Credit Melissa Kuypers / NPR

Amy Walters is a producer for NPR based at NPR West in Los Angeles.

After graduating from Earlham College with a Bachelor's degree in English, Walters interned at NPR in the Middle East. After returning to the states she joined the staff of Morning Edition in 2000. Soon Walters was recruited to All Things Considered and spent two years on the show. On September 11, 2001, Walters stood on top of NPR's Washington, DC, headquarters watching the smoke float by from the attack on the Pentagon. Walters contributed to NPR's award-winning coverage of that day. The following year she interviewed and produced several minute long segments of survivors remembering the loved ones they lost that day.

As NPR expanded west, Walters followed. A native of Southern California, Walters returned to the golden state as a field producer at NPR's new production facility near Los Angeles. She produced NPR's coverage of the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's election, award-winning coverage of California's prison system, and the death of pop legend Michael Jackson

Breaking news takes up much of her time but she has also been recognized for her investigative work. With NPR's crime and punishment correspondent Laura Sullivan, Walters was honored with the DART Award for Excellence in coverage of trauma, the RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting, and the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for their NPR series, "The Sexual Abuse of Native American Women."

The next year Walters and Sullivan received both The Peabody Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Journalism for their series uncovering the truth about the 1972 murder in Angola, Louisiana.

She still travels around the country and the world for NPR. She spent time in Baghdad and produced much of NPR's post-Katrina coverage in New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. Recently, Walters has spent her time uncovering the life and culture of Los Angeles' notorious Skid Row neighborhood, exploring the culture and economics of the marijuana industry in Humboldt County and reporting from Fort Hood, Texas after the shooting massacre there.

Asia
7:40 am
Mon March 12, 2012

Ferrari Driver Gets Himself In Trouble With The Law

A Japanese doctor said he wanted people to see the beauty of his Ferrari, so he positioned a camera behind the driver's seat and zoomed away. The video shows him driving 77 mph — 52 miles over the speed limit. Angry viewers reported the driver to police.

Around the Nation
7:32 am
Mon March 12, 2012

Calif. Man Reconstructs Frank Lloyd Wright Doghouse

Originally published on Mon March 12, 2012 9:51 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Read more
The Two-Way
7:11 am
Mon March 12, 2012

Taliban Vow Revenge For Alleged U.S. Attack On Civilians

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:57 am

The Taliban have vowed to avenge the deaths of 16 civilians in Afghanistan, allegedly shot by a U.S. soldier in a rampage through villages near Kandahar.

According to The Associated Press, the Afghan militia on its website called the attack a "blood-soaked and inhumane crime" and the attackers "sick-minded American savages." It promised to seek revenge "for every single martyr with the help of Allah."

Read more
Three Books...
7:00 am
Mon March 12, 2012

The Knives Come Out: Three Books About Betrayal

I was in Mrs. Farrell's English class when I first saw the daggers come out. Casca led them, Brutus finished the job, and then there was Julius, a bloody wreck on the floor of the Roman Senate. Not a March 15 passes that I don't hear a faint whisper in the back of my head — Beware the Ides of March -- and I've been hooked on stories of betrayal ever since.

Read more
Around the Nation
4:00 am
Mon March 12, 2012

Indiana School Teaches Test Prep As Literary Genre

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In this country, many American kids are preparing for standardized tests. They're among the rites of spring and they cause a lot of stress. One Indiana school tries to manage that stress by obsessing over the test a little less. Rather than teaching every single thing on the test, they just teach how to take one. Here's Kyle Stokes of NPR member station WFIU.

KYLE STOKES, BYLINE: Quick - name the literary genres you learned about in school.

Read more
Afghanistan
4:00 am
Mon March 12, 2012

Shooting Is Another Blow To U.S.-Afghan Relations

A U.S. soldier is in custody after he allegedly killed 16 Afghan villagers Sunday. The incident is one more blow to an already fragile relationship between the United States and Afghanistan. There are also questions of what the incident will do to the U.S.strategy in Afghanistan.

Business
4:00 am
Mon March 12, 2012

China Struggles With $31.5 Trade Deficit

China is buying more abroad than it sells. February marked the largest trade deficit for China in at least a decade. Imports outpaced exports by $31.5 billion.

Television
4:00 am
Mon March 12, 2012

Bravo's Lates Reality Show: 'Shahs Of Sunset'

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

For all the difficult relations the United States has with Iran, the two countries share many ties, including millions of Iranian-Americans. Ryan Seacrest and Bravo make them the focus of a new reality show called "The Shahs of Sunset." It examines the lavish lifestyles of some in Southern California's Iranian-American community. Amy Walters reports.

Read more
Middle East
4:00 am
Mon March 12, 2012

No Let Up In Gaza-Israel Violence

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And we're also reporting on violence on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The attacks stretched the weekend into today. Israeli airstrikes killed three more people today in Gaza - that Palestinian-held area - bringing the total to 21.

As Israelis have been bombing, Palestinians have been firing rockets into Israel. And NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro is following this story.

And Lourdes, what's the latest?

Read more

Pages