Christina Cala
Christina Cala is a producer for Code Switch. Before that, she was at the TED Radio Hour where she piloted two new episode formats — the curator chat and the long interview. She's also reported on a movement to preserve African American cultural sites in Birmingham and followed youth climate activists in New York City.
Before that, she spent five years producing, reporting and editing for NPR's evening news program, All Things Considered. While at All Things Considered, she reported from the Colombia-Venezuela border on the migration crisis, covered immigration from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, told the story of one man moving through the immigration system, field-produced from the Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki and reported her first piece from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Her reporting on the border was part of a 2019 Edward R. Murrow award-winning package.
In her role with All Things Considered, Cala served as the show's update producer and director, participating in special breaking news coverage. She also led music coverage for the show, reporting and producing from SXSW, editing music reviews and training the next generation of music critics.
In 2018, she co-founded the MGIPOC (Marginalized Gender and Intersex People of Color) Mentorship Program at NPR. The program includes one-on-one mentorship, scholarships for conferences, monthly brown-bags and an annual speaker symposium. She and her co-founders have presented on the program at ONA, Third Coast, Werk It and more. She and her co-founders received the NPR Diversity Success employee award for their work in 2018.
Before coming to NPR, she reported internationally from Lima on the Carnegie Foundation Global Reporting Fellowship, Munich on the Eric Lund Global Reporting and Research grant, and at the Times/Sunday Times Newspaper in Cape Town.
She graduated from Northwestern University with her Bachelor's of Science and Master's of Science in Journalism.
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Several members of NPR's staff recommend fiction from this year's Books We Love list: "The Mighty Red," "Catalina," "Help Wanted," "Piglet" and "Mina's Matchbox."
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Science fiction author Charlie Jane Anders explains how the genre is a portal for us to imagine different ways of being human. She invites listeners into one new world with an excerpt from her work.
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More than ever, we need to make time for joy. This hour, Manoush and TED's Head Curator Helen Walters explore talks that surprise, inspire, and delight. -
Ari Shapiro names The New Pornographers as a musical act he's thankful for in 2019. That gratitude is passed forward to nêhiyawak, then Leikeli47 and finally to Chick Corea. -
On songs like "Cellophane," the British artist steps out of her self-imposed cage and tests the limits of her tremendous soprano. -
Sesame Street team members Dr. Rosemarie Truglio and Bill Sherman discuss writing songs for the iconic show over the years. -
To make his latest album, Omoiyari, the Japanese-American artist decided to turn to the past. He visited Japanese internment camps and made music inspired by the stories he found there. -
The South Central Los Angeles rapper grew up trying to navigate between gangsta rap and his family's Pentecostal beliefs. -
Kelsey Lu knew she wanted to play music from a young age. So, at 18, she left home to deepen that study. On her debut album, Blood, Lu explores what that decision meant. -
Kanye West has been hosting exclusive worship gatherings he calls "Sunday Service." Jia Tolentino, staff writer for The New Yorker, breaks down the rapper's religious evolution.
