Phil Harrell Phil Harrell is a producer with Morning Edition.
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Phil Harrell

Phil Harrell

Producer, Morning Edition

Phil Harrell is a producer with Morning Edition, NPR's award-winning newsmagazine. He has been at NPR since 1999.

At NPR, Harrell has worked on a variety of shows and produced a little bit of everything—from politics to pop music. Most memorably, he worked through the nights after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and after the death of President Ronald Reagan, producing mini-documentaries about each story for Weekend Edition.

Harrell got his start in radio as a rock 'n' roll DJ/program director at progressive WRNR in Annapolis, MD. He later co-created the Bob Edwards Show for XM and Bob Edwards Weekend for PRI.

Harrell has won numerous awards for his excellence in production. In 2006 and 2011, he led the teams that claimed the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award. In addition, he won the Gabriel Award in both 2012 and 2014 with hosts Guy Raz and Arun Rath.

A native of Maryland, Harrell is a graduate of the University of Maryland-College Park.

Highlights from Phil Harrell:
"It Crackles With Life": Beauty Pill Return
Sam Cooke And The Song That 'Almost Scared Him'
How Crossword Puzzles Unlocked An Artist's Memory
How Safe Is Our Meat?

Lowlights from Phil Harrell:
He almost killed Clint Eastwood by losing his balance and collapsing into him.
He almost capsized a kayak paddled by NPR's Brian Naylor.
He almost lost a recording that represented an entire day's worth of reporting in South Dakota.

Story Archive

Friday

John Candy in JOHN CANDY: I LIKE ME
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Prime Video/JCAN_OV_PROD_4444XQ_UHD_SDR_178_

'John Candy: I Like Me' celebrates the comedic actor's life and legacy

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Wednesday

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in a revival of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" Andy Henderson/DKC O&M hide caption

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Andy Henderson/DKC O&M

'Bill & Ted' actors Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reunite for 'Waiting for Godot'

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Friday

After turns on Broadway and the big screen, Reneé Rapp now has an eye on the pop charts with her new album, Bite Me. Zora Sicher/Interscope Records hide caption

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Zora Sicher/Interscope Records

'Mean Girl' Reneé Rapp isn’t getting much nicer on 'Bite Me'

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Wednesday

Eva Victor (left) and John Carroll Lynch in a still from Sorry, Baby. A24 hide caption

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Eva Victor discusses her new film, 'Sorry, Baby'

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Thursday

Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in 'Eddington' Ari Aster and Darius Khondji/A24 hide caption

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Ari Aster and Darius Khondji/A24

Ari Aster’s ‘Eddington’ takes the tension of the pandemic to a violent end

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Wednesday

Wet Leg singer Rhian Teasdale discusses the band's second album, 'moisturizer'

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Thursday

David Corenswet as Superman in Superman, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Warner Bros. hide caption

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Warner Bros.

‘We all want to be Superman; Superman wants to be us,’ says James Gunn

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Friday

Mountainhead actors (l-r) Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carell and Jason Schwartzman Macall Polay/Warner Bros. Discovery hide caption

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Macall Polay/Warner Bros. Discovery

'Succession' creator’s new moguls are tech gods gazing down from 'Mountainhead'

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Thursday

Adam Duritz, lead singer and songwriter for Counting Crows, spoke with Morning Edition about the band's new album, Butter Miracle, the Complete Sweets! Mark Seliger/BMG hide caption

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Mark Seliger/BMG

‘Being dismissed for being different’: Adam Duritz on new music with Counting Crows

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Friday

Singer-songwriters Brandi Carlile and Elton John Peggy Sirota/Universal Music Group hide caption

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Peggy Sirota/Universal Music Group

Elton John and Brandi Carlile almost abandoned their new album

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Monday

Jeanie Buss attends Netflix's "Running Point" LA Premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on February 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix hide caption

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Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix

Netflix's comedy 'Running Point' based on LA Lakers President Jeanie Buss

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Friday

Drummer Herlin Riley, one of 20 inaugural recipients of the Jazz Legacies Fellowship Skip Bolen/WireImage/Getty Images hide caption

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Skip Bolen/WireImage/Getty Images

A new fellowship gives 20 older jazz musicians $100,000 each — no strings attached

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Friday

The War and Treaty: Tanya Trotter and Michael Trotter Jr. Sophia Matinazad/Universal Music Group Nashville hide caption

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Sophia Matinazad/Universal Music Group Nashville

Thursday

The cover art for Ela Minus' new album, DÍA. Alvaro Arisó/Pitch Perfect PR hide caption

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Alvaro Arisó/Pitch Perfect PR

Colombian musician Ela Minus makes beats for ‘dancing and crying’

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Monday

Victor Willis of Village People performs on stage at PNE Amphitheatre on September 2, 2018 in Vancouver, Canada. Andrew Chin/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Chin/Getty Images

Village People founding member discusses Trump and his link to their song 'Y.M.C.A.'

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Friday

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger's CONCLAVE, a Focus Features release. Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All Rights Reserved. hide caption

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Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.

'Conclave,' starring Ralph Fiennes, dramatizes the search for a new pope

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Friday

Joey Berkley Sarah Matthews/Big Apple Jazz hide caption

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Sarah Matthews/Big Apple Jazz

JOEY BERKLEY A Suite Life

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Wednesday

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TUESDAY Julia Louis-Dreyfus

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Thursday

Some of the items offered in Fadi Kattan's new cookbook Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food Ashley Lima/Hardie Grant hide caption

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Ashley Lima/Hardie Grant

Chef Fadi Kattan's new cookbook is 'Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food'

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Friday

Billie Eilish's third album, created as always alongside her brother and collaborator Finneas, is titled Hit Me Hard and Soft. William Drumm/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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William Drumm/Courtesy of the artist

Billie Eilish finally remembers who she is

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Tuesday

Serj Tankian, singer for System of a Down Travis Shinn/Hachette Books hide caption

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Travis Shinn/Hachette Books

System of a Down's Serj Tankian on his memoir, why a new album hasn't come since 2005

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Monday

Lou Reed issued one of the most puzzling albums in rock history in 1975

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Friday

Sheryl Crow, 2024 Dove Shore/Big Machine/Full Coverage hide caption

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Dove Shore/Big Machine/Full Coverage

Sheryl Crow changed her mind about releasing a new album. The change did her good

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