Gerry Hadden
Reporter
The WorldGerry Hadden reports for PRI'sThe World. His assignments have sent him to the northernmost village in Norway to the southern tip of Italy, and just about everywhere else in between.
Gerry Hadden is an author and journalist who began his public radio career in 1995 at public radio KPLU in Seattle. In 2000 NPR sent him to Los Angeles. Later that year, he went to Mexico City. From 2000 to 2004, he served as NPR's Mexico, Central America and Caribbean correspondent and covered presidential elections in Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti and Nicaragua. He reported extensively on immigration, drug trafficking and the varied cultures and characters of Latin America. He also traveled frequently to Cuba where he reported on U.S.-Cuba relations, the economy and the arts, as well as on daily life under Fidel Castro. Four years after watching Jean Bertrande Aristide be sworn in as Haiti's first democratically elected president, Hadden in 2004 covered Aristide's flight from power amidst an armed rebellion. That same year, Hadden moved with his family back to Spain, his second home. From Barcelona, he covers Spain and Europe for "The World," although his stories have taken him as far as Cape Verde, Istanbul and Kiev. He says that besides driving a taxi in New York, reporting for public radio is the most interesting job he's ever had. When he's not reporting he spends time with his partner, Anne, and their two children, Lula and Nino.
Capitalists Anonymous: Weary French seek help in buying and polluting less
There are many addiction support groups out there — from alcohol and drugs to pornography. In France, there’s one called Capitalists Anonymous, for people who can’t stop buying stuff or worry that their daily actions, like commuting in gas-guzzling cars, are hurting the planet.
‘I put myself in their shoes’: Migrants to Europe find empathy on a small island
While most of Europe is getting tough on migrants and asylum-seekers, residents on one Canary island are taking a more friendly approach to newcomers. The people of El Hierro, part of the Spanish archipelago, say they can relate to the long journey many people make in search of a better life — because it reflects their own recent history.
Desperate cancer patients in Peru look for options across the Atlantic
In Peru, cancer patients are facing enormous challenges to be able to survive. The situation is especially dire for children with leukemia. Many die because they couldn’t get access to treatment in time. More and more parents are seeking help in Spain.
Residents of lush La Gomera Island aim to protect it from over-tourism
In the Canary archipelago, the Laurel forest of La Gomera island looks like something from the age of the dinosaurs. Because it is from the age of the dinosaurs. It’s lush and eerie, with “trees” that grow horizontally along the ground like enormous vines. In recent times, the UNESCO-protected forest has been threatened by building, forestry and tourists. Locals are figuring out ways to protect this special place.
In Spain, the price for power? Forgiving separatists.
Spain’s socialist party seems ready to form a coalition government after inconclusive elections in July. But to do so, they’ve had to promise to grant amnesty to fugitive Catalan separatists for their attempt to break away from Spain in 2017. The Catalan separatists’ party has become kingmaker, but folks on the right say the deal threatens Spain’s democracy.