Data)
Friday, February 07, 2020
More and more digital billboards are popping up around the U.S. Many are tracking us through our cell phones — similar to what happens online. Here's a close look at one in Times Square.
Planet Money: Moving To Opportunity?
Friday, September 06, 2019
How much does where you live affect your shot at the American Dream? An overlooked government program from the nineties tried to answer that question. Recently, it has been getting new attention.
No Rules In The Parking Lot
Thursday, August 08, 2019
A vigilante in a strip mall parking lot in Salt Lake City is causing problems that reveal the Wild West nature of parking lot rules. And how to exploit them for profit.
'Rough Translation': A Photographer Goes Missing In Iraq
Wednesday, July 03, 2019
When Iraqi photojournalist Kamaran Najm was kidnapped by ISIS in 2014, his journalist friends and his conservative religious family had to work together to try to find him.
How The Insurance Industry Helps Police Departments Tackle Bad Behavior
Friday, April 12, 2019
Bad policing can get expensive when it leads to lawsuits and settlements. For smaller cities, that can lead to serious pressure to change things from the people who help foot the bill: insurers.
Episode 901: Bad Cops Are Expensive
Friday, March 22, 2019
There's an entire, powerful industry pushing behind the scenes for better police behavior--not with protests or picket signs, but spreadsheets and actuaries.
Why A Stranded Norwegian Plane Is A Consequence Of U.S. Sanctions On Iran
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
A Norwegian plane that made an emergency landing in Iran is stranded, due to unintended effects of U.S. sanctions. The plane needs new engine parts, but importing them is prohibited by the sanctions.
Episode 892: The Lost Plane
Wednesday, February 06, 2019
On today's show, we follow a commercial flight that made an emergency landing in Iran last December. And we discover that landing in Iran would be easy. Getting out – much, much harder.
Episode 887: You Asked For It, Yet Again
Friday, January 11, 2019
On today's show we answer questions about silver dollars, Venmo, and Brexit. Why? Because you asked!
Episode 886: The Price Of A Hack
Friday, January 04, 2019
Hackers are an expensive headache for companies. But there might be a simple economic fix.
Episode 884: The Rest Of The Story, Winter 2018
Friday, December 28, 2018
We check in on some stories we did this year to find all kinds of updates.
The Business Of Posting Mugshots Online And Charging People To Take Them Down
Friday, December 07, 2018
Many websites make a business of posting mugshots, then charging those people to take them down, but it's hard to stop. The reasons have to do with how First Amendment freedoms are protected.
Episode 879: The Secret Target
Friday, November 30, 2018
The Federal Reserve spends a lot of effort trying to target the level of inflation to about 2 percent. Why? Because tiny New Zealand did it first.
Episode 878: Mugshots For Sale
Friday, November 23, 2018
We go deep inside the market for mugshots. Is it extortion? Or is it a First Amendment right?
The Problem With The Pink Tax
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Women pay more than men for many consumer products. Today on the show: Why some economists still think that's a good thing.
Episode 870: Trump vs. Red Tape
Friday, October 19, 2018
President Trump promised to slash regulations. How has he done?
Episode 867: Special Report: Asylum Crackdown
Friday, September 28, 2018
We tell the story of a massive crackdown on asylum fraud, and the fallout.
Episode 836: The 13th Hole
Friday, September 07, 2018
What a hole-in-one gone awry says about the state of charity.
Episode 862: Big Government Cheese
Friday, August 31, 2018
That time we accidentally created a cheese surplus so large it had to be stored in a ginormous cave.
