Steve Henn
Steve Henn is NPR's technology correspondent based in Menlo Park, California, who is currently on assignment with Planet Money. An award winning journalist, he now covers the intersection of technology and modern life - exploring how digital innovations are changing the way we interact with people we love, the institutions we depend on and the world around us. In 2012 he came frighteningly close to crashing one of the first Tesla sedans ever made. He has taken a ride in a self-driving car, and flown a drone around Stanford's campus with a legal expert on privacy and robotics.
But Steve's favorite technology stories are the ones that explain how little-understood innovations can change the way millions of us behave. Why do people buy cows in Farmville? Why are video games so compelling and why do some people have such a hard time setting Twitter aside? He is fascinated by how digital companies attempt to mold our behavior and study our every move in a world where we are constantly interacting with connected devices.
Prior to moving to Silicon Valley in 2010, Steve covered a wide range of topics for the public radio show Marketplace. His reporting kicked off the congressional travel scandals in late 2004, and helped expose the role of private military contractors at Abu Ghraib.
At Marketplace, Henn helped establish collaborations with the Center for Public Integrity and the Medill's School of Journalism.
Steve spent his early life on a farm in Iowa where his parents, who are biochemists, hoped to raise all their own food and become energy self-sufficient. It didn't work. During college Steve hoped to drop out and support himself by working in the fishing industry in Alaska. That also didn't work. After college he biked around the country with his sweetheart, Emily Johnson. He then followed Emily to Africa, volunteering at Soweto Community Radio. That did work out. He and Emily are now happily married with three daughters.
Steve graduated from Wesleyan University's College of Social Studies with honors and Columbia University's Graduate school of Journalism.
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Law enforcement officials are pressing cellphone companies to make their devices more theft resistant. Mobile phones — iPhones especially — have become common targets of thieves. -
Edward Snowden, a former NSA analyst who leaked NSA surveillance information, has made claims about his ability to access private phone conversations and email. Some in the industry dispute the range of activities he says analysts are able to do.
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In a secret intelligence program called PRISM, the government obtained access to troves of data from some of the largest tech companies in the country, including Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook. The government says the search was limited to foreign targets, not Americans or non-citizens living in the U.S. The intelligence operation potentially undermines the companies' pledge to protect customer privacy.
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The U.S. International Trade Commission's ruling affects some older models of the iPhone and iPad. President Obama has 60 days to overturn the order; Apple said it will appeal.
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What an employer finds when researching an applicant online can make or break a job opportunity. Pete Kistler says he found this out the hard way. Since online reputation-management services were too pricey for his college budget, he started his own. -
The new Google Maps features tailor-made results based on users' habits and search histories. The features were made possible by the revisions Google made to its privacy policies last year, a change that removed most of the barriers between its various services. -
Facebook is expected to pay out $20 million in a settlement over its "Sponsored Stories" advertising service, after placing user images in personalized ads. But the settlement doesn't stop the service, and a legal expert says Facebook's option to let users opt out creates more problems. -
From privacy concerns to technology saturation, Google's new technology has had its fair share of criticism — and it's not even on sale yet. The company wants to change those negative perceptions of its wearable computer before it goes on sale to the public. -
When Microsoft introduced Windows 8 last year, the software giant billed the new operating system as one of the most critical releases in its history. The system would bridge the gap between personal computers and the fast-growing mobile world of tablets and smartphones. But this week, the company sent signals that it might soon alter Windows 8 to address some early criticism. -
After deadly disasters in clothing factories, labor activists are trying to persuade at least two more retailers to agree to improve working conditions in Bangladesh. Two retail giants have already signed onto a proposal that would mandate that fire and safety inspections be made public and require retailers to pay for needed factory repairs.
