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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The Pentagon's Defense Department Research Agency — DARPA — is pushing to build a semi-autonomous search and rescue robot. But scientists see obvious dual uses, for war. -
The price and difficulty of building robots has fallen, and Google has scooped a half-dozen robotics firms. It's a safe bet that bots will be an increasing part of our workplaces and daily lives. -
Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden addressed the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, urging developers to build encryption systems to stifle government snooping.
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Mt. Gox, the leading bitcoin exchange, has stopped doing business amid reports it was hit by a massive theft. The troubles at the exchange could prove to be a pivotal moment for the virtual currency.
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Facebook is rolling out changes to its 159 million members in the U.S. that will allow people to have a wider choice than simply male or female when selecting a gender description on the site. Users can choose from roughly 50 options including Trans Male, Trans Woman or Androgynous. -
Chat rooms and websites offered support for many gay kids growing up in small towns in the 1990s who felt detached from their peers. In the span of 20 years in the same Louisiana town, one teen today has had a very different experience than a woman who grew up there in the '80s. -
Satya Nadella is just the third CEO in Microsoft's 39-year history. He's a Microsoft insider tasked with re-energizing the company and making it more relevant in a future likely to be dominated by mobile technology. As Nadella moves into his new role, he will be supported by Bill Gates, who is stepping down as chairman to become more involved with technology development.
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In January 1984, Apple aired one of most iconic commercials in Super Bowl history — introducing the Macintosh computer. The marketing helped position Apple as a plucky upstart, and the machine fundamentally changed the way people interacted with computers. -
T-Mobile CEO John Legere enjoys making waves — or perhaps he feels as if there's no choice, because he helms the smallest of the four major telecom companies. Legere is engaged in a feisty battle for market share. In Las Vegas recently, he crashed AT&T's party at a trade show and was summarily kicked out, and T-Mobile is going hard after its competitors in new commercials. But where this all ends is an open question. Many analysts believe T-Mobile will eventually be gobbled up in a merger.
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In Silicon Valley, zero profit and even zero revenue don't make a company a loser. Tech companies like Snapchat and Twitter, which have not yet turned any profit, can be worth billions of dollars based on future potential alone.
