Gerry Hadden is an author and journalist who began his public radio career in 1995 at public radio station KPLU in Seattle. In 2000, NPR sent him to Los Angeles, then 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 extensively reported on immigration, drug trafficking and the varied cultures and characters of Latin America. He also frequently traveled to Cuba, where he reported on US-Cuba relations, the economy, the arts and daily life under Fidel Castro. Four years after watching Jean Bertrand 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 to Spain. He covers Spain and other parts of Europe from Barcelona for The World, although his stories have taken him as far as Cape Verde, Istanbul and Kyiv. Hadden says that reporting for public radio is the most interesting job he’s ever had besides driving a taxi in New York. When Hadden is not reporting, he spends time with his partner, Anne, and their three children.
Hadden is the author of the NPR memoir, “Never the Hope Itself: Love and Ghosts in Latin America and Haiti,” and the novel, “Everything Turns Invisible.”
A drought in Spain has dried up all the bubbly
One of the world’s most well-known and prestigious makers of sparkling wine — or cava, as it’s called in Catalan — is laying off 80% of its workforce. There’s plenty of demand for Spanish-German Freixenet’s bottled beverage, just not enough water to get the grapes to grow. They have shriveled on the vine as the lack of rain and restrictions on water use combine. The World’s Gerry Hadden reports from Sant Sadurní d’Ainoa, Spain.
How Spain’s rent control is failing locals
A one-year-old law in Spain meant to control soaring home rental prices has had the opposite effect: Prices have continued to climb. It’s part of a trend going back a couple of decades now. But this year alone, in some cities, rents have jumped by more than 20%. Experts – and renters – say finding an affordable place to live is now next to impossible. The World’s Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona on why Spain’s rent control law has backfired.
How AI is helping to recreate childhood memories
What do you do with a cherished memory that has no record — not even a photo or a video? This Spanish company, Domestic Data Streamers, might help. They’ve harnessed artificial intelligence to turn fading recollections into visual or “synthetic” memories. The end product isn’t quite a photo — or art. But it’s helping people reconnect with their pasts.
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.
EU threatens to shut down popular app that pays users to watch videos
The European Commission is calling the new TikTok Lite app “toxic as cigarettes.” It’s a spin-off from the makers of the original TikTok, that pays people to watch videos. The EC says it was launched without regard for risks of addiction, or safeguards against children using it. Now they’re threatening to suspend it.