Jennifer Ludden
Jennifer Ludden is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk where she covers housing, homelessness, poverty and inequality.
She tells stories of people struggling with the country's massive shortage of affordable housing, and explores policies and programs that try to help. She tracks changing laws around homelessness, and how communities are managing the record number of people without housing. Ludden has reported on millionaires lobbying working-class voters about the dangers of the economic divide; on tackling poverty with cash aid; and the struggle to get AC in public housing. She also helps cover major news stories, including natural disasters that have upended people's lives.
Previously, Ludden edited stories on climate and energy, working with NPR staffers and public radio reporters across the country. They tracked the shift to clean energy, and how people and communities are coping in a warming world. Before that, as an NPR correspondent, Ludden's various beats included changing family life and social trends, immigration, and U.S. national security after the 9/11 attacks.
Before moving to Washington D.C., Ludden reported for NPR while based in Canada, West Africa, Europe and the Middle East. She shared in two awards (Overseas Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists) for NPR's coverage of the Kosovo war in 1999, and won the Robert F. Kennedy Award for her coverage of the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Beyond conflicts, she reported on cultural trends, including the emergence of Persian pop music in Iran and the rise of a new form of urban polygamy in Africa.
Ludden's first public radio jobs were at member stations in Maine and Boston. She has midwestern roots, grew up in Tennessee, and graduated from Syracuse University. [Copyright 2025 NPR]
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Two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funding to provide SNAP benefits. But it's unclear how much, or when, those funds would be provided before the funding runs dry. -
SNAP, the country's largest anti-hunger program, dates back to the Great Depression and has never been disrupted this way. Most recipients are seniors, families with kids, and those with disabilities. -
With no end in sight to the funding standoff, financial anxiety is growing. One single mom in Colorado raided her retirement savings to get through the shutdown. -
Chronic homelessness is at a record high, but there's a shortage of housing, rehab and mental health treatment. One ambitious program in Utah is finding a way to offer all that plus jobs. -
Nearly seven million pregnant women and young children depend on WIC for healthy foods. Advocates say funding could run out in about two weeks, leaving states to close the gap if their budgets allow. -
In one of the country's priciest housing markets, Utah's leaders worry young people are shut out from building wealth. But despite new incentives, few developers are signing on to build smaller homes. -
The White House directive calls for prioritizing money for programs that require sobriety and treatment, and for cities that enforce homeless camping bans. -
Utah's leaders worry skyrocketing home prices are keeping young people from creating wealth. It's among a growing number of states — red and blue — passing laws to promote more affordable places. -
The Trump administration wants to allow a cutoff date for housing subsidies. The plan is deeply controversial, but Delaware offers a potential model for success. -
A housing agency rule would also allow work requirements. Supporters say a time limit would help spread limited funds to more people, but critics warn it would leave some homeless.
