Accessibility links
Odette Yousef Odette Yousef is a National Security correspondent focusing on extremism.
Odette Yousef headshot
Stories By

Odette Yousef

Wednesday

Law

White nationalists must pay $25 million in damages for their part in deadly Va. rally

Four years ago, the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., shocked the world with a violent display of hate. Now, a jury has found its organizers responsible.

White nationalists must pay $25 million in damages for their part in deadly Va. rally

Listen · 4:25
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1058787702/1058787703" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

National

The suspect in the Wis. Christmas parade attack has a previous criminal record

There are more questions than answers as to why a person drove an SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wis., killing five people and injuring dozens of others.

The suspect in the Wis. Christmas parade attack has a previous criminal record

Listen · 3:36
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1058241281/1058241282" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

America Reckons With Racial Injustice

Far right extremists herald Kyle Rittenhouse's acquittal

Right-wing extremists have continued to use Kyle Rittenhouse in their messaging, with new themes emerging since his acquittal last week.

Far right extremists herald Kyle Rittenhouse's acquittal

Listen · 6:09
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1057759705/1057759706" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

For far-right groups, Rittenhouse's acquittal is a cause for celebration

Armed participants walk at a Proud Boys rally with other right-wing demonstrators in September 2020 in Portland, Ore. Far-right groups celebrated the verdict in the Rittenhouse trial. John Locher/AP hide caption

toggle caption
John Locher/AP

National Security

For far-right groups, Rittenhouse's acquittal is a cause for celebration

One expert fears that the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse will embolden people to seek out altercations where it could be possible to make claims of self-defense.

For far-right groups, Rittenhouse's acquittal is a cause for celebration

Listen · 4:07
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1057478725/1057531605" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National Security

Rittenhouse verdict could be interpreted as a 'permission slip' by some extremists

The verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse is being lauded by many on the right as an example of justice served. But extremism researchers are concerned that it may be seen as a "permission slip."

Rittenhouse verdict could be interpreted as a 'permission slip' by some extremists

Listen · 4:07
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1057397822/1057397823" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Friday

Active-duty police in major U.S. cities appear on purported Oath Keepers rosters

A demonstrator wears a badge for the extremist group the Oath Keepers on a protective vest during a protest outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., the day before the Capitol siege. Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Investigations

Active-duty police in major U.S. cities appear on purported Oath Keepers rosters

Hacked records purported to be from the extremist group Oath Keepers include the names of active-duty law enforcement officers in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, NPR and WNYC/Gothamist found.

Active-duty police in major U.S. cities appear on purported Oath Keepers rosters

Listen · 7:46
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1052098059/1052651068" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Hate on trial in Virginia, four years after deadly extremist rally

White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the "alt-right" clash with counter-protesters as they enter Emancipation Park during the "Unite the Right" rally August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

National Security

Hate on trial in Virginia, four years after deadly extremist rally

A violent march in Charlottesville by far-right extremists in 2017 showed how well organized the far-right had become. A trial targeting those associated with the march is seen as a bellwether case.

Hate on trial in Virginia, four years after deadly extremist rally

Listen · 4:01
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1048371482/1048918750" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

After Arrests And Setbacks, Far-Right Proud Boys Press New Ambitions

Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, holds a U.S. flag during a July protest in Miami as part of a show of solidarity for Cubans who were demonstrating against their government in Cuba. Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images

National Security

After Arrests And Setbacks, Far-Right Proud Boys Press New Ambitions

One year ago Donald Trump infamously said of the far-right Proud Boys, "stand back and stand by." Some members are now in jail, but the once-fringe group hasn't gone away.

After Arrests And Setbacks, Far-Right Proud Boys Press New Ambitions

Listen · 3:55
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1041121327/1041408786" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

National

Website Tailored To Paramilitary Groups Experiences Explosive Growth

WBEZ

The website MyMilitia makes it easier than ever for people to find armed, far-right paramilitary groups to join. Efforts to take down the site have sputtered.

Website Tailored To Paramilitary Groups Experiences Explosive Growth

Listen · 5:01
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1002368737/1002368738" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Business

Coronavirus Pandemic Upends The Dry Cleaning Industry

WBEZ

The pandemic may be dealing a final blow to one industry: dry cleaning. The past year's work-in-sweats norm has accelerated the decline of this mom-and-pop, and mostly immigrant industry.

Coronavirus Pandemic Upends The Dry Cleaning Industry

Listen · 3:58
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/982953808/982953809" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Activists: Gang Database Disproportionately Targets Young Men Of Color

Luis Pedrote-Salinas, seen at a July news conference, is suing the Chicago Police Department for including him in a gang database, an inaccurate designation that he thinks cost him the chance for protection under the DACA program. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

National

Activists: Gang Database Disproportionately Targets Young Men Of Color

Latino and immigrant groups in Chicago say that the electronic gang database is inaccurate, that there is no way for people to remove their names and that it's leading to some deportations.

Activists: Gang Database Disproportionately Targets Young Men Of Color

Listen · 3:53
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/581103921/581269110" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

National

One Woman Shares How She Was Drawn Into A Gang At An Early Age

There's a lot of attention on boys and young men involved in gun violence because they do most of the shooting, and are most of the victims. But girls and young women are also drawn into gangs, sometimes as enablers or transporters of guns.

One Woman Shares How She Was Drawn Into A Gang At An Early Age

Listen · 6:58
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/552708125/552708126" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Friday

Religion

Evangelical College Suspends Professor For Showing Solidarity With Muslims

Wheaton College, an Evangelical school outside of Chicago, has been roiled by questions about Christianity's posture toward Islam and academic freedom at religious schools. An associate professor who vowed recently to wear a headscarf in solidarity with Muslims was suspended from her job this week. The college says it's not because of the headscarf, but because of theological questions raised by a Facebook post in which she cited Pope Francis's recent statement that Muslims and Christians worship the same God.

Evangelical College Suspends Professor For Showing Solidarity With Muslims

Listen · 3:23
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/460312256/460312257" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Business

A View Of The Ride-Share Debate From The Backseat Of Both Sides

WBEZ

Odette Yousef of WBEZ reports on the debate in Illinois, trying to determine the answer to one important question: What makes ride-share services different from taxis?

A View Of The Ride-Share Debate From The Backseat Of Both Sides

Listen · 4:27
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/323032776/323032780" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript