About William @WmBrangham
William Brangham is a correspondent and producer for PBS NewsHour in Washington, D.C. He joined the flagship PBS program in 2015, after spending two years with PBS NewsHour Weekend in New York City.
In his first three years, Brangham has done a range of award-winning reporting across the United States and internationally, covering everything from the severity of America’s opioid crisis, the integration of women into combat roles in the U.S. Marine Corps, to a profile of Ina Garten, the “Barefoot Contessa.”
Brangham’s reporting on the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015 was among the work cited when the NewsHour won a George Foster Peabody Award that year. The next year, he reported a six-part series on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, which won a series of major awards including an Emmy and the National Academies of Sciences Communication Award. In 2018, Brangham worked on an investigative series about sexual assault and retaliation in the U.S. Forest Service. The day after that series aired, the head of the Forest Service suddenly stepped down.
When he is not out reporting in the field, Brangham is a regular interviewer on the NewsHour, and he has occasionally anchored the weekday and Weekend broadcasts.
During his career, Brangham has also worked on video projects for The New York Times, ABC News, National Geographic and Frontline. Prior to joining the NewsHour, he was a producer and correspondent for Need to Know on PBS, and before that, for Bill Moyers Journal. Brangham worked on several Moyers' documentary series in the 1990s, and was a producer on the critically acclaimed Now with Bill Moyers in the early 2000s.
In 2014, he was an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Brangham lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and three children.
William’s Recent Stories
Nation Apr 09
On the Fire LineScience Apr 03
Antarctic penguins have existed for 60 million years. Can they survive climate change?Ron Naveen used to be a lawyer for the EPA, but he left government in the 1980s to start Oceanites, a nonprofit that tracks the health of penguins that breed on the Antarctic Peninsula. Now, that 800-mile stretch of land…
Nation Jan 17
How Colin O’Brady mentally prepared for his Antarctic featThere have been many expeditions on the frozen continent of Antarctica, but Colin O'Brady's 54-day solo trek across more than 930 miles without any assistance was the first of its kind. "You are locked in a prison of your own…
Health Dec 17
Why helicopter parenting may jeopardize kids’ healthHas protective parenting gone too far? Several high-profile news stories, along with increasing rates of childhood obesity, anxiety and depression, have sparked a movement encouraging parents to allow their children greater freedom. The nonprofit Let Grow is leading the call…
Nation Sep 20
It took 2 days for the FBI to investigate Anita Hill’s sexual harassment allegationHere’s what we know about how the FBI handles these claims and how the call by Democrats to open an investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh could play out.
Science Sep 05
Florida’s toxic red tide is a perfect storm for the Gulf CoastIn Florida, a toxic algae bloom that began last fall has killed dolphins, sea turtles, manatees, even a whale shark. And the toxins are not only devastating to wildlife, but difficult for humans and the economy as well. William Brangham…
Nation Aug 31
How ‘the incarceration capital of America’ embraced criminal justice reformFor decades, the state of Louisiana has been known as the incarceration capital of America. But over the past year, the state has been trying to shed that reputation with new reforms that decrease the prison population and save money.
World Jul 30
Human traffickers lead young Nigerians on a dangerous pathModern-day human trafficking begins in places like rural Nigeria, where young people dream of economic opportunity and a better life for their families, and are willing to give up everything to try and find it. But as many Nigerians learn,…
World Jun 25
Erdogan consolidates control over Turkey with election winTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is armed with sweeping new powers after Sunday’s elections, which cemented his status as preeminent leader, possibly for years to come. William Brangham reports.
Health Jun 15
Isolation and stigma sustain HIV in the South: ‘It’s like we’re on a deserted island’In the rural South, poverty, prejudice and lack of health care are exacerbating the spread of HIV, making it the epicenter of HIV/AIDS in America. William Brangham and Jason Kane, along with Jon Cohen of Science magazine, meet some who…
