Best radio, audio, or podcast coverage of international affairs
AWARD DATE: 2023
AWARD NAME: The Lowell Thomas Award 2023
RECIPIENTS: Eyder Peralta, Dan Girma, Jenny Schmidt, Tara Neill and Ayesha Rascoe
AFFILIATION: NPR
HONORED WORK: “The Sunday Story: A Rare Look Inside Locked-down Nicaragua”
Reporter Eyder Peralta takes us on a risk-filled trip to Nicaragua, where foreign journalists have been essentially banned. Fortunately, Peralta has a golden ticket – a Nicaraguan passport. He looks beyond the busy streets and packed bars to find the truth of life in a country now under authoritarian rule, where people face retribution for opposing the government. Peralta gives the listener insight into his exiled family and his personal relationship with his homeland. The piece weaves together the sounds of the country, its people, its music and his own engaging storytelling. Peralta brings present day Nicaragua to life while providing historical context for how it came to be what it is today.
Link to the winning work:
“The Sunday Story: A Rare Look Inside Locked-down Nicaragua”
Citation for Excellence:
Ramtin Arablouei, Rund Abdelfatah, Julie Caine, Tara Neill and Throughline Staff
NPR
“Throughline: The Ghost in Your Phone”