Leo Duran

Associate Producer

Part of The Takeaway’s inaugural staff in 2008, Leo Duran leads his colleagues for the least amount of sleep because of the show. A native-Wisconsinite, he excelled in science and music, but took on journalism as a challenge.

He started his public radio career the way most public radio-ans do: as a listener turned intern turned staffer. Leo led “The Joy Cardin Show” on Wisconsin Public Radio prior to moving to New York, driving the statewide discussion on local and national news. There he developed the love for how listeners can transform and evolve a conversation.

On The Takeaway, Leo has the honor of doing most of the positions on staff, from producing to directing. He’s also an occasional magazine writer, often chef, frequent video game player, and The Takeaway’s main party planner.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, he is a hippie in the many ways that people from Madison can be: he bikes everywhere, sews clothes, and makes his own raw cat food (essentially anything you’ve seen in “Portlandia”).

Leo Duran appears in the following:

Want More Traditional Chinese Fare? Panda Express Says: Give Us A Try

Friday, June 09, 2017

The fast-food chain is often knocked for its Americanized spin on Chinese food. But as American palates expand, it wants to keep up by offering more traditional Chinese recipes ... to an extent.

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From Pride To Protest: LGBT Parades Take On A New Tone This Year

Thursday, June 01, 2017

The annual pride parade in West Hollywood will take on a different tone this year—resistance.

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Stonewall Riots Grab The Spotlight From Black Cat Protests

Monday, February 13, 2017

The birthplace of the LGBT movement is often credited with the 1969 riots at New York's Stonewall Inn. But one of the country's first documented protests happened two years before in Los Angeles.

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California Restaurants Launch Nation's First Transgender Jobs Program

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

The unemployment rate for transgender people is double that of the general population. A new program aims to change that. It's all because of a trans woman who's employed trans people for years.

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Los Angeles Pioneers Program To Help Educate Foster Parents For LGBT Kids

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

There are more than 400,000 foster children in the U.S., and a disproportionate number identify as LGBT. It's hard to find foster parents for them, but an effort in Los Angeles aims to change that.

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The Hidden Power of Vulnerability

Monday, September 17, 2012

Vulnerability: it's when we feel fragile, uncertain, and isolated. But there's a power hidden within vulnerability. Embracing those emotions can radically change our lives, says Brené...

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Bobak Ferdowsi: The New Face (and Hair) of NASA

Friday, August 10, 2012

He's young, good looking, and has a mohawk bespeckled with bleached blonde stars. He's also the flight director of the Mars Science laboratory Curiosity Mission at the Jet propulsion ...

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The National Anthem, Remixed

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

The national anthem commemorates the struggle of our nascent country at war. The lyrics come from a poem Francis Scott Key penned 200 years ago during the War of 1812: "The Defence of...

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Saving the World One Controller at a Time

Monday, June 25, 2012

What if all of the time and energy spent playing video games could be energy spent for good? At the ninth annual Games for Change Festival in New York City, game developers, designers...

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Remembering Ray Bradbury

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Legendary science fiction author Ray Bradbury died yesterday at age 91.  He's remembered best for short-story collections like "The Martian Chronicles," and novels like "Fahrenheit 45...

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Preserving Endangered Sounds

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Where do sounds go when they die? The Museum of Endangered Sounds has archived sounds that will soon die: sounds like modems connecting, Tetris, Windows 95 startup chime, Nokia ringtone and more. John Hockenberry reflects on sounds lost and found in this audio essay.

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Listeners Respond: What Sounds Are Going Extinct?

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Today we asked listeners: What sounds from your childhood are going extinct? Rotary phones? Dial-up connections? Tetris? We compiled the responses into an audio essay.

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Ray Bradbury Dies at Age 91

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Ray Bradbury has died at age 91, and with him dies an imagination that sparked the imagination of so many readers. John Hockenberry remembers his first Bradbury novel, The Illustrated...

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For Tomorrow's Games, Look at Your Phone

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

In 1989 Gameboy revolutionized video games as the world’s first handheld gaming system. Now, developers are looking to continue the portable trend by transitioning video games into ou...

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The Euro Crisis Intensifies: Questions on Greece and the Debt

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Greece spent a decade working to become a full member of the European Union. Now it appears it's doing its best to get thrown out. At a summit meeting in Brussels last night, Euro le...

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Cancer as Silent Killer in 'Memoir of a Debulked Woman'

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Ovarian cancer is called the silent killer. Most women don’t receive a diagnosis until the disease has spread, until the chances for survival have dwindled. Once diagnosed, the treatm...

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Son of Bo Xilai Disappears from Harvard

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The son of Bo Xilai, who attends Harvard University in Cambridge Massachusetts, has gone missing. This latest development comes after Xilai was ousted from the Communist Party's inner circle and his wife implicated in the murder of a British businessman. We're joined by Evan Osnos, a writer for the New Yorker.

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Despite UN Ceasefire, Violence Continues in Syria

Monday, April 16, 2012

The violence in Syria has continued in spite of the ceasefire which came into effect on Thursday, and the first members of a United Nations truce monitoring mission which have arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Fighting was reported between government forces and rebels in the city of Homs and unverified video posted on the internet showed the Khaldiyeh area of Homs being heavily shelled. Kieran Dwyer, from the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Ops, outlines what's expected of the monitors in the coming days.

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New Pew Survey Examines How Latinos Identify Themselves

Thursday, April 05, 2012

A new Pew Survey examines how Latinos identify themselves

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The Big MF Global Number

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

PRI
WNYC

Since Halloween 2011, an estimated $1.6 billion of customer funds have gone missing from failed brokerage firm MF Global. The hunt has taken months with few results.

Tomorrow, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hosts its third hearing on the matter, and there might be a clue on where to look. Takeaway business editor Charlie Herman tells us the big number to watch for: $200 million.

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