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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Some researchers say these recent attacks are examples of "nonideological" terrorism — the result of several antisocial, decentralized, online networks coming together. -
Analysts say that two recent high school shootings highlight a growing trend of non-ideological violence among young perpetrators who are radicalized online.
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Extremism experts say a now-familiar playbook to scapegoat transgender people in the wake of high-profile tragedies is part of a political strategy to sow division and expand authoritarian control. -
In the hours after a collision of a Black Hawk helicopter with a passenger airliner last week, social media exploded, falsely blaming a transgender Virginia National Guard service member.
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Trump's pardon of nearly all of the people convicted of crimes in relation to Jan. 6 was no surprise to those who followed his campaign promises. But for some historians, it sends a troubling signal.
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Trump has promised to pardon many who were involved in the violence of Jan 6. Experts on authoritarianism and extremism say that promise adds to the debate over how the day will be remembered.
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For some marginalized communities the second Trump term is fraught with fears over personal safety. In Minneapolis, one organization is helping with de-escalation services and gun training. -
For some marginalized communities the second Trump term is fraught with fears over personal safety. In Minneapolis, one organization is helping neighbors with de-escalation services and gun training.
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There are big unknowns about what might have led a suspect arrested for the shooting of the UnitedHealthCare CEO to allegedly commit the crime. Many experts are looking at the suspect's digital trail.
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The selection of Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Trump Defense Department has renewed scrutiny of his political and religious views and his aggressive criticism of the military he'd be leading.