Elise Hu Elise Hu is a host-at-large based at NPR West in Culver City, Calif.
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Elise Hu

Mandee Johnson
Headshot of Elise Hu
Mandee Johnson

Elise Hu

Host-At-Large

Elise Hu is a host-at-large based at NPR West in Culver City, Calif. Previously, she explored the future with her video series, Future You with Elise Hu, and served as the founding bureau chief and International Correspondent for NPR's Seoul office. She was based in Seoul for nearly four years, responsible for the network's coverage of both Koreas and Japan, and filed from a dozen countries across Asia.

Before joining NPR, she was one of the founding reporters at The Texas Tribune, a non-profit digital news startup devoted to politics and public policy. While at the Tribune, Hu oversaw television partnerships and multimedia projects, contributed to The New York Times' expanded Texas coverage, and pushed for editorial innovation across platforms.

An honors graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia's School of Journalism, she previously worked as the state political reporter for KVUE-TV in Austin, WYFF-TV in Greenville, SC, and reported from Asia for the Taipei Times.

Her work at NPR has earned a DuPont-Columbia award and a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media for her video series, Elise Tries. Her previous work has earned a Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism, a National Edward R. Murrow award for best online video, and beat reporting awards from the Texas Associated Press. The Austin Chronicle once dubiously named her the "Best TV Reporter Who Can Write."

Outside of work, Hu has taught digital journalism at Northwestern University and Georgetown University's journalism schools and served as a guest co-host for TWIT.tv's program, Tech News Today. She's on the board of Grist Magazine and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Story Archive

Tuesday

Spanish singer Rosalia performs during her Motomami World Tour in Bogota. Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images hide caption

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Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images

Presenting Alt.Latino: Rosalía on what makes a 'Motomami'

Today we have a special drop from our friends at NPR's Alt.Latino! The show just welcomed Anamaria Sayre as a new co-host alongside Felix Contreras. In this conversation, Anamaria chats with Spanish musician Rosalía about her recent album Motomami, how she uses the album to play in different genres, and why she embraces change.

Presenting Alt.Latino: Rosalía on what makes a 'Motomami'

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Friday

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Tuesday

Author Julissa Arce makes the case for rejecting assimilation in her latest book, You Sound Like a White Girl. Aly Honore hide caption

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Aly Honore

For author Julissa Arce, 'sounding white' isn't a compliment

Julissa Arce used to think that the secret to fitting in was to "sound white" — to speak English perfectly, with no accent. And for years after her family came to the U.S. from Mexico, she did all the things immigrants are "supposed" to do to assimilate: she went to college, got a job at Goldman Sachs and became an American citizen.

For author Julissa Arce, 'sounding white' isn't a compliment

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Monday

Tilda Rose for NPR

How to change your kid's behavior, according to the host of a hit parenting podcast

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Friday

Judy Greer playing Bree Marie Jensen in the new Hulu sitcom 'Reboot.' Michael Desmond/Hulu hide caption

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Michael Desmond/Hulu

Tuesday

HBO set out to do what networks wouldn't (and couldn't) do. In the process, the company changed TV as we know it. Thiago Prudencio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

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Thiago Prudencio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

How HBO transformed television

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Friday

Britain's King Charles III outside Buckingham Palace in London. Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images

Thursday

Malte Mueller/Getty Images/fStop

3 common thinking traps and how to avoid them, according to a Yale psychologist

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Tuesday

Girls' Generation performs onstage during the Tencent K-pop Live Music at WAPOP Hall in Seoul, South Korea on August 31, 2015. The Chosunilbo JNS/Multi-Bits/Getty Images hide caption

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The Chosunilbo JNS/Multi-Bits/Getty Images

Friday

Serena Williams at the 2022 US Open on September 02, 2022 in New York City. Al Bello/Getty Images hide caption

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Al Bello/Getty Images

Friday

Close-up of Dungeons and Dragons game dice on table. Jared Hammonds/EyeEm/Getty Images hide caption

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Jared Hammonds/EyeEm/Getty Images

Tuesday

Celebrities in the front row of London Fashion Week. Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images hide caption

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Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

From cupcakes to private jets, how the quest for status drives culture

What is culture, where does it come from and why does it change? W. David Marx, author of the new book Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change, says the answers come from our desire for prestige. Marx tells guest host Elise Hu how status has historically worked to drive trends like gourmet cupcakes or dark wash jeans, how the internet can lead to cultural stagnation, and ways we can redefine status to build a more equitable society.

From cupcakes to private jets, how the quest for status drives culture

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Friday

The BeReal app is blowing up - but does it give users what they want from social media? Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

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Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Tuesday

Conrad Ricamora and Joel Kim Booster in the film Fire Island. Jeong Park/Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Jeong Park/Searchlight Pictures

Joel Kim Booster on making a queer, Asian American 'Pride and Prejudice'

The first time Joel Kim Booster vacationed on New York's Fire Island with his friend, comedian Bowen Yang, he brought with him Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a beach read. Over the years, he'd often joke with friends about making a gay version of the novel. Today Booster is the writer and star of Hulu's Fire Island, a queer, Asian romcom based on Austen's classic, set in the titular gay vacation spot. Booster talks with guest host Elise Hu about how the film honors his queer friendships, subverts hetero romcom norms, and tells a personal story that feels universal.

Joel Kim Booster on making a queer, Asian American 'Pride and Prejudice'

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Friday

A sign asking for a change hangs on a fence near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Friday, June 3, 2022. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption

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Jae C. Hong/AP
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Friday

A couple with a dog admire the view over Ullswater in the Bank Holiday summer sunshine near Glenridding in the Lake District in north west England on August 31, 2020. Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

Presenting 'Life Kit': Making the most of travel and your time off

In this episode from our friends at Life Kit, guest host Elise Hu teaches us how to make the most of our time off. Joined by travel writer Torre deRoche and artist Jenny Odell, they go beyond travel tips and investigate why we travel and share what travel means to them.

Presenting 'Life Kit': Making the most of travel and your time off

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Wednesday

NPR

How the burrito became a sandwich (Classic)

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Friday

Abortion-rights protesters wave flags during a demonstration outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, Sunday, May 8, 2022, in Washington. Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP hide caption

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Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP

Friday

Pro-choice and anti-abortion activist rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on May 02, 2022 in Washington, DC. In an initial draft opinion obtained by Politico, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey should be overturned, which would end federal protection of abortion rights. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Saturday

Thursday

Kristen Uroda for NPR

How to tell a captivating story — from a wedding toast to a job interview

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Monday

A dopamine hit brings about pleasure and is then quickly followed by pain, or a come-down, in order to keep us motivated, says psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke. Meredith Miotke for NPR hide caption

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Meredith Miotke for NPR

Tuesday

Lee Minho as Hansu and Minha Kim as Sunja in "Pachinko" (Apple TV+) Apple TV Plus hide caption

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Apple TV Plus

Bringing 'Pachinko' from page to the screen

Elise Hu chats with Soo Hugh, writer and showrunner of the much anticipated series Pachinko, based on the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee. It's the epic story of a family through four generations across the 20th century, all about their lives as Zainichi Koreans in Japan. In this chat, Hugh talks about what it was like to bring the beloved book to screen, what she's is doing to support Asian American creators coming up behind her, and why this story resonates with people of all backgrounds.

Bringing 'Pachinko' from page to the screen

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