About Laura
Laura Fong shoots and produces stories for PBS NewsHour Weekend on a wide range of topics, including U.S. politics, education, the arts and urban transit. She also covers breaking news for the Saturday and Sunday broadcasts. Before joining NewsHour Weekend, Laura worked on the first three seasons of the CNN documentary series "Inside Man" with Morgan Spurlock. Through Teach for America, Laura taught first grade for two years in Houston. She has a B.A. in electronic media from the University of Oregon.
Laura’s Recent Stories
Education Jul 02
Would eliminating this standardized test increase racial equity in elite NYC schools?New York City’s elite public high schools are being scrutinized for their admissions practices, which are yielding disproportionately low populations of black and Latino students. In response, the mayor and school chancellor want to eliminate a standardized test critics say…
Nation Jun 30
U.S. jail populations drop but not for womenWhile America’s jail population may be finally decreasing after decades of massive growth, that doesn't apply to women. In fact, the proportion of women spending time in jail is going up. Special correspondent David Tereshchuk explores some of the causes…
Education Jun 29
New York City students are fighting for school integrationNew York state has some of the most segregated schools in the U.S., particularly among African-American and Latino students. And 65 years after the Supreme Court decision declaring school-based racial segregation to be unconstitutional, New York City students are pushing…
Arts Jun 01
Artist examines ‘The Architecture of Slavery’ in new projectIn ‘We Have Made These Lands What They Are: The Architecture of Slavery,’ artist Keris Salmon examines the lives of enslaved people and the places they lived in the American South. Special correspondent Duarte Geraldino introduces us to the artist…
World May 12
The Daily Show’s Desi Lydic goes ‘Abroad’ exploring gender equalityTo explore gender equality, Desi Lydic, a correspondent for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, traveled to Iceland, Namibia and Spain for her new special ‘Desi Lydic: Abroad,’ which airs on Comedy Central on Monday.
Nation Mar 23
What novelist Don Winslow thinks of America’s war on drugsNovelist Don Winslow has spent 20 years chronicling the war on drug cartels south of the U.S. border that have triggered unspeakable violence and caravans of asylum-seekers searching for safety in the U.S. His new novel “The Border" is the…
Nation Feb 10
Returning to the small town that Walmart left behindFor nearly 20 years retailers in downtown Winnsboro, South Carolina struggled to compete with Walmart's cheap products and one-stop shopping. As we reported in 2016, Walmart closed its supercenter there three years ago, one of 154 stores it shuttered across…
Arts Jan 05
Artist M.C. Escher spent a lifetime distorting perspectiveThe late Dutch artist M.C. Escher is perhaps best known for his tessellations that fool the eye, like “Sky and Water I,” where birds in the air trade off negative space with fish underwater. But there are 200 lithographs, woodcuts…
Politics Nov 04
How FiveThirtyEight calculates the data of a divided nationNate Silver's FiveThirtyEight blog burst onto the political scene in 2008, when he forecasted the popular vote for president within one percentage point. Becoming a key point of reference during elections, he started a podcast in 2016, and says his…
Politics Oct 14
Two tight races in New Jersey could help Democrats flip the HouseFive of New Jersey’s 12 House seats are held by Republicans. This election, two of those seats -- the 7th and the 11th congressional districts -- are key targets by Democrats who hope to flip the House in their favor.
