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Ina Jaffe
National Desk Correspondent, NPR West
Ina Jaffe
National Desk Correspondent, NPR West
Biography
Ina Jaffe is a veteran NPR correspondent covering the aging of America in all its variety. Her stories on Morning Edition and All Things Considered have focused on older adults’ involvement in politics and elections, dating and divorce, work and retirement, fashion and sports, as well as issues affecting long-term care and end of life choices. She also has a regular spot on Weekend Edition with Scott Simon called “1 in 5” where she discusses issues relevant to the 1/5 of the U.S. population that will be 65 years old or more by 2030.
Ina also reports on politics, contributing to NPR’s coverage of national elections in 2008, 2010, and 2012. She was recently named one of 50 “Influencers in Aging” by Next Avenue, a PBS publication, where she was commended for her reinvention of reporting on aging.
From her base at NPR’s production center in southern California, Ina has covered most of the region’s major news events from the beating of Rodney King to the election of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She’s also developed award-winning enterprise pieces. Her 2012 investigation into how the West Los Angeles VA made millions from renting vacant property while ignoring plans to house homeless veterans won an award from the Society of Professional Journalists as well as a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media. A few months after the story aired, the West Los Angeles VA broke ground on supportive housing for homeless vets.
Her 2010 series on California’s tough three strikes law was honored by the American Bar Association with the Silver Gavel Award, as well as by the Society of Professional Journalists. And her year-long coverage on the rising violence in California’s public psychiatric hospitals won the 2011 Investigative Reporters and Editors Award as well as a Gracie Award.
Before moving to Los Angeles, Ina was the first editor of Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon which made its debut in 1985.
Born in Chicago, Ina attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and DePaul University receiving Bachelor's and Master's degrees in philosophy, respectively.
Speaker Videos
The New Age of Aging
Speech Topics
The New Age of Aging
In a few years, a fifth of the U.S. population will be 65 years old or more. But the lives of older Americans are changing rapidly. They're in the workforce longer. Advances in technology are helping them remain independent longer. And baby boomers — who reinvented youth culture — seem bent on doing the same thing with our notions of aging. In fact, the lives of older adults are changing so rapidly, we don't even agree on the words we should use to describe people in this time of life.
These are the issues and trends that NPR Correspondent Ina Jaffe covers in her reporting. She shares her own journey of discovery by introducing the audience to some of the remarkable and inspiring people she's encountered in her work.
Learning and Longevity
Thirty years have been added to the human lifespan in little more than a century. This unprecedented growth makes lifelong learning a necessity. Ina Jaffe, NPR's correspondent covering aging, discusses how lifelong learning has affected her life and career. She also talks about research showing that lifelong learning leads to better physical and mental health as we age.
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