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I'm a Chicago-based reporter specializing in energy, the environment, labor, public health and immigration issues, and the myriad and complicated way such topics intersect.

I aim to show the ground-level impacts of policy, technology and economic developments, including a focus on how the most vulnerable communities are impacted and how they respond through community organizing and other efforts.

I currently work as a research associate for the Medill Watchdog Project at Northwestern University, and I also write regularly about energy for Midwest Energy News and about labor issues for In These Times magazine along with writing for other publications including Crain's Chicago Business and GlobalPost. I previously wrote for The Washington Post as a staffer in the Midwest Bureau, where I covered breaking news and feature stories around the Midwest and contributed regularly to the Science Page.  I also wrote for The New York Times Chicago edition as a reporter for The Chicago News Cooperative; and I have written for other publications including People Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor and The Economist.

I spent the 2011-2012 academic year at the University of Colorado on a Ted Scripps Environmental Journalism fellowship, focusing on hard rock mining in the U.S. and around the world – an ongoing project. I'm the author of three books; along with a book due for publication in 2013 about Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his relationships with organized labor and grassroots movements.

Kari Lydersen

I've taught journalism at Columbia College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and I also work with youth journalists from marginalized neighborhoods through the non-profit program We the People Media.

Though journalism is going through some tough times right now, I continue to feel lucky every day to work in a profession where I am constantly learning and having the chance to share what I learn with others. I am always looking for story ideas and opportunities for collaboration or debate. Thank you for visiting my website.

 

 

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