The State of Things

The Aftershocks of History

WUNC | By Alex Blumberg,

Published February 21, 2012 at 11:49 AM EST

The destruction of Haiti was lamented by people the world over following the 2010 earthquake that shook the country to its core. But Haiti's problems preceded the natural disaster by more than 200 years. In fact, according to Laurent Dubois, author of the new book, "Haiti: The Aftershocks of History" (Metropolitan Books/2012), the country's problems can be traced back to its revolution of 1804 and beyond.

The State of Things

Alex Blumberg

Alex Blumberg is a contributing editor for NPR's Planet Money. He is also a producer for the public radio program This American Life, and an adjunct professor of journalism at Columbia University. He has done radio documentaries on the U.S. Navy, people who do impersonations of their mothers and teenage Steve Forbes supporters. He won first place at the 2002 Third Coast International Audio Festival for his story "Yes, There is a Baby." His story on clinical medical ethicists won the 1999 Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI) award for best radio documentary.

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Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

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