Jonaki Mehta
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. [Copyright 2025 NPR]
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As the situation in Gaza becomes more and more dire, with reports of people dying from starvation, NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Israel's Permanent Representative to the U.N. Danny Danon. -
ICE raids have led to fear and anxiety for immigrants in Los Angeles. That fear extends even to those who are in the U.S. legally, keeping many away from public life. -
Schools in Maine have been at the center of a political battle with the Trump administration. Now, many fear after-school programs, critical for low-income communities, could be lost. -
International students make up more than a quarter of Harvard University's student body. Harvard says the government's actions, which could cut off a major revenue stream, are "unlawful." -
From hundreds of entries, our judges chose one student's intimate telling of the value of lifelong friendships and being single as the grand-prize winner of the NPR College Podcast Challenge. -
Schools in Maine are in the middle of a political and legal battle between the Trump administration and Gov. Janet Mills. Key programs for the most vulnerable students are at stake. -
The Education Department says millions of borrowers in default will have a chance to make a payment or sign up for a repayment plan. But on May 5, those who don't will be referred for collection. -
A presidential effort to revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status could run up against a number of challenges, including violating federal law. -
The Trump administration has told states they have until April 24 to promise to end DEI programs in K-12 schools, or risk losing federal dollars. -
The government announced it is freezing more than $2.2 billion, hours after the university refused to make changes it said would "dictate what private universities can teach."
