NPR Roving National Correspondent, traveling the country in search of uniquely American stories. Previously: London, Shanghai, Nairobi, Beijing. Send story tips to flangfitt@npr.org, or via Signal, at franklangfittnpr.82https://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3meroryjtfc2jEarlier this week, I went iceboating. the deep freeze had created rare, perfect conditions on the Chesapeake. This sport is incredibly fast - we were doing 25 to 30 mph in modest winds - and incredibly fun. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/12/nx-s1-5705956/ice-boating-chesapeake-bay?fbclid=IwY2xjawP8lp1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJRQm1RcUFkV2xJUDJ6Nk1Hc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHoRbBLRlQlk2WfmwlbfPvNxtC7gsdu9H_ELNYNNiS4FVgzGNwsjkzLWtJwsV_aem_GYvZF9atshX-t7yqffAEdQ13 Feb 2026 23:44 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3meroryjtfc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lsgx4srvdc25Very interesting analysis by @gbrumfiel on why bombing of fordo may have failed. And why journalistic experience and expertise matters. https://www.npr.org/2025/06/25/nx-s1-5444307/did-america-bunker-busting-bombs-fail-reach-iran-nuclear-targets25 Jun 2025 15:40 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsgx4srvdc25https://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lsbnb53scs2z@newyorker.com staffer @eosnos.bsky.social has a timely new collection of essays out about the super rich called "The Haves and Have-Yachts." He covers billionaire doomsday preppers & the owners of giga yachts. My conversation w/ him is here: https://www.npr.org/2025/06/19/1254414869/nprs-book-of-the-day-evan-osnos-the-haves-and-have-yachts & https://www.npr.org/2025/06/22/nx-s1-5440357/the-haves-and-have-yachts-ultrarich-evan-osnos23 Jun 2025 13:01 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsbnb53scs2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lrq7slr5ck2xI spent Saturday at a No Kings rally in Annapolis & the army parade in DC. I learned a lot by spending time with people at both events. The parade was a Rorschach test that divided the country, but the conversations I had at both venues were thoughtful, civil and nuanced. https://www.npr.org/2025/06/16/nx-s1-5434337/army-military-parade-no-kings-protests-president-trump-divided-america16 Jun 2025 14:45 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrq7slr5ck2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lqpyin4fws27President Trump pardoned a former Virginia sheriff -- and outspoken Trump supporter -- last week who was headed to prison for a decade on bribery charges. The sheriff's constituents -- including Trump supporters -- say the pardon is "a terrific mistake." My latest. https://www.npr.org/2025/06/01/nx-s1-5417938/trump-pardons-former-virginia-sheriff-convicted-of-bribery03 Jun 2025 19:09 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqpyin4fws27https://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lohgy2puec2fA tiny Maryland town voted overwhelmingly for Trump. They liked his pledge to cut waste. Then FEMA cancelled classes at the National Fire Academy, which trains firefighters across the country & is part of the town's identity. This is what people there now say: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/05/nx-s1-5351764/trump-cuts-national-fire-academy-maryland-emmitsburg-fema-federal-spending05 May 2025 22:43 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lohgy2puec2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lo4pfne2dc2vI spoke with a dozen people who've come to the US from authoritarian countries. The vast majority said some of the administration's tactics -- threatening law firms, attacking critical news media and instilling fear in university professors -- were very familiar. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5340754/trump-authoritarianism-u-s-hungary-turkey-orban-erdogan-duterte-maria-ressa01 May 2025 16:15 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lo4pfne2dc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lnzvjrz77k2uThe United States economy is one quarter away from a recession. Economy shrank 0.3% in the first three months of 2025 from a year ago, reversing sharply from an annual 2.4% growth registered in the last three months of 2024 under then President Biden. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/30/nx-s1-5380204/trump-economy-gdp-tariffs-recession-consumers30 Apr 2025 13:27 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnzvjrz77k2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lngc6eulnc2vA survey of more than 500 political scientists finds that the vast majority think the United States is moving swiftly from liberal democracy toward some form of authoritarianism. "We've slid into some form of authoritarianism," -- Steven Levitsky, Harvard. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/22/nx-s1-5340753/trump-democracy-authoritarianism-competive-survey-political-scientist22 Apr 2025 18:20 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lngc6eulnc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lngbxpnmok2vNPR exclusive from yesterday: White House looking to replace Secretary of Defense from Tom Bowman and @quillawrence.bsky.social [contains quote post or other embedded content]22 Apr 2025 18:16 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lngbxpnmok2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3llts445kfc2hPolitico: Elon Musk will be stepping back from his WH role. "Musk’s looming retreat comes as some Trump administration insiders and many outside allies have become frustrated with his unpredictability and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability." https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/02/trump-musk-leaving-political-liability-0026578402 Apr 2025 16:19 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3llts445kfc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3ljqcs6f3rs2iNational Endowment for Democracy sues Trump administration for blocking access to nearly $240 million in congressionally-approved funds. Earlier USAID recipients sued govt for failure to pay about $2 billion. Groups say impoundment of funds threatens their existence. https://www.npr.org/2025/03/06/nx-s1-5320021/national-endowment-democracy-sues-trump-administration-withheld-funds06 Mar 2025 20:17 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljqcs6f3rs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3ljjisg5eqc2u@tomdreisbach.bsky.social and Nick McMillan @npr.org reviewed more than a 1,000 videos posted by "The Dan Bongino Show." They included Bongino saying the FBI should be "disbanded immediately" and calling agents "thugs." Bongino is now No 2 at FBI. https://www.npr.org/2025/03/03/nx-s1-5308020/dan-bongino-trump-fbi-director-conspiracies-podcast04 Mar 2025 03:15 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljjisg5eqc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3liu4ju3jls2gI covered 2022 meeting where London Tower Hamlets council rejected plans for giant Chinese embassy by Tower of London. Now new labor government- facing bad economy - is poised to approve it. Important sty by my colleagues mark lander and MaraHvistendahl https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/world/europe/china-embassy-britain.html?smid=url-share23 Feb 2025 15:10 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3liu4ju3jls2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3liktqmtiis2uFederal judge ordered Trump officials to restart funding USAID projects (including democracy & human rights) but officials haven't done it and argue they don't have to. My latest from DC federal court: https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/02/19/g-s1-49716/trump-officials-foreign-aid-usaid-judge19 Feb 2025 22:39 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3liktqmtiis2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lihmsyrh622tThe Trump administration has stopped funding practically all U.S. government work supporting democracy, human rights and press freedom around the globe. This is unprecedented. It reverses decades of American foreign policy to battle authoritarianism across the world. https://www.npr.org/2025/02/16/nx-s1-5297844/trump-musk-democracy-usaid-authoritarian-human-rights-funding-freeze18 Feb 2025 15:57 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lihmsyrh622thttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lhoqnxj56s2lTailgating: Why strangers create living rooms in parking lots or what I learned at the NFC championship game between the Birds and the Commanders. Come for the cheesesteaks, stay for the analysis. https://www.npr.org/2025/02/08/g-s1-47257/the-american-tailgate-why-strangers-recreate-their-living-rooms-in-a-parking-lot08 Feb 2025 18:29 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhoqnxj56s2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lhhuvew22c2fFollowing a White House anti-DEI order, the National Cryptologic Museum covered up exhibits of women & people of color in its Hall of Honor. NSA reversed course after former employees protested on-line. Monday, dozens went to the museum to find out what happened. https://www.npr.org/2025/02/05/nx-s1-5286299/nsa-museum-dei-exhibit-women-people-of-color-trump06 Feb 2025 00:56 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhhuvew22c2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lhgedbyed226On a lighter note, Tiny Desk helps me learn who my kids are sometimes listening to. Sabrina Carpenter won two Grammys this week. Saw her at tiny desk recently. She’s a clever song writer, but what struck me is her act has - of all things - a vaudeville-feel. she’s hilarious. https://youtu.be/BEoGvTlJMyY?si=h1c20YM9EMiQjGBR05 Feb 2025 10:27 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhgedbyed226https://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lhgc5ywqkk2wAs a general rule, we reporters should focus more on what people are actually doing and less on what they say they plan to do. [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 Feb 2025 09:48 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhgc5ywqkk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lh7cucsk3s2qBlack Hawk was flying too high -- at an altitude of 325 feet at the time of the crash, according to NTSB -- 125 feet above the limit on that route. The jet was flying about 300 feet. https://www.npr.org/2025/02/01/nx-s1-5283318/dc-plane-crash-investigation-helicopter-crew-vision-ntsb02 Feb 2025 15:12 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lh7cucsk3s2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/franklangfitt.bsky.social/post/3lggarqh3xk2g congratulations to my many colleagues at @npr.org for winning a duPont-Columbia award for coverage of the war in Gaza. As our lead reporter @danielestrin.bsky.social put it: “From day one we have had a mission, that mission is to bring our listeners into the hospital or into the killing23 Jan 2025 15:58 +0000at://did:plc:pfm46sql3nmpn74lfuqew2gu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lggarqh3xk2g