Leah Donnella
Leah Donnella is an editor on NPR's Code Switch team, where she helps produce and edit for the Code Switch podcast, blog, and newsletter. She created the "Ask Code Switch" series, where members of the team respond to listener questions about how race, identity, and culture come up in everyday life.
Donnella originally came to NPR in September 2015 as an intern for Code Switch. Prior to that, she was a summer intern at WHYY's Public Media Commons, where she helped teach high school students the ins and outs of journalism and film-making. She spent a lot of time out in the hot Philly sun tracking down unsuspecting tourists for on-the-street interviews. She also worked at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of College Houses and Academic Resources.
Donnella graduated from Pomona College with a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies.
-
Some applauded the president's speech at the historic black university as a break from "respectability politics" that demean African-Americans. Other saw it as more of the same. -
Some say the Nightly Show host utterly bombed his routine at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner. Others say he simply had a different crowd in mind. -
On Friday, Code Switch's Gene Demby and Hidden Brain's Shankar Vedantam led a Twitter chat to discuss what it's like to be a person of color participating in the sharing economy. -
In Lemonade, Beyoncé's much-discussed visual album, a girl resplendent in white plumage appears. It's a nod to the pop star's New Orleans roots and loaded with the region's racial history. -
A year ago, 25-year-old Freddie Gray died of injuries he sustained while in police custody. His family, neighborhood and the whole of Baltimore are still grappling with his loss. -
A video titled "27 Questions Black People Have For Black People" misses a whole lotta history when it comes to black people in America.
-
Many found Bill Clinton's reaction to protesters on Thursday awkward and offensive. But will it have a lasting effect on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign? Here's what critics are saying. -
Our most recent #NPRObamaEffect chat explored how — or whether — the Obama years have shaped how Latino communities and people across the country think about identity today.
-
Many people have decried the casting of Zoe Saldana in upcoming biopic Nina, but Ta-Nehisi Coates digs deep into why this choice struck a nerve. -
If you enjoy rap, allow Brandon Perry, aka K.A.A.N., to make your day.
