Ailsa Chang (born January 18, 1976)[1][2] is an American journalist. She’s a host of the NPR newsmagazine All Things Considered. She is a former host of Planet Money and previously covered United States Congress for NPR. Prior to joining NPR in 2012, Chang was an investigative journalist at NPR member station WNYC in New York City. Since starting as a radio reporter in 2009, she has received numerous national awards for investigative reporting.
After five years practicing law, Chang realized it wasn’t a good fit and quit her job. She was 30 years old. Looking for a way to fill her time while she figured out what came next, she volunteered as an unpaid intern at NPR member station KQED in San Francisco, where she was living at the time.[8] With a newfound a passion for journalism, she returned to school for a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University.[8]
After journalism school, Chang joined NPR in 2008 as a Kroc Fellow in Washington D.C.,[6] where she wrote an investigative report into the public defender system of Detroit.[9] The piece, which aired on NPR in 2009, was awarded the 2010 Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize.[10]
Chang returned to NPR in 2012. She was a correspondent for Planet Money and also reported on U.S. Congress activities, specifically immigration, healthcare and gun control.[6] In 2018, she assumed co-host chair on the afternoon radio program All Things Considered.[6] Chang has also appeared as a guest on PBS NewsHour and other television programs for her legal reporting.
