Aaron Schachter

Assignment Editor

Aaron was The World's Middle East correspondent for eight years. He now assigns and edits reporters around the world.

Aaron Schachter works with reporters to craft their stories for radio. Schachter’s own experience as a field correspondent included Middle East reporting for The World for eight years. He covered the second Palestinian Intifada, reporting extensively from Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Schachter had the good timing to be in Iraq when the Hussein family was caught – Uday and Qusay during summer 2003, and father Saddam that December. He’s also reported stories from throughout Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan.His stories have won awards from the duPont-Columbia School of Journalism and the Scripps-Howard Institute. Schachter also fills in as host of the program. Before joining The World, Schachter worked in Los Angeles as editor, reporter, and host of the Marketplace Morning Report, and as a reporter for the Los Angeles bureau of National Public Radio. Schachter has served as a reporter and anchor at Colorado public radio in Denver, WBUR in Boston and WFCR, New England Public Radio, in Amherst, MA. When not chained to his desk or being the perfect father to his two boys, Schachter enjoys attempting to mountain bike, hike, back-country ski and other hard guy activities he has no business participating in.


Relatives of US citizens that are missing since Saturday's surprise attack by Hamas militants near the Gaza border, in Tel Aviv, Israel attend a news conference on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

‘We need to tell the story’: Parents of an Israeli hostage in Gaza grapple with uncertainty

Israel-Hamas war

Hamas took over 250 hostages from Israel on Oct. 7, including 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin. His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, have become high-profile advocates for bringing Israeli hostages home from Gaza. We hear from Hersh’s parents in an interview with “Israel Story,” a radio show and podcast in Tel Aviv.

The site of a music festival near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023.

Rape is ‘the most neglected war crime,’ sexual violence expert says

Israel-Hamas war
Syrian children play during a Questscope informal education class in Damascus.

How a relief worker in the world’s worst war zone finds hope

Conflict
Taliban fighter, second from left, in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, a day after the insurgents took control of the city.

Kunduz takeover shows we’re not dealing with the same old Taliban

Conflict
Reporter Daniel Estrin suggested Ben & Jerry create Fission Food - playing off of the classic "Phish Food" flavor

What does Ben & Jerry’s ice cream have to do with the Iran nuclear deal?

Culture
North Korea has created a new timezone

Out of step, North Korea changes time

Conflict

No, it can’t feed its people. But North Korea decided it was time to create a separate time zone.

Master Musicians of Joujouka Festival

If you wanna see the Master Musicians you gotta live with the Master Musicians

Music

If you want to see the Master Musicians of Joujouka in action, you have to work for it. Their annual three-day festival takes place in a remote village in the Rif Mountains of Morocco.

Japan's Nikkei share average dropped Tuesday to a more than two-week low.

Japan’s still stodgy — but it may finally be getting better

Business

Japanese companies went from innovative business leaders — think Walkman and the compact disc — to has-been. But there is reason to believe the country’s businesses are clawing their way back.

The Boston Gay Men's Chorus

Boston’s Gay Men’s Chorus’ finds pride and prejudice in Turkey

Culture

The Boston’s Gay Men’s Chorus returns to the US inspired by its performance for the gay community in Istanbul. But their trip was not without conflict.

Fireworks explode during the opening ceremony of the 1st European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12 , 2015.

Why does Qatar even want to host the World Cup? Pure vanity

Sports

In Qatar and Azerbaijan, authoritarian governments use sports showcases to advance personal goals.