Joel Rose Joel Rose is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk.
Joel Rose
Stories By

Joel Rose

Nickolai Hammar/NPR
Joel Rose
Nickolai Hammar/NPR

Joel Rose

Correspondent, National Desk

Joel Rose is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk. He primarily covers transportation, as well as breaking news.

On this beat, Rose covers anything that moves — planes, trains, cars, trucks, bicycles, and more — and the people who make them go. His reporting focuses on traffic and pedestrian safety, the transition to electric vehicles, and an air travel system under stress.

Since joining NPR in 2011, Rose has covered immigration for the network and worked as a general assignment reporter in New York City. He was part of a team of NPR journalists who were finalists for the duPont-Columbia Award for reporting on the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy, and traveled to Honduras to report on how climate change is reshaping migration.

Rose has interviewed grieving parents after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, asylum-seekers fleeing from violence and poverty in Central and South America, and a long list of musicians including Tom Waits, Solomon Burke, India.Arie, Sixto Rodriguez and Arcade Fire.

Breaking news coverage has taken him across the country: from the mass shooting at Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina, to major hurricanes in Florida, Louisiana, New York and North Carolina, and major protests after the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner.

He's also collaborated with NPR's Planet Money and Up First podcasts, and contributed to NPR's Peabody Award-winning coverage of the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

Story Archive

Wednesday

For decades, pilots have been reluctant to seek mental health care for fear of losing their licenses. At a safety forum Wednesday in Washington, pilots and safety experts urged federal regulators to reform rules that discourage pilots from getting treatment. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images hide caption

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Pilots say they're afraid to seek mental health care. The FAA says it's listening

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Cars and trucks move slowly during evening rush hour on the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2014. Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images

Slow down! As deaths and injuries mount, new calls for technology to reduce speeding

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Wednesday

A vehicle exploded at the border checkpoint at the Rainbow Bridge

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Monday

United Air Lines planes line up along the busy Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, on the eve of Thanksgiving on November 23, 2022. Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

A strained U.S. aviation system braces for a record-setting week of holiday travel

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Wednesday

In a show of support with Israel, thousands rally on the National Mall

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A Metro train car travels along the Red Line in Washington, D.C. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, riders have slowly returned to taking mass transit. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Public transit systems try to avoid a 'death spiral' as remote work hurts ridership

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Tuesday

Thousands took to the streets in Washington during pro-Israel march

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GMC pickup trucks on a lot at a General Motors dealership in Austin, Texas. The average U.S. passenger vehicle has gotten about 8 inches taller in the last 30 years, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption

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Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Thursday

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy (left) testifies at a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on aviation safety, with Air Line Pilots Association President Capt. Jason Ambrosi (center) and National Air Traffic Controller Association President Rich Santa (right). Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A shortage of air traffic controllers is hurting safety, aviation experts warn Senate

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Wednesday

Roman (left) is a Ukrainian refugee who works at ComDel Innovation in Wahpeton, N.D. CEO Jim Albrecht (right) says the company has been working with a program called Uniting For Ukraine that provides a legal pathway for Ukrainians to come to the U.S. and work for up to two years. Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR hide caption

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Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR

Immigrants are coming to North Dakota for jobs. Not everyone is glad to see them

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Tuesday

An off-duty pilot allegedly attempted to disable an aircraft's engine midflight

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An Alaska Airlines plane, like this one operated by Horizon Air, had to divert to Portland, Ore. on Sunday after an off-duty pilot tried to turn off the engines in flight. Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption

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Ted S. Warren/AP

'I'm not okay,' off-duty Alaska pilot allegedly said before trying to cut the engines

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Monday

An Alaska Airlines Embraer 175 jet, similar to this one, was forced to make an unexpected landing Sunday night after an off-duty pilot who was riding in the cockpit allegedly attempted to disable the aircraft's engines. Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption

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Ted S. Warren/AP

Wednesday

A United Airlines Boeing 737 airplane passes a Southwest Airlines jet while taking off from Los Angeles International Airport on September 11, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Tuesday

With the aviation system under stress, the FAA may finally get a new leader

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Friday

Biden said he'd stop building the border wall, but is now going ahead on one piece

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Thursday

Saturday

A family of five who said they were from Guatemala and a man in a pink shirt from Peru walk through the desert after crossing in the Tucson Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border last month. Matt York/AP hide caption

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Matt York/AP

Despite efforts of 3 U.S. administrations, migrant families keep crossing the border

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Wednesday

Marilyn Miranda, 12, of Washington raises her hand up during a protest for an extension of the Temporary Protected Status in September 2022 in Washington, D.C. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption

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Jacquelyn Martin/AP

U.S. will expand Temporary Protected Status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans

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Thursday

Ukrainian refugees enter the El Chaparral border crossing between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego in April 2022. The foreign-born share of the U.S. population, which had been roughly flat since 2017, rose to nearly 14% last year. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

The immigrant population in the U.S. is climbing again, setting a record last year

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Wednesday

A barrier to deter migrants from crossing from Mexico into the U.S. floats in the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas. Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images

The floating border barrier in the Rio Grande must be removed, a federal judge rules

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Wednesday

Border strategy that gives more migrants a legal pathway to the U.S. to go on trial

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Valerie Laveus greets her nephew Tristan-Ryan Malherbe Daniel, as he and his dad, Reginald Malherbe Daniel, rear, arrive in the U.S. for the first time at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Jim Rassol/AP hide caption

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Jim Rassol/AP

A key part of the White House's strategy for the U.S.-Mexico border goes on trial

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Monday

A border strategy that gives more migrants a legal pathway to the U.S. to go on trial

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