Jonaki Mehta
Reporter, Education Desk
Jonaki Mehta is a reporter covering education for NPR. She is interested in how people learn and the barriers that stand in the way of getting a quality education. She loves hearing young people think out loud, form their opinions and explore their identities.
Mehta has covered discrimination against students with disabilities, the ongoing crisis of chronic absenteeism in American schools and how a group of elementary-schoolers banded together to get an inclusive playground for their campus.
Before coming to NPR’s Education Desk, Mehta was a producer for All Things Considered. She traveled to Uvalde, TX, following one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. There, she talked to teachers, students and families trying to heal from the tragedy. She has produced stories in Taiwan exploring issues of identity as the island faced a consequential election, and in Ukraine, as its people prepared for the threat of war with Russia. She has covered breaking news stories around the country about reproductive rights, hurricanes, deadly wildfires and mass protests. Based in Los Angeles, she covered music, culture and nature around the state of California and regularly produced segments about India and Southeast Asia, her first home.
Jonaki went to UCLA where she hosted a news and culture radio talk-show. She has worked for Marketplace, LAist and for a number of outlets as a freelance producer and reporter. She was once a kindergarten teacher in Oakland, CA, which instilled in her the utmost respect for educators.
