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
Health Jan 15
Biden promises major changes for vaccine distribution amid skyrocketing deathsOne key piece of President-elect Biden's plan to fight COVID is to make major changes to how vaccines are distributed around the country. The plan comes amid a report that the vaccine reserves the Trump administration has promised to ship…
World Jan 14
Trump’s last-minute policy moves could have deep, long-lasting impactsAs the days dwindle in the Trump administration, they are still issuing rules and regulations, sanctions and designations that could have impacts both abroad and at home, beyond the end of the administration. William Brangham and Nick Schifrin discuss Trump's…
Health Jan 04
U.S. vaccine rollout remains sluggish, as new coronavirus strain spreadsThe U.S. is stumbling out of the gate in getting the COVID-19 vaccine distributed in 2021, as a more contagious variant of the virus spreads around the country. Dr. Robert M. Wachter, the head of the department of medicine at…
Education Dec 29
How the pandemic is shaking up college admissions and testingWith many college admissions testing sites closing down during the pandemic, as many as 50 percent of early applications arrived without any test scores this year. That's resulted in some top-ranked schools seeing a surge in applications, but elsewhere, application…
Health Dec 18
How COVID-19 could worsen America’s childhood trauma crisisIn this episode, PBS NewsHour correspondent William Brangham talks to special correspondent Cat Wise and reporter Laura Santhanam about why the pandemic is likely making the childhood trauma crisis worse and how caregivers can help their kids and themselves through…
Nation Dec 07
Free from prison after 23 years, but facing new challenges during the pandemicThe coronavirus pandemic has upended the lives of all Americans but it’s been especially hard on individuals known as returning citizens -- formerly incarcerated men and women who are re-entering society. William Brangham has the story of one man in…
Politics Nov 23
A grandmother, a granddaughter and a deep post-election divideAfter a bruising election, one President Donald Trump has so far refused to concede, Americans are left trying to repair divides that are deeper and more personal than ever. In this episode, PBS NewsHour correspondent William Brangham speaks to a…
Nation Nov 18
Why Trump fired the official charged with securing U.S. electionsOn Tuesday night, President Trump fired Christopher Krebs, the top cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security. The termination comes after Krebs, whose job it was to secure U.S. election systems, fact-checked Trump’s false claims of voting fraud. But…
Nation Nov 17
As Trump claims fraud, officials say this election was ‘the most secure’President Trump and his allies continue to sow doubt over the American electoral process, questioning the intentions of election administrators and poll workers and falsely claiming rampant voter fraud. How do these essential workers, who represent both parties, feel about…
Nation Nov 16
Moderna’s vaccine trials bring hope as more states resume pandemic restrictionsThe U.S. is facing both despair and hope regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. With total infections over 11 million nationwide, the virus is continuing to wreak havoc, leading to rising hospitalizations and deaths -- and reimposed restrictions. But at the same…