Sam Sanders
Sam Sanders is a correspondent and host of It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders at NPR. In the show, Sanders engages with journalists, actors, musicians, and listeners to gain the kind of understanding about news and popular culture that can only be reached through conversation. The podcast releases two episodes each week: a "deep dive" interview on Tuesdays, as well as a Friday wrap of the week's news.
Previously, as a key member of NPR's election unit, Sam covered the intersection of culture, pop culture, and politics in the 2016 election, and embedded with the Bernie Sanders campaign for several months. He was also one of the original co-hosts of NPR's Politics Podcast, which launched in 2015.
Sanders joined NPR in 2009 as a Kroc Fellow, and since then has worn many hats within the organization, including field producer and breaking news reporter. He's spent time at three Member stations as well: WUNC in North Carolina, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and WBUR in Boston, as an intern for On Point.
Sanders graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2009 with a master's degree in public policy, with a focus on media and politics. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, with a double major in political science and music.
In his free time, Sanders runs, eats bacon, and continues his love/hate relationship with Twitter.
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Marissa Alexander had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing what she said was a warning shot at her husband and his two children in 2010. Under the plea deal, she will serve 65 more days. -
Taylor Swift's latest album, 1989, sold 1.287 million copies its first week alone, making it the first album released in 2014 to go platinum. The last musician to go platinum in a week? Taylor Swift. -
College freshman Lauren Hill has a rare form of brain cancer. One of her dying wishes was to play college basketball, and the NCAA allowed a game to be moved up by two weeks so she could. -
The Synod is a two-week meeting of Bishops at the Vatican, called by Pope Francis. A tentative report released this week included a softer message toward gay people and divorced individuals.
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Some leaders of this extreme city sport where people run, jump and slide on streets and over buildings, hope to slip into the games by courting the International Olympic Committee. -
The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has been hit with a $23.6 billion ruling from a lawsuit brought by a chain smoker's widow.
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American Express has agreed to pay a $16 million fine and issue nearly $60 million in customer refunds. The settlement with the federal government involves allegations that AmEx misrepresented the value of add-on services, such as identity theft protection.
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For decades, Coachella Valley High's mascot has been the Arab, a menacing-looking man with a hooked nose and a head wrap. School pep teams even lead belly dances during halftime shows. But last week, the mascot became national news when the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee took issue with the depiction. -
In the wake of the George Zimmerman trial, an NPR producer reflects on the time and energy he has lost trying to avoid being seen as a threatening black man.
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You don't have to have big bucks to join the latest trend in philanthropy. Soup groups around the country let diners pool their money to support deserving local initiatives. In Philadelphia, one dinner raised $225 for a teacher's class project.
