Odette Yousef
Odette Yousef is a National Security correspondent focusing on extremism.
In her reporting, Yousef aims to explore how extremist ideas break into the mainstream, how individuals are radicalized and efforts to counter that.
Before joining NPR in August of 2021, Yousef spent twelve years reporting for member station WBEZ in Chicago, where she was most recently part of the Race, Class and Identity team. While there, she was reporter and host for Season 3 of WBEZ's investigative podcast, Motive. The podcast, which won a 2021 national Edward R. Murrow award, explores the emergence and spread of the neo-Nazi skinhead movement in the U.S. and its connections to the far right extremism of today. Yousef was also part of a team that won a 2016 National Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Continuing Coverage, and she received a 2018 Studs Terkel Community Media Award. Prior to joining WBEZ, Yousef reported at WABE in Atlanta.
Born and raised in the Boston area, Yousef received a Bachelor of Arts in economics and East Asian studies from Harvard University. She is based in Chicago.
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The apparent second assassination attempt of Donald Trump is stirring concern about growing political violence in the U.S. -
Donald Trump has echoed a new iteration of a conspiracy theory that has taken root in the GOP that falsely claims there is a plan to bring nonwhite immigrants to the U.S. to replace white voters. -
Telegram has become a prime tool used by the far right to communicate. But the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov is prompting paranoia over whether it will remain secure and accessible.
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Democrats are preparing to gather in Chicago next week. the shadow of the chaotic 1968 DNC there looms large. Some hope police will model a different approach to expected protest activity.
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There's still no clear motive in the attempted assassination of president Donald Trump. But experts say it will be a defining moment as America grapples with rising political violence.
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The assassination attempt has supercharged conspiracy theories and threats of political violence that have characterized this presidential campaign from the outset. -
Colleges have become a flashpoint in discussions about rising antisemitism. But some on those campuses say the alarm from politicians and groups distorts reality and their motives should be examined.
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Three middle school students in southern Maryland have been charged with hate crimes for allegedly harassing a Jewish classmate. Experts say young kids are increasingly exposed to hate ideologies.
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As Trump's high-profile hush money case moves forward, the court is also grappling with an issue that has become a regular and concerning feature of Trump's many trials — how to keep jurors safe.
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Donald Trump launched his election campaign a year ago in Waco, Texas — a place linked with extremists. Experts say it marked an embrace of far-right narratives central to his White House bid.
