Guy Raz is the host of TED Radio Hour, a co-production of NPR and TED that tackles astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems and new ways to think and create. Each radio show is based on talks given by riveting speakers on the renowned TED stage, bound together by a common theme such as the thrill of space exploration, going to extremes, the source of happiness or 'when rights goes wrong' in our justice system. Currently, he is also Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University where he teaches radio reporting.
Previously, Raz was weekend host of NPR News' signature afternoon newsmagazine All Things Considered. Raz was named host of that program in July, 2009. During his tenure, Raz transformed the sound and format of the program, introducing the now-signature "cover story" and creating the popular Three-Minute Fiction writing contest.
Raz joined NPR in 1997 as an intern for All Things Considered and he worked his way through the ranks of the organization. His first job was the assistant to NPR's legendary news analyst Daniel Schorr. Raz then served as a general assignment reporter covering stories ranging from the early 2000 presidential primaries to a profile on the Doors' song “Light My Fire.”
In 2000, at the age of 25, Raz was made NPR's Berlin bureau chief where he covered eastern Europe and the Balkans. Later, he was transferred to London as the bureau chief and covered the war in Iraq. Raz left NPR in 2004, to work as CNN's Jerusalem correspondent, chronicling everything from the rise of Hamas as a political power to the incapacitation of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Israel's 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Two years later Raz returned to NPR to serve as defense correspondent where he covered the Pentagon and the US military.
During his six years abroad, Raz reported from more than 40 countries, with a focus on Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Afghanistan, Eastern Europe and the Balkans. He profiled and interviewed dozens of world leaders, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Shimon Peres, General David Petraeus and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen.
For his reporting from Iraq, Raz was awarded both the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Daniel Schorr Journalism prize. His reporting has contributed to two duPont Awards and one Peabody awarded to NPR. He's been a finalist for the Livingston Award four times. For his reporting from Germany, Raz was awarded both the RIAS Berlin prize and the Arthur F. Burns Award. In 2008, he spent a year as a Nieman journalism fellow at Harvard University where he studied classical history.
Raz's written work has appeared in Salon, Washington City Paper, the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor and the German daily, Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
Photo: Kainaz Amaria
Guy Raz on KCRW
More from KCRW
The senses: A philosophical and sensual exploration of sound, taste, and touch
PsychologyLawrence Kramer and Carolyn Korsmeyer take us on a philosophical and sensual journey exploring sound, taste, and touch.
Midweek Reset: On Anxiety
Mental HealthThis week Judson Brewer psychiatrist, neuroscientist at Brown University and author of “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your…
When sex just isn’t your thing with Tuck Woodstock
Health & WellnessMy partner isn’t interested in sex! This week, journalist Tuck Woodstock joins Myisha to talk about differences in desire and crushes.
Composer Carl St. Clair to retire from Pacific Symphony
MusicCarl St. Clair is retiring after more than 30 years leading the Pacific Symphony. The orchestra became an international success under his tenure.
It’s time to get rid of big agriculture
Food & DrinkAny urban street in America is guaranteed to be lined with popular fast food chains, the readily available nature of their products being the main attraction, with people barely giving…
Shirley MacLaine, Mati Diop and André Holland on The Treat
ArtsShirley Maclaine tells us all about her legendary life, filmmaker Mati Diop speaks on her new doc “Dahomey,” and André Holland has The Treat.
Gerrymandering, baking tweaks, LA-style pizza
Food & DrinkBen Blount and Bryan Kett created a chocolate bar to explain why our congressional districts have such weird shapes (hint: gerrymandering).
Monét X Change: Drag, Politics, and Opera
EntertainmentThe RuPaul’s Drag Race alum, opera singer, and co-host of Sibling Rivalry on her journey from church kid to drag queen and how it still influences her work.
Did the treatment really work?
Health & WellnessWe often have to decide if a treatment we are taking is working and whether or not to continue it.