Mikaela Lefrak
Mikaela Lefrak is WAMU’s Arts and Culture reporter. Before moving into that role, she worked as WAMU’s news producer for Morning Edition.
Lefrak is a Northern Virginia native and a graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont. She received a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University, where she had the honor of working as the graduate assistant to renowned New York Times media columnist David Carr.
Prior to working at WAMU, Lefrak was an editor at The New Republic, where she produced politics and culture podcasts. She has also produced at PRI’s The World and WGBH Boston, and served as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Oakland, California.
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Some cities, like three in Vermont, allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections. In these places, noncitizen turnout has remained low, as noncitizen voting is a contentious national issue. -
The state has extended a pandemic-era housing program that provides motel rooms to homeless people for another year. The 800 people who were evicted likely won't be able to get their rooms back.
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Steve Hochberg is the only pharmacist in Vermont who provides what's called "medical aid in dying" to terminally ill people who choose it. He drives across the state to deliver the medication.
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OVR Technology in Burlington has developed a way to incorporate smell into virtual reality. This modern day "Smell-O-Vision" could have far-reaching applications in gaming, health and wellness.
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Christmas tree farmers in Vermont are not alone — there is high demand amid a nationwide Christmas tree shortage and record high prices.
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The business and social impacts and opportunities as the United States re-opens the Southwest border to vaccinated travelers.
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The mayor of Washington, D.C., called up the National Guard, and warns residents to avoid the city's center ahead of pro-Trump protests on Wednesday — the day Congress certifies election results.
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There is renewed energy around the push to make the District of Columbia the nation's 51st state. Much of that energy comes from young activists who see it as a civil rights issue. -
As part of the effort, curators at the National Museum of African American History and Culture plan to collect objects that tell the stories of black Americans during the pandemic.
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Covered faces means people who are deaf or hard-of hearing can't lip-read or follow facial expressions. And hospitals' tightened visitor restrictions may bar interpreters from medical appointments.
