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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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. -
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. -
Nigerian-born, Brooklyn-based rapper Thutmose named himself after an ancient Egyptian pharaoh — a nod to the kingly responsibility he feels for his family and his music. -
Belgian-Egyptian singer Tamino comes from a long line of musicians and is creating an impressive career of his own by melding together his vocal style with Arab musical theory. -
An All Things Considered team recently traveled along a common Colombian route taken by Venezuelans fleeing crisis in their country and discovered dramatic stories of an expanding exodus. -
Latin artists at SXSW 2019 Festival have traveled from Brazil and Venezuela where speaking out against government officials can be dangerous. -
Monáe's Dirty Computer can be found on just about every list of the best albums of 2018 — and it topped NPR's. The songwriter, actress and self-styled media exec says it could only have happened now. -
Construction on the first new stretch of border wall under the Trump administration is slated to begin this winter. In South Texas, the wall will cut right through a butterfly sanctuary.
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The Eagles' 1976 compilation album, Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, has surpassed Michael Jackson's Thriller for the title of best-selling album of all time. -
How you feel about immigration can put you at odds with your friends, family or neighbors. In McAllen, Texas, two families with different points of view don't let politics come between them.
