Jessica Yarmosky

Producer

The World

Jessica Yarmosky is a producer for The World. Her background is in teaching and education policy, but her stories run the gamut from questionable Olympic logos to the safety of public transit workers. Previously, she worked on NPR's Education Desk and at Morning Editionin Washington, DCShe is a graduate of the Transom Story Workshop and has a master's in education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.


A blue ball in a black field surrounded by white, tiny dots.

Got space junk? Wooden satellites may be the solution.

Science & Technology

Space junk — debris from defunct satellites and other man-made items — is a growing problem. Wooden satellites, an idea spearheaded by astronaut and professor Takao Doi of Kyoto University, may be the solution.

A woman holds a large mushroom in the Ukraine's Carpathians

Ukraine is wild about mushrooms — even during the pandemic

Lifestyle
Bar owner Cristina Mattioli put up a sign asking patrons not to talk about COVID-19.

At this Roman bar, talk about anything. Just not COVID-19.

Dr. Céline Gounder has been named to President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 task force.

‘Equity is very front and center’ for Biden’s new COVID-19 task force

COVID-19
People attend a campaign rally by US President Donald Trump at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, Florida, Sept. 24, 2020.

Retired army commander: US institutions will ‘ensure a peaceful transition of power’

Trump administration
Beams of light are seen over American flags at the Pentagon, as part of a tribute marking the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, Sept. 9, 2020, in Washington, DC.

US intelligence dysfunction ‘rooted in the chaos of the presidency,’ says author of book on 9/11

Conflict

Since the tragic events of Sept.11, 2001, national security analysts say intelligence agencies have improved on information sharing, but that Trump administration policies have discouraged reliance on their reports.

Caster Semenya wears a track and field outfit and sets off on a race

‘There is a sense of being robbed’: Olympian Caster Semenya loses appeal on testosterone rule

Sports

Semenya won’t get to defend her title at next year’s Olympics unless she takes medication to lower her testosterone levels. But her lawyer says “there’s absolutely no way that she will take any medicine or hormonal interventions at all.”

Protesters with fists raised block an intersection while demonstrating against the Sunday police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., Aug. 26, 2020.

Are most white Americans guilty of ‘supremacy’ or just ‘privilege’?

Justice

The history of white supremacy is complex and the meaning of that term often disputed. But if people, by association, are part of a larger structure in which whites dominate, is it appropriate to call them “white supremacists”?

Audrey Tang, the Taiwan government's digital minister, in the Executive Yuan building, Taiwan, on November 8, 2017.

How Taiwan is battling coronavirus with tech, crowdsourced data and trust

COVID-19

Taiwan has kept its COVID-19 numbers low compared to other countries: It has seen fewer than 500 cases and seven deaths. Much of that success has been attributed to Taiwan’s approach to technology, led by the government’s digital minister Audrey Tang.

A woman holds a mobile phone up to her laptop screen in a video call showing various apps.

Be My Eyes app makes daily life easier for people with visual impairments

Technology

The video chat app allows a sighted volunteer to help out with reading thermostats, matching outfits or troubleshooting technology.