Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
The recent deep freeze across much of the U.S. has created the best opportunity in decades to sail ice boats across frozen bays and rivers — including Chesapeake Bay.
This week the Ghanian musician Ebo Taylor died at 90 years old. While he was not well known in the U.S. he was a star in Africa, and a defining force in highlife music.