About Nick @nickschifrin
Nick Schifrin is the foreign affairs and defense correspondent for PBS NewsHour, based in Washington, D.C. He leads NewsHour's foreign reporting and has created week-long, in-depth series for NewsHour from Russia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Cuba, Mexico, and the Baltics. The PBS NewsHour series "Inside Putin's Russia" won a 2018 Peabody Award and the National Press Club's Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence.
Prior to PBS NewsHour, Schifrin was Al Jazeera America's first foreign correspondent, based in Jerusalem. He led the channel’s coverage of the 2014 war in Gaza. He reported extensively on the Syrian war from Syria's Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian borders. And he arrived in Ukraine as violence peaked in Kiev and reported on the conflict in and annexation of Crimea. He won an Overseas Press Club award for his Gaza coverage and a National Headliners Award for his Ukraine coverage.
From 2008-2012, Schifrin served as the ABC News correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2011 he was one of the first journalists to arrive in Abbottabad, Pakistan after Osama bin Laden’s death and delivered one of the year’s biggest exclusives: the first video from inside bin Laden’s compound. His reporting helped ABC News win an Edward R. Murrow award for its bin Laden coverage. He ran the Islamabad and Kabul bureaus for nearly four years, beginning at age 28.
Schifrin is a visiting fellow at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, where he lectures and teaches a foreign policy class. He is also a Council on Foreign Relations term member and an Overseas Press Club Foundation board member. He has a Master of International Public Policy degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), with a concentration in Strategic Studies.
Nick’s Recent Stories
Politics Jan 23
Trump poses ‘continuing threat’ to national interests, say House managersOn their second day of arguments in President Trump’s Senate trial, House managers focused on their first article of impeachment, abuse of power. They accused Trump of “extorting” Ukraine’s government by withholding $400 million in critical military aid and a…
World Jan 07
Iran says it has launched ballistic missiles at American air bases in IraqAfter trading threats with the U.S., Iran said Tuesday night it launched ballistic missiles on Iraqi facilities housing U.S. troops in retaliation for the American killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The attacks come after President Trump and top U.S. officials…
World Dec 06
Why French protests over pensions could threaten Macron’s international agendaProtesters have shut down Paris and much of France in angry response to proposed pension reforms. The changes, which would unify the current system and increase workers’ ability to change sectors, represent the delivery of a campaign promise from President…
Politics Dec 04
What 4 legal scholars told the House Judiciary Committee about Trump and impeachmentThe impeachment inquiry into President Trump entered a new phase Wednesday as the House Judiciary Committee held its first hearing on the matter. Four law professors testified before the panel about the legal parameters of impeachment: Noah Feldman, Michael Gerhardt,…
World Nov 11
What’s next for Bolivia, after President Morales steps downBolivia, South America’s poorest country, is politically divided — and currently without a leader. President Evo Morales announced on state television Sunday that he was the victim of a coup and thus was resigning. But his political opponents contend he…
World Oct 30
In Iraq and Lebanon, economic needs push protesters past sectarian divideIn Iraq and Lebanon, different events sparked current mass demonstrations, but protesters in both countries believe their governments are broken. Journalist Pesha Magid, reporting from Baghdad, and special correspondent Jane Ferguson, in Beirut, join Nick Schifrin to discuss economic and…
World Oct 28
U.S. military says Syria objectives remain unchanged, despite al-Baghdadi’s deathThe leader of the Islamic State group is dead. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died over the weekend in a U.S. special forces raid in northwest Syria. U.S. officials said Kurdish partners provided useful intelligence about al-Baghdadi's location. The terrorist leader motivated…
World Oct 25
From Lebanon to Chile, economic uncertainty is driving a wave of protestsAs 2019 enters its final quarter, protesters have taken to the streets in dozens of places worldwide. While circumstances differ from country to country, demonstrators are united in frustration with economic disparities -- and perceived government inaction to address them.
World Oct 18
Mexico failed to capture the son of ‘El Chapo.’ Can it contain drug cartels?Mexico’s president defended his security forces Friday for releasing the son of drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman after they caught him, when members of the cartel opened fire and seized soldiers. Analysts say the failed raid casts doubt on…
World Oct 15
This Syrian city embodies the consequences of Trump’s decisionIn 2012, the Syrian city of Manbij joined nation-wide protests. In 2014, those Syrian rebels lost the city to the Islamic State group. In 2016, the U.S. fought back with the help of Kurdish forces, liberating the city. In 2018,…
