Brian Mann
Brian Mann is NPR's first national addiction correspondent. He also covers breaking news in the U.S. and around the world.
Mann began covering drug policy and the opioid crisis as part of a partnership between NPR and North Country Public Radio in New York. After joining NPR full time in 2020, Mann was one of the first national journalists to track the deadly spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, reporting from California and Washington state to West Virginia.
After losing his father and stepbrother to substance abuse, Mann's reporting breaks down the stigma surrounding addiction and creates a factual basis for the ongoing national discussion.
Mann has also served on NPR teams covering the Beijing Winter Olympics and the war in Ukraine.
During a career in public radio that began in the 1980s, Mann has won numerous regional and national Edward R. Murrow awards. He is author of a 2006 book about small town politics called Welcome to the Homeland, described by The Atlantic as "one of the best books to date on the putative-red-blue divide."
Mann grew up in Alaska and is now based in New York's Adirondack Mountains. His audio postcards, broadcast on NPR, describe his backcountry trips into wild places around the world.
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Third race is the charm for Shiffrin, who won gold today after failing to podium in her first two races of the 2026 Olympic Games. -
U.S. cross-country skiers Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher power to a silver medal in the men's team sprint. U.S. women led by Jessie Diggins finish off the podium. -
Vermont-trained cross-country star Jessie Diggins claims bronze, medaling in third straight OlympicsShe's done it again. Jessie Diggins, age 34 and skiing in her final Olympics, captured a bronze medal for the U.S. at the Milan Cortina Games. She battled through the pain from injured ribs to reach the podium. -
Ben Ogden of Vermont skied powerfully, finishing just behind Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway. It was the first Olympic medal for a U.S. men's cross-country skier since 1976. -
Jessie Diggins, age 34, helped break an Olympic medal drought for American cross-country skiers that dated back to the 1970s. In her final season, she enters the Milan Cortina Olympics on a winning streak and with new peace of mind. -
Family size around the world is dropping. That choice by couples is triggering a population shift that's sending shock waves through economies. -
Threats to $140 million in funds for public health departments battling fentanyl overdoses comes as some experts see the addiction safety net unraveling. Without the promise of new funding, many public health departments, including Vermont's Department of Health, say they've paused new spending. -
Trump hopes to deport and imprison U.S. citizens abroad. Critics say the concept is unconstitutional and dangerous. -
Snowshoeing in the Adirondacks on a winter day with chickadees for company -
NPR's Brian Mann slipped away from his desk during a hectic week for an early morning canoe paddle on a wild river in Vermont.
