Traci Tong

Traci Tong was part of the original team that created and launched The World in 1996. Currently, she is a producer and director of the daily live show. Her job is to find that perfect person to tell her story for the show's global audience. 

Over the years, Traci has worked from Honolulu to Dallas to Boston ... from London to Nairobi ... from Sierra Leone to the Philippines ... and throughout Oceania. 

She has sat for interviews with deposed dictators, future US presidents, the real Jane Roe and the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

Traci also serves as the managing editor with NPR's multimedia professional development program, NextGenRadio, for a new generation of multimedia journalists.

Although the truth is, she would rather be on the water with her standup paddleboard or paddling on a Dragonboat.

A poster with Theresa May is on a building upside down that reads "This way up"

The ‘glass cliff’ puts women in power during crisis — often without support

When a company, a business or even a government is going through a crisis, a woman is more likely to be promoted or selected to deal with the turmoil. This phenomenon is called “glass cliff.”

The ‘glass cliff’ puts women in power during crisis — often without support
Author Anna Dahlqvist talking with Saudah, a teenager in Kampala, Uganda

The 'menstrual awakening': Shattering the period stigma

The 'menstrual awakening': Shattering the period stigma
Stephanie Labbe raises her hands while standing in goal.

'I can't control my gender'

'I can't control my gender'
a woman with dark hair on a beach

For one woman with an eating disorder, Ramadan was a chance to blend in

For one woman with an eating disorder, Ramadan was a chance to blend in
Elizabeth Tyler as Cleopatra lounges on a red cushion, he straight dark hair decorated with gold beads.

An online campaign is rewriting Egyptian beauty standards

An online campaign is rewriting Egyptian beauty standards
Khalida Popal

Khalida Popal defied the Taliban and risked her life to play soccer

Khalida Popal did not let the harassment by the Taliban stop her from playing soccer. But daily death threats left her no choice — she fled her homeland and ended up in Denmark. Today she prepares a team of Mexican teenagers who will compete in the upcoming Street Child World Cup.

Khalida Popal defied the Taliban and risked her life to play soccer
Asia Argento arrives for the Women In The World Summit in New York City

Asia Argento on relearning how to live her life after sexual assault

Italian actress and activist Asia Argento, one of the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse, came under a lot of backlash in her native Italy. Still, Argento says she doesn’t regret her action and hopes she can change some of Italy’s misogynist culture.

Asia Argento on relearning how to live her life after sexual assault
Author Asne Seierstad

The journey of two sisters into the Syrian jihad, and a father's efforts to rescue them

Somali-Norwegian teenagers Ayan and her younger sister Leila leave their affluent neighborhood outside of Oslo to travel to Syria and marry ISIS fighters. Author Asne Seierstad's latest book, "Two Sisters: A Father, His Daughters and Their Journey into the Syrian Jihad", shares the family's story including the father's efforts to bring his daughters home.

The journey of two sisters into the Syrian jihad, and a father's efforts to rescue them
Mecca pilgrimage

Muslim women are speaking out against abuse with #MosqueMeToo

Muslim women are using the hashtag #MosqueMeToo to speak out against sexual abuse that takes place during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Muslim women are speaking out against abuse with #MosqueMeToo
Napalm girl

How the Vietnam War's Napalm Girl found hope after tragedy

For many years, Phan Thi Kim Phùc was known as the Napalm Girl. She was in an iconic photograph that pictured her running naked down a road, screaming after a napalm attack on her village. That photo won a Pulitzer Prize and changed the way the world looked at the Vietnam War. For many years, Kim Phuc was angry and in pain. But, she found a way to forgive and find peace.

How the Vietnam War's Napalm Girl found hope after tragedy
Kristi Yamaguchi

Kristi Yamaguchi inspires a record number of Asian American skaters

More than 200 athletes representing Team USA are taking part in 15 sporting events during the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. One competition that always gets attention is figure skating, and this year, it's notable for the record number of Asian American skaters.

Kristi Yamaguchi inspires a record number of Asian American skaters
Abigail Anderson (L)  and Bingjie Turner (R) lived at the Xining Children's Home before being adopted.  Anderson went to live with a family in Virgina and Turner with a family in Washington state.

Adoptees return to their Chinese village to help friends who were left behind

Two girls, Abigail Anderson and Bingjie Turner, were adopted from an orphanage when they were 13 years old and brought to the US. They returned to their village recently to see what had happened to friends who were not adopted — called "left-behinds."

Adoptees return to their Chinese village to help friends who were left behind
Women in the US military want their voices added to the #MeToo movement.  Women vets say sexual assault and harassment are rarely reported out of fear of retribution.

Women veterans want their voices heard in the #MeToo movement

The accusations of sexual assault and harassment against Harvey Weinstein and other entertainment figures have inspired other victims of sexual crimes to speak out against their alleged perpetrators in politics and the news media. And the numbers keep growing. But, women veterans say the #MeToo awareness is largely invisible in the military.

Women veterans want their voices heard in the #MeToo movement
Iceland Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir meets people at a stand of her party set up at the Kringlan shopping mall in Reykjavik on Oct. 25, 2017.

Iceland's most trusted politician is a feminist environmentalist who is the 'anti-Trump'

Iceland's new prime minister is an environmental feminist, anti-war, crime-novel expert who wants to make Iceland carbon-neutral by the year 2040. At 41, she is one of the youngest world leaders today and is the most trusted political leader in her country, in poll after poll.

Iceland's most trusted politician is a feminist environmentalist who is the 'anti-Trump'
Nigerian woman  fears for her safety when she needs to use the bathroom

A lack of clean and safe toilets leaves women vulnerable to rape and attacks

Access to basic sanitation is something we take for granted here in the United States. We usually have access clean and safe facilities when we need it. But in other parts of the world, access to clean and safe toilets is more difficult. And for some women and girls, not having access to private toilets exposes them to attacks and harassment.

A lack of clean and safe toilets leaves women vulnerable to rape and attacks