Quil Lawrence
Quil Lawrence is a New York-based correspondent for NPR News, covering veterans' issues nationwide. He won a Robert F. Kennedy Award for his coverage of American veterans and a Gracie Award for coverage of female combat veterans. In 2019 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America honored Quil with its IAVA Salutes Award for Leadership in Journalism.
Lawrence started his career in radio by interviewing con men in Tangier, Morocco. He then moved to Bogota, Colombia, and covered Latin America for NPR, the BBC, and The LA Times.
In the Spring of 2000, a Pew Fellowship sponsored his first trips to Iraq — that reporting experience eventually built the foundation for his first book, Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East (Bloomsbury, 2009).
Lawrence has reported from throughout the Arab world and from Sudan, Cuba, Pakistan, Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan for twelve years, serving as NPR's Bureau Chief in Baghdad and Kabul. He covered the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the second battle of Fallujah in 2004, as well as politics, culture, and war in both countries.
In 2012, Lawrence returned to the U.S. to cover the millions of men and women who have served at war, both recently and in past generations. NPR is possibly unique among major news organizations in dedicating a full-time correspondent to veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A native of Maine, Lawrence studied history at Brandeis University, with concentrations in the Middle East and Latin America. He is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Arabic.
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India's count of COVID-19 cases has passed 20 million. Indian Americans are sounding the alarm that the surge demands global attention, and are raising money to help send supplies and aid to India.
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President Biden announced that troops will be out of Afghanistan by September. Many Afghanistan veterans were among the strongest voices calling for the U.S. to leave, but veteran opinions are varied.
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For years, veterans have been targeted by online schools offering what can be worthless degrees. Vets hope a provision tucked inside the new COVID-19 relief bill will finally address the problem.
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NPR photographer David Gilkey was killed in Afghanistan while on assignment in June 2016. A new book, Pictures on the Radio, collects some of his most vivid images in one place for the first time.
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Despite this year's Gold Star event landing amid the pandemic, the White House didn't cancel it. President Trump says when he met these family members, he couldn't bear to keep them at arms-length. -
Thousands of people who were planning to visit war memorials in Washington, D.C., on Memorial Day had to cancel this year. That includes veterans traveling with the nonprofit network Honor Flight.
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NPR economics, science and national correspondents present the latest updates in the U.S. response to the coronavirus epidemic.
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In an interview with NPR, Secretary for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie said the department was ready to deploy if called on to help with the coronavirus pandemic response.
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An investigation continues into Tuesday's shooting in Jersey City. Six people, including a police officer and the two suspects, were killed. Authorities say they don't yet know the motive.
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Congress has promised, and failed, to fix a quirk of U.S. tax law that penalizes surviving family members of veterans who died while on active duty.
