Daniel Zwerdling

After Deadly Chemical Plant Disasters, There's Little Action

Daniel Zwerdling — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:11:00 +0000

You might think that everything would have changed for the chemicals industry on April 16, 1947. That was the day of the Texas City Disaster, the worst industrial accident in U.S. history. A ship loaded with ammonium nitrate — the same chemical that appears to have caused the disaster last month in West, Texas — exploded. The ship sparked a chain reaction of blasts at chemical facilities onshore, creating what a newsreel at the time called "a holocaust that baffles description."

Or you might think everything would have changed on Dec. 3, 1984.

From Family To Digital Footprints: A Portrait Of Tsarnaevs

Daniel Zwerdling — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 22:50:00 +0000

NPR's Daniel Zwerdling reports on what's known about the two brothers suspected in the Boston Marathon bombing, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

New Mortgage Program Helps Cambodia's Poor Find Better Homes

Daniel Zwerdling — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:55:00 +0000

If you've applied for a mortgage recently, you know how hard it can be. The bank demands all kinds of obscure documents and wants proof of almost every asset you own. But an innovative mortgage program halfway around the world will evaluate your application without any extra documentation — and if you're approved, it will give you a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. There's just one catch: The mortgages are only for low-income people in Cambodia.

For A Florida Fishery, 'Sustainable' Success After Complex Process

Daniel Zwerdling — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:35:00 +0000

Part three of a three-part series by Daniel Zwerdling and Margot Williams.

The long, clunky-looking fishing boat pulls up to Day Boat Seafood's dock near Fort Pierce, Fla., after 10 days out in the Atlantic.

Conditions Allow For More Sustainable-Labeled Seafood

Daniel Zwerdling — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:42:00 +0000

Part two of a three-part series by Daniel Zwerdling and Margot Williams.

Next time you walk up to the seafood counter, look for products labeled with a blue fish, a check mark, and the words "Certified Sustainable Seafood MSC." Then ask yourself, "What does this label mean?"

The MSC — Marine Stewardship Council — says that the "sustainable" label means that fishermen caught the seafood with methods that don't deplete its supply, and help protect the environment in the waters where it was c

Is Sustainable-Labeled Seafood Really Sustainable?

Daniel Zwerdling — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:38:00 +0000

Part one of a three-part series by Daniel Zwerdling and Margot Williams.

Rebecca Weel pushes a baby stroller with her 18-month-old up to the seafood case at Whole Foods, near ground zero in New York.

Once Denied A Purple Heart, A Soldier Gets Her Medal

Daniel Zwerdling — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 07:57:00 +0000

In 2010, NPR reported that some Army commanders refused to award the Purple Heart to many troops who got concussions in combat because they didn't consider these "real" injuries. As a result of our story, the Army did its own investigation and put out new guidelines on Purple Hearts.

Before Reaching War Zones, Troops Risk Concussions

Daniel Zwerdling — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:12:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb4Kr_9I920

Program Teaches Vets How To Survive The Classroom

Daniel Zwerdling — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 21:27:00 +0000
Most American troops have left Iraq, and many have left Afghanistan. Now more than half a million of them have left the service — and they're going to college. Some vets say the transition is like landing on another planet, but they aren't the only ones struggling: The college staffs are, too.
At Sierra Community College, about an hour from Sacramento in Rocklin, Calif., there are hundreds of new kinds of students mixed in with the 18-year-olds fresh out of high school. Like James Reimers, who just turned 25.

For One Soldier, Rap Is A Powerful Postwar Weapon

Daniel Zwerdling — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:38:00 +0000
When Jeff Barillaro came home from fighting the war in Iraq, he felt lost, like thousands of veterans do. He didn't have a mission anymore.
But now, through music, he's found one: Under the stage name Soldier Hard, Barillaro raps — about how war has changed troops and their families. Other vets and their family members are now turning to his music, because they say he's speaking to them.
On a recent morning, the National Guard Armory in Evansville, Ind., looks and sounds like any military base in the country.
A batch of new recruits goes through its weekend drills.