Bill Chappell

Bill Chappell is a blogger and producer who works with NPR's Morning Edition and Digital Media group. In addition to coordinating Web features, he frequently contributes to NPR's blogs, from The Two Way and All Tech Considered to The Salt.

Chappell's work at NPR has ranged from being the site's first full-time homepage editor to leading the London 2012 Olympics blog, The Torch. His assignments have included being the lead web producer for NPR's trip to Asia's Grand Trunk Road, as well as establishing the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps on NPR.org.

In 2009, Chappell was a key editorial member of the small team that redesigned NPR's web site. One year later, the site won its first Peabody Award, along with the National Press Foundation's Excellence in Online Journalism award.

At NPR, Chappell trains both digital and radio staff to use digital tools to tell compelling stories, in addition to "evangelizing" — promoting more collaboration between departments. Other shows he has worked with include All Things Considered, Fresh Air, and Talk of the Nation.

Prior to joining NPR in late 2003, Chappell worked on the Assignment Desk at CNN International, handling coverage in areas from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, and coordinating CNN's pool coverage out of Qatar.

Chappell's work for CNN also included producing Web stories and editing digital video for SI.com, as well as editing and producing stories for CNN.com's features division. He also worked at the network's video and research library.

Before joining CNN, Chappell wrote about movies, restaurants and music for alternative weeklies, in addition to his first job: editing the police blotter.

From 2002-2003, Chappell served as editor-in-chief of The Trans-Atlantic Journal, a business and lifestyle monthly geared for expatriate Europeans working and living in the United States.

A holder of bachelor's degrees in English and History from the University of Georgia, he attended graduate school for English Literature at the University of South Carolina.

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The Two-Way
4:11 pm
Mon April 22, 2013

Canada Charges Two In Plot To Attack Train Line With Al-Qaida's Help

Canadian authorities have disrupted an alleged plot that targeted a passenger train line running between New York and Toronto, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced Monday. The plan involved derailing a train, but police officials would give few details about the plot at a news conference this afternoon.

But they did say they believe the suspects received support or help from al-Qaida.

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The Two-Way
11:50 am
Mon April 22, 2013

Airline Customers Watch For Delays As Furloughs Hit FAA Workers

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
An American Airlines passenger is helped at the ticket counter at Miami International Airport last week. Many airline industry observers expect delays to strike Monday, the first full day of FAA furloughs.

Originally published on Mon April 22, 2013 6:53 pm

Many airline passengers saw only moderate flight delays stemming from the first full day of furloughs for nearly 15,000 flight controllers and other Federal Aviation Administration workers, as industry analysts' worst fears did not materialize. But the reduced staffing was blamed for some slowdowns, and observers say it also increased the length of unrelated delays.

We'll be keeping an eye on possible delays today, and updating this post with new information.

Update at 6:45 p.m. ET. Delays Build, Many Tied To Weather:

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The Two-Way
5:13 pm
Sun April 21, 2013

Antares Rocket Launch Is A Success, In Test Of Orbital Supply Vehicle

Credit Steve Helber / AP
The Antares rocket lifts off from the launchpad at the NASA facility on Wallops Island Va., Sunday, beginning a test mission that has now been deemed a success. The Orbital Sciences Corp. rocket will eventually deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

Originally published on Sun April 21, 2013 6:04 pm

The Two-Way
3:44 pm
Sun April 21, 2013

Midwest River Towns Ready Themselves For Cresting Floodwaters

Credit Jeff Roberson / AP
In Clarksville, Mo., Bob Bailey adjusts a pump as he tries to keep floodwater from the Mississippi River out of a rental property Sunday. The small community has worked for days to build a makeshift sandbag levee.

Originally published on Sun April 21, 2013 6:28 pm

Towns in Missouri, central Illinois and at least four other Midwestern states are under a flood warning, as heavy spring rains swell the Mississippi and other rivers to dangerously high crests. In some areas, rivers have already hit record flood levels.

In places where residents have been forced to evacuate their homes, the American Red Cross has set up shelters at schools and other facilities.

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The Two-Way
2:27 pm
Sun April 21, 2013

Hundreds Gather For Boston Memorial Service Near Marathon's Finish

Credit Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
People participate in an interfaith memorial service with members of six churches near the site of Monday's Boston Marathon bombings.

Originally published on Mon April 22, 2013 8:26 am

Hundreds of Boston-area residents gathered Sunday to pray, to sing and to remember the victims of bombs and other violence in the city this week.

Six churches organized an interfaith service near the intersection of Boylston and Berkeley streets, close to the cordoned-off area where investigators are examining the crime scene created when two bombs tragically altered the finish of the 2013 Boston Marathon.

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The Two-Way
12:07 pm
Sun April 21, 2013

Miranda Rights And Tsarnaev: Ashcroft Says U.S. Move Is The Right One

Credit Matt Rourke / AP
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said Friday that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, suspected of carrying out a bombing attack on the Boston Marathon, will not be read his Miranda rights before he is questioned.

Originally published on Sun April 21, 2013 4:06 pm

Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has not yet been questioned — but officials' decision not to read him his Miranda rights before interrogation is the subject of much debate.

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The Two-Way
9:47 am
Sun April 21, 2013

Boston Update: Officials Wait To Question Suspect; Memorial Held Sunday

Credit Mario Tama / Getty Images
People gather at a makeshift memorial for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings at the edge of the still-closed section of Boylston Street. The surviving suspect in the case, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, remains in the hospital.

Originally published on Mon April 22, 2013 8:26 am

(Most recent update: 4:20 p.m. ET)

Investigators are still waiting to interview Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, whose wounds reportedly include injuries to his neck and leg. An official tells CNN that Tsarnaev has been "intubated and sedated," rendering him unable to speak with them.

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The Two-Way
9:46 am
Sun April 21, 2013

London Marathon Marked By High Security, Memories Of Boston

Credit Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
London Marathon runners stand in a silent, pre-race tribute Sunday to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. The police presence was increased for the London event.

Originally published on Sun April 21, 2013 3:24 pm

The London Marathon observed 30 seconds of silence before the race got underway Sunday, in a show of solidarity with the victims of Monday's attack at the Boston Marathon. Many runners and spectators wore black ribbons to honor the three people killed and the more than 170 injured in two bombings.

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The Two-Way
2:10 pm
Sat April 20, 2013

The Tsarnaev Brothers: What We Know About The Boston Bombing Suspects

Originally published on Sat April 20, 2013 3:43 pm

With Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in police custody at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and his brother and fellow suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev dead after a shootout, many questions now focus on how these two young men arrived at this point.

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The Two-Way
7:22 pm
Tue April 16, 2013

Maine Court Sets $25,000 Bail For 'North Pond Hermit'

Credit Kennebec County Sheriff's Office / AP
Christopher Knight, 47, has been charged with stealing food and other items from a camp in Rome, Maine. Knight's years of living in isolation earned him the nickname of the North Pond Hermit.

Christopher Knight, whose 27 years of living in near-total isolation in Maine's wilderness made him an object of fascination after he was arrested for stealing food and supplies, appeared by video for a court hearing Tuesday, when a Kennebec County judge set his bail at $25,000 cash.

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The Two-Way
3:51 pm
Tue April 16, 2013

One Gear, One Goal: Bike Is 'Good To 100 MPH,' Builder Says

Credit Oli Woodman / Bike Radar
A bicycle built by British firm Donhou was created with the goal of hitting high speeds,€” perhaps including 100 mph.

Originally published on Tue April 16, 2013 5:28 pm

What does it take to ride a bicycle at 100 miles per hour? That's the question being explored by Britain's Donhou Bicycles and frame builder Tom Donhou, who has mounted a mammoth chainring onto a custom bicycle. He says the steel machine has already hit 60 miles per hour on the open road.

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The Two-Way
10:59 am
Tue April 16, 2013

Oklahoma City Marathon Will Proceed, Organizers Say After Boston Attack

Credit Brett Deering / Getty Images
Oklahoma City officials say that a marathon that's part of memorial events honoring the anniversary of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building will take place Friday. Here, Boy Scouts take part in the 2010 event.

News of the deadly bombing attack on the Boston Marathon is echoing in Oklahoma City, where residents will observe the 18th anniversary Friday of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people. The events include a marathon, which remains on the schedule, although officials say they will review their security plans.

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The Two-Way
7:17 pm
Mon April 15, 2013

Online Tools Help People Connect After Boston Marathon Bombing

Originally published on Tue April 16, 2013 5:21 am

Even as the shock and horror of the deadly explosions at the Boston Marathon had yet to subside Monday, people were turning to online tools to check on the safety of their friends and family who were at the event. The latest estimates of the casualties include more than 3 dozen people injured, with two dead.

As has been the case in previous calamities, Google and the Red Cross helped to connect people with runners, spectators, and volunteers who were at the race.

Here are several tools that came into use today:

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The Two-Way
5:11 pm
Mon April 15, 2013

Witnesses To Marathon Explosions Describe Panic And Horror

Credit Jim Rogash / Getty Images
An injured man is loaded into an ambulance after two explosions during the 117th Boston Marathon near Copley Square on Monday.

Originally published on Tue April 16, 2013 9:33 am

People near the finish line of the Boston Marathon described horrific scenes of the chaos that followed two loud explosions in quick succession this afternoon, sending spectators rushing away from the scene in panic as others lay bloodied and wounded on the ground.

One witness, Aaron Michael told member station WGBH that he heard first one explosion and then another.

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The Two-Way
3:58 pm
Mon April 15, 2013

2013 Pulitzers Honor Sharon Olds, Adam Johnson, New York Times

Originally published on Tue April 16, 2013 9:37 am

The new batch of Pulitzer Prize winners has just been announced, with novelist Adam Johnson winning the fiction prize with The Orphan Master's Son. The winners of the prizes for Americans' best work in journalism, drama, music, and writing also receive a $10,000 cash award.

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The Two-Way
1:23 pm
Mon April 15, 2013

Remains Sent From Vietnam To Hawaii May Be Those Of U.S. Service Member

Vietnam has sent what analysts believe could be the remains of a member of the American military who died in the country during the Vietnam War. After a repatriation ceremony at the airport in Da Nang Sunday, the remains were sent to Hawaii for examination and possible identification.

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The Two-Way
12:43 pm
Mon April 15, 2013

European Union Report Details Growth Of Human Trafficking

Credit European Union
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said Monday that "trafficking in human beings is all around us, closer than we think."

More than 23,600 people were victims of human trafficking in Europe during a recent three-year period, according to a new European Union report that says the problem is growing worse. Its authors say the official figures do not come close to describing the crime, which has "hundreds of thousands of victims."

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The Two-Way
5:31 pm
Sun April 14, 2013

Mars Rovers Go Quiet, As Sun Blocks Transmissions

Credit NASA
The rover Curiosity and other NASA spacecraft at Mars are now in a radio blackout, as the sun is interfering with transmissions. Curiosity took this self-portrait by combining 66 exposures in February.

Communications between the Earth and Mars are on hiatus for several weeks, thanks to interference from the sun. That means NASA's orbiters and rovers that study Mars will be left to their own devices until radio signals can once again travel between the two planets.

Known as "solar conjunction," the problem arises when the orbit of planets places the sun directly between them.

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The Two-Way
2:15 pm
Sun April 14, 2013

Beer Bust: Yankees Rename 'Craft Beer' Stand At Stadium

Credit Amanda Rykoff
The New York Yankees' "Craft Beer Destination" met with derision online, after fans noted the beers were all MillerCoors products — and one of them is a cider. The stand now has a new title, the "Beer Mixology Destination."

Originally published on Wed April 17, 2013 3:39 pm

The baseball season is still young, but the New York Yankees have already faced harsh public criticism. No, we're not referring to their lackluster record. Instead, the Yanks were accused of trying to hoodwink beer drinkers with a new "Craft Beer Destination" concession stand at their Bronx stadium.

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The Two-Way
1:06 pm
Sun April 14, 2013

Violence Hits Guantanamo Bay As Inmates Continue Hunger Strike

Credit Suzette Laboy / AP
A view of the the U.S. Naval Station base in Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Guards and prisoners fought Saturday, as inmates were moved into individual cells instead of communal housing.

Inmates fought guards at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after military authorities decided to end communal housing in one of the prison's camps, and instead put prisoners in individual cells. At least one detainee was reportedly injured by a rubber bullet in the clash Saturday.

The violence began after the facility's commander ordered the move Saturday morning. According to the U.S. Southern Command, the decision was made after detainees covered windows and surveillance cameras, limiting guards' ability to monitor them at all times.

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