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 lab worker removes crane hoist from a load of rebar used to construct full-scale buildings and bridge spans that are then pushed to the limit in field tests.

This ‘earthquake lab’ is designing buildings to withstand natural disasters

At Spain’s Institute of Science and Concrete Technology, engineers are trying to find ways to keep buildings and bridges from falling down. The lab is getting attention after the deadly earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria in February.

This ‘earthquake lab’ is designing buildings to withstand natural disasters
highway

A Cuban filmmaker returns home to see his family during the island nation’s worst economic crisis in decades

A Cuban filmmaker returns home to see his family during the island nation’s worst economic crisis in decades
Wide view of Almeria in southern Spain.

Migrant farmworkers in Spain living in makeshift encampments have little hope for formal work

Migrant farmworkers in Spain living in makeshift encampments have little hope for formal work
performers get ready

Spanish Carnival floats told to drop sexist songs 

Spanish Carnival floats told to drop sexist songs 
storefront

Some of the world’s biggest clothing makers want to sell you their clothes — twice 

Some of the world’s biggest clothing makers want to sell you their clothes — twice 
people at barbershop

A spike in ringworm cases in Spain leads to a surprising culprit: the barbershop

​​​​​​​A ringworm outbreak among Spanish teens has been traced back to barbershops and a fashionable haircut: the fade. Spanish dermatologists blame dirty electric razors.

A spike in ringworm cases in Spain leads to a surprising culprit: the barbershop
Antonio Trujillo holds a cigarette while resting on a bench, in Pamplona, northern Spain

Big tobacco is forced to pay for cigarette butt pollution in Spain, but smokers may soon be on the hook

They’re tiny, they’re toxic, they’re everywhere. Cigarette butts are a huge source of pollution in Spain and lawmakers have said, enough. They're ordering cigarette makers to pay for the cleanup, but smokers worry they’ll end up footing the bill.

Big tobacco is forced to pay for cigarette butt pollution in Spain, but smokers may soon be on the hook
town sign

Spanish town wins award for beauty but says 'no thanks'

It may sound counterintuitive, but the town has its reasons.

Spanish town wins award for beauty but says 'no thanks'
Baker David Buelens puts the baguettes into a basket at a bakery, in Versailles, west of Paris, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. 

A bakers’ rebellion looms in France to defend baguettes

Due to soaring electricity costs, bakers in France can’t afford to turn on their ovens to bake bread. They’re demanding help from the government and threatening the unthinkable — to turn off their ovens.

A bakers’ rebellion looms in France to defend baguettes
boat on the beach

Migrants from northern Africa make dangerous trek through Spain’s Canary Islands

The Canaries begin just 60 miles off the coast of Western Sahara, in the Atlantic Ocean. That relatively short distance makes them attractive to those fleeing hardship at home. But the crossing is treacherous.

Migrants from northern Africa make dangerous trek through Spain’s Canary Islands
a mom and son

Barcelona’s children find safety in numbers as they bike to school in herds 

Across Spain's Barcelona province children are getting to school in organized convoys of bikes, dubbed "bicibus," or  bicycle-bus. As with traditional bus lines, each bicibus route has stops where other cycling students can join along the way. Parents, teachers and other volunteer adults ride, too, to ensure the kids’ safety.  

Barcelona’s children find safety in numbers as they bike to school in herds 
Palestinians react as they watch a live broadcast of the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Morocco and France played in Qatar, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. 

As World Cup wraps, Morocco team inspires Arab unity around the world

Morocco’s Atlas Lions have a lot to celebrate at this year's World Cup in Qatar. They became both the first Arab and the first African team to reach the semifinals, inspiring Arab unity around the world.  

As World Cup wraps, Morocco team inspires Arab unity around the world
This address is listed on an official police website back in China as an “Overseas Police Service Center,” but the locale appears abandoned. 

China has a police network that stretches across some 30 countries, NGO says

The Madrid-based nongovernmental organization Safeguard Defenders says that China has an extended police network in dozens of countries around the world, with the goal of coercing criminal suspects to return home to China. Beijing doesn't deny they exist, but says they are legitimate and used for legal purposes.

China has a police network that stretches across some 30 countries, NGO says
Parents in Argelita fixed up this abandoned lot adjacent to the new school, turned it into a playground and garden.

A school reopens in this small Spanish village after 47 years

Back in the ‘70s, Argelita's village school in northeast Spain closed down because there just were not enough children. But now, after 47 years, children finally have a place to learn in town.

A school reopens in this small Spanish village after 47 years
The giant Velutina hornet is about four times bigger than a honey bee.

In Spain, beekeepers continue to battle killer hornets

Europeans have been battling the Velutina hornet for about 15 years. Spanish beekeepers have sent out a mayday for help, but so far they’ve been left to defend their hives on their own.

In Spain, beekeepers continue to battle killer hornets