Karen Brown

Reporter/Producer/Host

Karen is a radio and print journalist who focuses on health care, mental health, children’s issues, and other topics about the human condition. She has been a full-time radio reporter for New England Public Radio since 1998. Her features and documentaries have won a number of national awards, including the National Edward R. Murrow Award, Public Radio News Directors, Inc. (PRNDI) Award, Third Coast Audio Festival Award, and the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize.

Karen’s work has appeared on NPR, in The New York Times, and other outlets. She previously worked as a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer. She earned a Masters of Journalism from the University of California at Berkeley in 1996.

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Activists Rally In Springfield For Police Commissioner's Removal

By • Jun 9, 2021
Charles Stokes of Springfield, Massachusetts, was among those attending a rally on June 9, 2021, to call on Mayor Domenic Sarno to fire Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood.
Karen Brown / NEPM

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is standing by his police commissioner, Cheryl Clapprood, following a rally Wednesday calling for her to be fired.

Group Of Seniors Wants Springfield Police Commissioner Gone After She Denied Racism In Department

By • Jun 3, 2021
Springfield, Massachusetts, Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood takes the oath from District Court Judge John Payne during her swearing-in ceremony, in October 2019.
Adam Frenier / NEPM

A group of seniors in Springfield, Massachusetts, are calling for the removal of the city's police commissioner for what they say is her resistance to police reform.

Supreme Court Ruling Could Help Guatemalan Man Remain In Massachusetts

By • Jun 1, 2021
Lucio Perez, at a ceremony marking his departure from sanctuary in an Amherst, Massachusetts, church, on March 13, 2021.
Jill Kaufman / NEPM

Advocates for a Guatemalan man, who was in sanctuary for more than three years in western Massachusetts, say a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision could help him stay in the country.

Massachusetts High Court Hears Arguments On COVID-19 Testing In Jails

By • May 31, 2021
Razor wire on top of the perimeter fence at the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow, Massachusetts.
File Photo / The Republican / Masslive

Public interest lawyers are asking the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to force all jails in the state to regularly test inmates and staff for COVID-19, even without symptoms.

'You Can Just Get It Right Now': A Push To Address Hampden County's Vaccination Disparities

By • May 27, 2021
Workers, including Clarivel Amy (right), at a mobile vaccination site organized by Holyoke Health Center try to convince people to pull into the parking lot outside the Boys and Girls Club in Chicopee, Massachusetts.
Karen Brown / NEPM

Although Massachusetts has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country, Hampden County has the lowest rate in the state — with major racial and ethnic disparities among who is getting the shot.

Hampden County, Doing Poorly On COVID-19 Rates, Pushes For More Vaccinations

By • May 11, 2021
A sign at the Big E grounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts, directs visitors to a COVID-19 vaccination site that opened in April.
Don Treeger / The Republican / masslive.com

As Hampden County, Massachusetts, continues to rank poorly in COVID-19 metrics, officials are pushing for more vaccinations.

COVID-19 Has Shown 'Ugly Truth' About Racial Disparities, But Gaps In Data Remain

By • Apr 26, 2021
In this file photo, Tapestry Health employees provide free COVID-19 testing in Springfield and Agawam, Massachusetts.
Douglas Hook / MassLive / MassLive.com/photos

The pandemic has affected every person’s life, but there is consensus that communities of color — especially Black and Hispanic — have been affected the most.

However, in Massachusetts, the data to prove that is hard to pin down.

COVID Dreams Reflect Evolution Of Pandemic

By • Apr 19, 2021
Mark Sebastian / Creative Commons

No one is experiencing the pandemic in exactly the same way, but we share many common fears and anxieties — even when we’re asleep. As the pandemic goes on, dream experts say the evolution of COVID-19 dreams tells us a lot about our waking life, too.

'It’s Just Going To Be Different': In Northampton, Mass., A Debate Over The Future Of Policing

By • Apr 5, 2021
Northampton, Massachusetts, Police Chief Jody Kasper, kneeling second from left, with protesters last summer.
Alden Bourne / NEPR

A commission in Northampton, Massachusetts, suggested major changes to the city's policing approach. The police chief is pushing back on some parts — but not all.

New Englanders Bring Targeted Approach To Reparations Movement

By • Mar 31, 2021
Evan Lewis with a picture of his great-grandfather Lent Shaw.
Joyce Skowyra / NEPM

People have been making the case for reparations for Black Americans for decades, and there are signs of forward movement.

Policing Commission In Northampton, Massachusetts, Takes Case To City Council

By • Mar 30, 2021
Protesters at the police station in Northampton, Massachusetts on June 1, 2020.
Alden Bourne / NEPR

Members of a policing review commission in Northampton, Massachusetts, presented their case to the City Council on Tuesday for a new city department to take on some duties the police do now.

Northampton, Mass., Commission Wants New Department To Take Over Some Police Duties

By • Mar 22, 2021
Northampton, Massachusetts, Police Chief Jody Kasper, kneeling second from left, with protesters last summer.
Alden Bourne / NEPR

A commission in Northampton, Massachusetts, wants a new city department to take on many of the tasks police do now. 

Smith College Defends Focus On Diversity After Employee Claims Bias Against White Staff

By • Mar 3, 2021
Former Smith College employee Jodi Shaw, who filed a discrimination complaint against the college, has discussed her claims in more than a dozen YouTube videos.
Screen shot / Jodi Shaw's YouTube channel

A former Smith College employee says she has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination charging a hostile environment for white people on campus.

Newspaper Staff In Western Massachusetts Organizing To Preserve Local News

By • Feb 26, 2021
The Daily Hampshire Gazette is based in Northampton, Mass.
File photo / Daily Hampshire Gazette / gazettenet.com

Updated at 10:59 a.m.

As one of western Massachusetts' major newspapers operates on bare bones, its staff hosted a public forum this week.

Frustration As Demand Overwhelms Massachusetts Vaccine Website

By • Feb 18, 2021
Vaccination for COVID-19 takes place at the Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican / masslive.com

Western Massachusetts legislators are urging patience for those newly-eligible for the vaccine — but they're also frustrated at the state's glitchy rollout.

Mass. Coalition Demands More Equity In Vaccine Rollout, As Governor Announces Related Plan

By • Feb 17, 2021
A COVID-19 vaccine is administered at Baystate Medical Center.
Baystate Health / MassLive / MassLive.com

A coalition of health and community leaders wants Massachusetts to get more vaccines to people of color.

'I Don't Think You Did This, But I Can't Fix It': How To Improve Eyewitness Evidence

By • Feb 16, 2021
A witness to a 2016 shooting in Springfield, Massachusetts, looks through photos. NEPM has obscured her face.
Screen shot / Police video

Advocates for the wrongly convicted often say they’d much rather prevent mistakes than fix them after years of incarceration. But how to do that is up for debate.

Baystate CEO Urges Western Massachusetts Schools To Reopen For Sake Of Mental Health

By • Feb 16, 2021
MAXPIXEL.NET / CREATIVE COMMONS

Baystate Health CEO Mark Keroack says the isolation of learning remotely is causing serious psychological stress on children.

'Why'd You Pick Me?' Eyewitness Reforms Offer Limited Help To Those Convicted Decades Ago

By • Feb 16, 2021
Newly released from prison in April 2020, James Watson is flanked by his lawyers, Madeline Weaver Blanchette (left) and Barb Munro.
Courtesy / Barb Munro

In 2011, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court put together a task force of people from all over the criminal justice community.

They studied how eyewitness evidence is used in the courtroom and offered science-based recommendations going forward.

But it left many people who were convicted before the report still in prison.

'I Was There, I Saw Him': Do Eyewitnesses Have Too Much Sway In Massachusetts Courts?

By • Feb 15, 2021
Witness Gregory Danas (center), a ballistics expert, answers questions from attorney Myles Jacobson (right) during a hearing for Phillip Ayala in Hampden Superior Court in 2015.
Mark M. Murray / The Republican / masslive.com

Scientists have long claimed that eyewitness testimony can be both highly convincing and incredibly unreliable.

Amid COVID-19 Outbreak, UMass Students Protest Rule Forbidding Them To Go Into Work

By • Feb 12, 2021
Students are allowed to go to the COVID-19 testing site at UMass Amherst's Mullins Center, but the university is warning of possible sanctions for those who continue working off-campus jobs.
Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican / masslive.com

As UMass Amherst tries to beat back a major COVID-19 outbreak, some students are frustrated by at least one new restriction.

Police Reform Advocates In Springfield Call For Consent Decree

By • Jan 28, 2021
Bishop Talbert Swan, president of the Springfield NAACP.
Douglas Hook / Masslive / masslive.com

Advocates for police reform in Springfield, Massachusetts, say it's time for the federal government to force the police department to be accountable for its actions.

Galvin Says He'll Sue If Trump Administration Skews Massachusetts' Census Count

By • Dec 31, 2020
Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin.
Steph Solis / Masslive / Masslive.com

The Massachusetts secretary of state said he's concerned the Trump administration has sabotaged the census for political reasons.

All Massachusetts Workers Soon Eligible For Paid Family And Medical Leave

By • Dec 28, 2020
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signs the paid family leave law in 2018.
File Photo / MassLive / MassLive.com/photos

Starting in January, Massachusetts workers are eligible to take paid time off to bond with a new child or to recover from a long illness.

Senators Markey And Warren Call For Pause On Springfield, Massachusetts, Biomass Plant

By • Dec 24, 2020
An architect's rendering of the proposed biomass plant in Springfield, Massachusetts.
File / MassLive / MassLive.com

Massachusetts’ two U.S. senators have asked the state to put a stop to a biomass plant in Springfield, at least until the incoming Biden Administration weighs in on the issue.

Baystate Health Goes Quickly Through First Vaccine Round, With Some Declining

By • Dec 22, 2020
A COVID-19 vaccine is administered at Baystate Medical Center.
Baystate Health / MassLive / MassLive.com

Baystate Health in Springfield, Massachusetts, announced it has used up all of its initial COVID-19 vaccine doses — with a number of people turning down their turn.

Springfield To Pay $6.5 Million To Man Wrongfully Imprisoned For 27 Years

By • Dec 8, 2020
Mark Schand and his wife Mia at their Windsor, Connecticut, home.
Karen Brown / NEPM

The city of Springfield, Massachusetts, will pay $6.5 million to a man wrongfully incarcerated for almost three decades.

Some Western Massachusetts Legislators Want National Guard To Staff More Testing Sites

By • Dec 2, 2020
In this file photo, Tapestry Health employees provide free COVID-19 testing in Springfield and Agawam, Massachusetts.
Douglas Hook / MassLive / MassLive.com/photos

State legislators in western Massachusetts are turning up the pressure for more COVID-19 testing, but they don’t all necessarily agree on how that should be done.

A Bridge, Dating To 1800s, Goes Down In A Storm. It Takes A Village To Restore It

By • Nov 24, 2020
The Bridge of Names, in Lake Pleasant, Massachusetts, after storm damage.
Karen Brown / NEPM

A walking bridge in western Massachusetts was badly damaged in an autumn storm, but the town doesn’t own the land under it. So residents have banded together to take on the project — for its practical and historical value.

COVID-19 Testing Crunch In Western Massachusetts Leads To Long Waits

By • Nov 20, 2020
RN Alyssa Anderson administers a COVID-19 test at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford in March 2020.
Joe Amon / Connecticut Public / NENC

With virus rates rising across the state and the holidays looming, western Massachusetts residents who want to get a COVID test are often waiting in hours-long lines, if they can get one at all.

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