The 2025 Above the Fray Fellowship Application Is Live
Calling all up-and-coming international journalists! The 2025 Above the Fray application is now live. Apply by April 18.
Valerie’s Piece #5: Central Asia’s Ticking Time Bomb
A giant body of water has nearly disappeared over the last 60 years. Along with photographer Claire Harbage, a genius NPR visuals team and additional field production on-site, Valerie takes us on an immersive journey back to the past to understand the present — and look toward the future.
Valerie’s Piece #4: Taliban Canal Threatens Beleaguered Water Supply
The Amu Darya river is a lifeline for the farmers in Uzbekistan — but construction on the Qosh Tepa Canal, the Taliban's landmark construction project, which will soon begin to siphon water from this critical resource.
Valerie’s Piece #3: A Precarious Industry
Valerie reports for All Things Considered from the fishing village of Tastubek, where “the river levels are so low that small islands of sand appear in the middle.”
Valerie’s Piece #2: Graveyard of Ships
Valerie reports from the once-busy port town of Moynaq, at one point home to more than 40,000 people, now known as “the graveyard of ships.”
Valerie’s Piece #1: When Water Turns to Sand
Valerie’s first story aired as part of The Sunday Story series on Up First. She takes us to Central Asia to investigate why the Aral Sea has all but disappeared.
Valerie Kipnis is our 2023-2024 Above the Fray Fellow
Selected from a competitive pool of applicants, our 2023-2034 Above the Fray fellow is Valerie Kipnis. She will travel to the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan — located in northwestern Uzbekistan — to report on the human impacts of a human-caused ecological crisis: the disappearance of the Aral Sea.
Leah’s Piece #4: Code Switch Episode
The “American Dream” has been a powerful narrative for many immigrant communities — but many African Americans have known that the American Dream was never meant to include them. So what happens when those beliefs collide?
Leah’s Piece #3: Black Immigrants & Invisibility
Black immigrants all over the country have been referred to as “invisible immigrants.”
Leah’s Piece #2: Black Immigrants & Driver’s Licenses
The ability to drive and access to a car can determine a whole host of lifestyle factors — and those hurdles can be exacerbated in some immigrant and refugee communities.
Leah’s Piece #1: Black Immigrants & Identity
How do Black immigrants living in the American South think about their racial identities? Leah kicks off her series speaking with Black immigrants in Tennessee.
The 2023 Above the Fray Fellowship Application Is Live
Calling all up-and-coming international journalists! The 2023-2024 Above the Fray application is now live — and international travel is back. Apply by July 1.
Leah’s Reporter’s Notebook #3: Tennessee Tornadoes
Like so many well intentioned journalists before me, I am a lover of lists. Nothing helps me feel more in control than staring down at a fresh, thoughtful, thorough to-do list.
Leah’s Reporter’s Notebook #2: Africa, Planet Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
“Where did you live before moving to the U.S.?”
“Africa.”
The first time this exchange occurred, it struck me as odd but unremarkable.
Leah’s Reporter’s Notebook #1: Do as the Romans Do
I never went to journalism school, but I often imagine that on the first day of it, students are given some sort of handbook full of Official Journalism Rules.
Leah Donnella is our 2022 Above the Fray Fellow
Selected from a competitive pool of applicants, our 2022 Above the Fray fellow is Leah Donnella. She will travel to the American South to explore how American "Blackness" is being redefined by growing Black immigrant populations.
Application Deadline Extended to February 15
Omicron is throwing a wrench in our plans (and yours), so we're pushing the Above the Fray application deadline back. Everyone gets another month to polish up those applications. New deadline: February 15, 2022.
Kat’s Piece #12: A Karaoke Bar
Minza Lee opened Cosmos Karaoke to bring the city back to life. This glittery, hopeful piece is a love letter to the little things.
Kat’s Piece #11: Grandparents as Data Collectors
Almost a decade since the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, many residents have taken it upon themselves to collect radiation data to help regain a sense of control. Today, they see echoes in the pandemic.
Kat’s Piece #10: The Future of Power
Japan's reliance on fossil fuels has grown since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. But one area stands in contrast: Fukushima itself. It aims to be fueled entirely by renewable energy by 2040.