Catherine Osborn

The World

Catherine Osborn is a print and radio journalist based in Rio de Janeiro.

Catherine Osborn is a print and radio journalist based in Rio de Janeiro. She has reported and produced for The World and National Public Radio, and her writing has appeared on the sites Next City and Culinary Backstreets. 

Catherine is a native of Austin, Texas, where she was raised without a television and spent lots of time listening to NPR member station KUT, eventually interning in their newsroom. She has a degree in Latin American Studies from Yale. 

Carnival

Rio’s Carnival floats put drama and comedy in motion

To make the parades come alive, over 3,000 artists and builders work year-round on Carnival.

Rio’s Carnival floats put drama and comedy in motion
A nurse hands out a red ribbon to a woman, to mark World AIDS Day, at the entrance of Emilio Ribas Hospital, in Sao Paulo December 1, 2014.

Brazil reduces sex education amid spike in sexually transmitted infections

Brazil reduces sex education amid spike in sexually transmitted infections
Argentina's presidential candidate Alberto Fernández and his running mate former President Cristina Kirchner embrace each other during a closing campaign rally in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Oct. 24, 2019.

Economic crisis unites Argentina's fractured Peronist movement

Economic crisis unites Argentina's fractured Peronist movement
Bolsonaro smiles and puts his hand out

Brazil’s Bolsonaro heads to White House amid scandals at home

Brazil’s Bolsonaro heads to White House amid scandals at home
a closeup of someone holding a handgun

Security reformers in Bolsonaro’s Brazil look to America’s pro-gun campaigners

Security reformers in Bolsonaro’s Brazil look to America’s pro-gun campaigners
a closeup of farofa

The Brazilian Christmas dinner is incomplete without this dish

The Christmas dinner menu in Brazil is just as shaped by history and politics as everything else.

The Brazilian Christmas dinner is incomplete without this dish
two cars flash their lights on a sign held by anti-Bolsonaro protesters

Social divisions linger after Brazil's elections

In addition to sparking public violence, political divisions have cut deeply into the private lives of Brazilian families. One week after Brazil voted in the far-right Jair Bolsonaro as their next president, reporter Catherine Osborn met up with a 35-year-old banker from Rio de Janeiro named Raquel to speak about how the election had affected her relationships.

Social divisions linger after Brazil's elections
A woman holds up a green sign with white letters that says "Women for Bolsonaro"

Angry at status quo, Brazil’s voters open a door for the far right

Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro's hardline positions speak to working-class voters who say they feel the left has abandoned them.

Angry at status quo, Brazil’s voters open a door for the far right
Brazil's President Michel Temer with "FAKE" spelled out behind his head

Brazil fights online misinformation during election season

This election, the work of fact-checking organizations is being amplified by a new partner: Facebook. It is part of the social media giant’s push to assure users it is taking misinformation campaigns in elections seriously. In September, Facebook announced it was dedicating its own “War Room” in Menlo Park to preventing election interference in Brazil — one of its five biggest markets.

Brazil fights online misinformation during election season
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a meeting with members of the Workers Party that decided Lula da Silva will be its candidate again in the 2018 election, despite losing an appeal against a corruption conviction that will likely

Lula’s limbo between prison and presidency looms over 2018 Brazil race

South America’s largest country is electing its next president later this year — and it’s in the thick of a legal battle about whether the top-polling candidate will be in jail by that time.

Lula’s limbo between prison and presidency looms over 2018 Brazil race
Dancers at the weekly Saturday night charme dance in Madureira

Hip-hop met Rio de Janeiro and never stepped back

America’s 1990s hip-hop scene is reincarnated every Saturday night in what may seem like an unlikely location — beneath a highway overpass in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Hip-hop met Rio de Janeiro and never stepped back
A Brazilian navy soldier patrols Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 30, 2017

A year after the Rio Olympics, gunfights continue and troops patrol the streets

One of the legacies of the Rio Olympics was supposed to be a safer city. A year later, that promise hasn't been kept and soldiers are patrolling Rio's streets.

A year after the Rio Olympics, gunfights continue and troops patrol the streets
Rio

Residents of a crisis-ridden Rio caution future Olympic hosts

Thousands of police have been taken off Rio’s streets in the past year, city clinics are closing their doors, and there has been dismal interest in patronizing Rio’s $20 million Olympic golf course — built on an environmental reserve — and the almost completely unsold luxury housing that was once the athlete’s village.

Residents of a crisis-ridden Rio caution future Olympic hosts
Brazil's President Michel Temer

As Brazil's president races to change labor laws, investigators circle

A 3-year-old anti-corruption probe called Operation Car Wash has advanced deep into the backrooms of Brazilian politics and business, implicating politicians from all major parties.

As Brazil's president races to change labor laws, investigators circle
A demonstrator confronts riot police during a protest against Brazil's President Michel Temer in front of the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 18.

Brazil will not be outdone by Washington’s chaos

Scandal, secret tapes, obstruction of justice, talk of impeachment — not in Washington, this time we’re talking about Brazil. President Michel Temer says he will not resign.

Brazil will not be outdone by Washington’s chaos