Sparking Connections

Community Engagement: Listening to Our Listeners

NHPR is committed to listening: to our listeners, content users, social media followers and the community. Engaging with audiences and inviting them to ask questions and suggest topics helps shape stories and adds additional perspectives – some shared by many and others that may be new.

In Our Backyard asked the question: what does civic engagement look like for you at the local level? Audience responses led us to communities committed to solutions, discussion and speaking up. The Big Question took a similar approach, each month asking one question that shapes our lives. Some questions were light, such as sharing your favorite winter tradition. We also posed weightier questions, such as asking listeners to share their abortion stories or reflect on what they were doing on 9/11. Outside/In Box answered listener questions about the outside world, resulting in segments that ranged from agroforestry to hooting bears to foaming trees.

Investigative Reporting: Holding the Powerful to Account

The Document team, NHPR’s investigative journalism unit, is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable for their actions and casting light on the truth. In February 2022, Katie Colaneri joined NHPR as senior editor of podcasts, leading the team which produces long-form podcasts, in-depth digital reporting and radio features. FY22 saw several hard hitting podcast series by reporters Jason Moon and Lauren Chooljian, including an update of The List, about the once-secret “Laurie List” of New Hampshire police officers who engaged in misconduct that could potentially undermine their testimony in a trial. Jason Moon and Todd Bookman examined who is on the list, why they are on the list and their current status as law enforcement officers. 

Death Resulting explored the impact of a law that says if two friends share drugs and one overdoses and dies, the other can be accused of murder. The podcast team honed in on the case of a young man facing a 20-year sentence for his friend’s death. Along the way, Death Resulting offered a balanced examination of the forces that shaped this case.

The Document team also broke a high-profile news story investigating allegations of sexual assault. Reporter Lauren Chooljian uncovered multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, abusive leadership, and retaliation by a leading figure in the NH substance-use disorder treatment community. 

News you Need: Weekly News Recap and Expanded Weather Service

Every Friday morning live at 7:45 am, the Morning Edition team brings listeners an in-depth look at the top local headlines of the week in the New Hampshire News Recap. Along with reporters from NHPR’s newsroom, the New Hampshire News Recap features reporters from outlets across the Granite state, such as the Concord Monitor, New Hampshire Bulletin and Valley News, as well as long-time NH journalists, for their insight and analysis. This weekly feature is also available as a podcast. Listeners can tune in on-demand for the week’s stories they might have missed, from what’s happening at the State House to what Granite Staters are doing in the face of climate change. 

NHPR expanded its weather reporting, working with Nashua-based Hometown Forecast Services, Inc. Listeners now hear weather updates throughout the day on NHPR, beginning with Morning Edition and continuing during All Things Considered. During severe weather events such as snowstorms, hurricanes, or torrential rains, HFS meteorologists are available for live conversations with NHPR hosts and reporters to provide context and real-time information.

Banner Photo: “A constant tsunami”: New Hampshire’s health care workers at the epicenter of Covid-19 surge. Photo by Todd Bookman.