Gerry Hadden

Gerry Hadden reports for PRI'sThe World. His assignments have sent him to the northernmost village in Norway to the southern tip of Italy, and just about everywhere else in between.

Gerry Hadden is an author and journalist who began his public radio career in 1995 at public radio KPLU in Seattle. In 2000 NPR sent him to Los Angeles. Later that year, he went 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 reported extensively on immigration, drug trafficking and the varied cultures and characters of Latin America. He also traveled frequently to Cuba where he reported on U.S.-Cuba relations, the economy and the arts, as well as on daily life under Fidel Castro. Four years after watching Jean Bertrande 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 back to Spain, his second home. From Barcelona, he covers Spain and Europe for "The World," although his stories have taken him as far as Cape Verde, Istanbul and Kiev. He says that besides driving a taxi in New York, reporting for public radio is the most interesting job he's ever had. When he's not reporting he spends time with his partner, Anne, and their two children, Lula and Nino. 
A Catalan pro-independence protestor wearing an Estelada, or Catalan independence mask, stands in front of police, not seen, during a protest in Barcelona, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019.

In Spain, the price for power? Forgiving separatists.

Spain’s socialist party seems ready to form a coalition government after inconclusive elections in July. But to do so, they’ve had to promise to grant amnesty to fugitive Catalan separatists for their attempt to break away from Spain in 2017. The Catalan separatists' party has become kingmaker, but folks on the right say the deal threatens Spain’s democracy.

In Spain, the price for power? Forgiving separatists.
C. Tangana YouTube screenshot.

This Spanish hip-hop star is stepping into global music

This Spanish hip-hop star is stepping into global music
COWS GRAZING ON A FARM WITH A GEEEN MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE

Cow plague threatening ranches in southern Europe

Cow plague threatening ranches in southern Europe
Screenshot from "Prehistoric Planet" on YouTube.

For ‘dinosaur music,’ prehistoric instruments set the tone

For ‘dinosaur music,’ prehistoric instruments set the tone
The main rule of "walking soccer" is no running.

‘Walking soccer’ trend in Spain keeps people of all ages in the game

‘Walking soccer’ trend in Spain keeps people of all ages in the game
cows in the wild

Rewilding in Spain brings back ancient bovine

Rewilding Spain has reintroduced “back-bred” cattle from nearly 10,000 years ago. They hope the aurochs roaming here once again benefits the environment as well as the economy.

Rewilding in Spain brings back ancient bovine
Montserrat Abbey’s mixed Escoliana choir has young women and men. They’ll sing the liturgy one weekend a month, so that the regular all-boys choir can have some time off with family.

Spain all-boys choir finds a new tune and admits girls

After more than 700 uninterrupted years of boys-only belting, Spain’s La Escolania de Montserrat Choir is finally mixing things up. Beginning this September, a select group of girls will be allowed to join the boys at the altar, singing the liturgy at Saturday afternoon and Sunday masses. Choir organizers are calling it a revolution.

Spain all-boys choir finds a new tune and admits girls
People affected by an earthquake camp outside their homes, in Moulay Brahim village, near Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. 

'Organizing chaos': Moroccans in Spain send aid convoys home after devastating earthquake

Moroccans continue digging out victims from this month’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the Atlas Mountains. The death toll now stands at nearly 3,000 people. Many more have been left homeless. Morocco’s government has so far only accepted aid from a handful of countries, but Moroccans overseas are stepping up. In Spain, they’re collecting supplies to send to victims, but it isn’t always easy.

'Organizing chaos': Moroccans in Spain send aid convoys home after devastating earthquake
shack

Formerly homeless American in Barcelona helps others get off the streets

​​​​​​​Some years back, an American in Spain became homeless after a string of bad luck. Now, he’s helping others who’ve hit a similar rough spot. Especially other foreigners with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Formerly homeless American in Barcelona helps others get off the streets
Woman takes a picture of a sunset at a park.

Barcelona gets bombarded by selfie-taking tourists

Spain’s on the rebound with tourism after huge losses during the pandemic. Those in the tourism business are relieved. But visitors are back with a vengeance and they’re not always well-behaved, irking locals who miss the quieter days.

Barcelona gets bombarded by selfie-taking tourists
Three women in red soccer uniforms holding their hands up with a trophy

Spain made history with Women's World Cup victory — despite team tensions

Supporters are hoping their win leads to greater equality in professional soccer.

Spain made history with Women's World Cup victory — despite team tensions
man holding a sign with people passing by in the background

Spain to compensate thalidomide victims decades later

Europe’s final victims of a drug scandal dating back more than half a century are finally being compensated. Partially, at least.

Spain to compensate thalidomide victims decades later
a sign outside of a clinic welcomes asylum seekers in various languages

Iceland fast-tracks Ukrainian refugees to residency, employment

About 5,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Iceland since the start of the war, and continue to do so at a rate of about 200 arrivals per month. The government gives them nearly instant resident status, on humanitarian grounds. It has also created a website in Ukrainian to help them navigate the bureaucracy and culture.

Iceland fast-tracks Ukrainian refugees to residency, employment
Akureyri is one of the few places in Iceland with forest.

This small Icelandic city thinks big about going green

The small town of Akureyri, in Iceland, has set itself a big goal: to become the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2030. It hopes that going green can serve as a model for other places.

This small Icelandic city thinks big about going green
Glaciologists say that between 1995 and 2010 Iceland’s glaciers lost about a meter of vertical thickness per year. The the “Blue Blob” appeared, halving that loss.

‘Blue Blob’ slows glacial melt in Iceland as temperatures rise across the globe

About 10% of Iceland is still covered by glaciers — what Icelanders call their “white diamonds.” Now, a mysterious patch of cold water in the North Atlantic Ocean, known as the “Blue Blob,” is helping slow down the rate at which these glaciers are melting. But scientists are concerned about how long this will last.

‘Blue Blob’ slows glacial melt in Iceland as temperatures rise across the globe