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WBUR People: Meghna Chakrabarti

Meghna is a reporter in WBUR's news department. Her focus is on transportation and energy issues.

Before joining the newsroom, Meghna was a reporter and fill-in host on WBUR's weekly show, Radio Boston. She produced and directed WBUR’s national news and talk program, On Point, for five years. In 2006, she spent 10 months as a fellow at the Metcalf Institute for Environmental Reporting. Her work has also been recognized through awards from the Associated Press and the Radio Television News Directors Association.

Meghna holds bachelors degrees civil and environmental engineering from Oregon State University, and a masters degree from Harvard University. Her career has taken various detours through summers performing engineering failure analysis, teaching human physiology, working under the table at an Italian cafe, a turn as assistant curator for space technology at London's National Science Museum, researching flood control solutions for Venice, Italy, and writing two unpublished manuscripts.

She speaks French badly. Enough Italian to get into trouble. And is learning Hindi by subjecting herself to a long series of Bollywood films.


Recent Stories By Meghna Chakrabarti

Jobs, Ads, ‘Money Pags’

Published November 17, 2009
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Democratic Senate candidate Stephen Pagliuca takes a one-two punch from the Boston Herald Tuesday morning. Add to that the interesting media mix that come with these two stories and you have a microcosm of money, media and modern politics in Massachusetts.

Pagliuca: No ‘Litmus Test’ On Health Care Reform

Published November 16, 2009

Still riding the ripples from the Coakley-Capuano tit-for-tat over abortion and health care reform, Stephen Pagliuca unvieled a new video declaring he’ll be a “reliable” vote on health care reform.

State Offers First Set Of Real-Time MBTA Transit Data To Developers

Published November 14, 2009

BOSTON — The MBTA is taking its first significant step towards offering realtime information on where its buses are, and when they’ll get to the next stop.

Instant Postgame: Democrats And The Draft

Published November 12, 2009

So, he may have accidentally pulled the pin on a political grenade, but when Democratic candidate Stephen Pagliuca inadvertently declared that he’s pro-military draft, he threw himself into a rat’s nest of conviction and contradiction that has long plagued the Democratic party.

Instant Replay: Pagliuca Does Not Support The Draft

Published November 12, 2009

Staff for Democratic Senate Candidate have just sent out this blast e-mail to Massachusetts media:
PAGLIUCA STATEMENT CLARIFYING COMMENTS MADE REGARDING A MILITARY DRAFT
CAMBRIDGE, MA – U.S Senate Candidate Steve Pagliuca today clarified his comments made regarding a military draft:
“I was asked a question during this morning’s radio debate about reinstating the military draft that I [...]

Pagliuca Supports Bringing Back The Draft

Published November 12, 2009

Democratic Senate candidate and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca says he supports the draft.

Not the NBA draft. The military draft.

Massachusetts Expands Veterans’ Benefits

Published November 11, 2009
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QUINCY, Mass. — Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law a new set of veterans benefits Wednesday, even as some Massachusetts military members decried deep cuts Patrick recently made to two state homes for soldiers.

MBTA Security Camera Captures Orange Line Near-Miss

Published November 9, 2009
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Just 27 seconds. That’s all the time MBTA Orange Line operator Charise Lewis had to stop her train. As MBTA security camera images released Friday show, Lewis had just seconds to pull the emergency brake as she headed into North Station to avoid hitting a woman who had fallen on the track.

Study Finds MBTA Passenger Safety Being Compromised

Published November 4, 2009
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A sweeping review of MBTA finances found the largest transportation provider in Massachusetts has relied on an overly optimistic and unsustainable financing model that now is compromising safety because it cannot fund critical maintenance and equipment replacements.

New MassDOT Super-Agency Opens Doors, With Few Changes

Published November 2, 2009

Controversy and criticism greeted the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation as it opened its doors Sunday. It is widely hailed as one of the largest governmental reorganizations undertaken by the state in the past 50 years.

Amid Budget Crisis, Beacon Hill Renews Gambling Debate

Published October 30, 2009
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BOSTON — A state committee heard almost seven hours of testimony from all imaginable corners of the casino divide on Thursday — the first hearing since House Speaker Robert DeLeo threw his support behind pushing some kind of casino bill into House debate by January 2010.

Casino Gambling Debate Heats Up On Beacon Hill

Published October 29, 2009

BOSTON — Looming deficits and potential revenue on the same day: As Gov. Deval Patrick details budget cuts to bridge the $600 million budget gap Thursday, legislators are also holding major hearings on casino gambling in Massachusetts.

Patrick Plans Loan Fund For Small Businesses

Published October 28, 2009
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BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick convened an economic summit of more than 100 business and policy leaders on Tuesday, with the hope of generating new ideas to lift the state out of recession — including a plan to create more funding for small businesses.

Khazei Urges Boston Chamber To Oppose Gambling

Published October 26, 2009
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BOSTON — Democratic senatorial candidate Alan Khazei is urging business leaders to drop their support for casino gambling in Massachusetts, saying it will irrevocably change the culture and fabric of the state.

Despite Popular Support, Pilot Schools Stalled In Boston

Published October 26, 2009
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BOSTON — Public education has emerged as a high-profile issue in this year’s Boston mayoral contest, though much of the focus has been on the debate over charter schools. Meanwhile, the pilot school program in the city has stalled, leaving many wondering: What happened to this once nationally recognized Boston innovation?

Senate Candidate Khazei Pushes For Education Reform

Published October 22, 2009
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BOSTON — U.S. Senate candidate Alan Khazei unveiled his plan to overhaul public education Thursday, calling education both an economic and moral issue in America.

MassDOT On Track For November Launch; Labor Issues Remain

Published October 8, 2009
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BOSTON — A massive restructuring of the state’s transportation agencies is on track to reach a major milestone next month. The new Massachusetts Department of Transportation will officially launch on Nov. 1, according to Jeffrey Mullan, the incoming state transportation secretary. But major concerns over labor unions remain.

Mass. Gambling Proposals Delayed Until 2010

Published September 29, 2009

BOSTON — While the odds are better that a casino gambling bill will make its way through the state Legislature, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said it would not happen in 2009.

Schools Tackle Sports Concussions Head On

Published September 15, 2009
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BOSTON — It’s not just professional athletes who are at risk of sports-related brain injury and dementia. Up to 10 percent of high-school athletes suffer concussions every season. And some schools are turning to high-tech ways of managing head injuries.

As Independent, Cahill Certain To Impact Governor’s Race

Published September 10, 2009

BOSTON — Massachusetts State Treasurer Timothy Cahill has declared his candidacy for governor. Cahill left the Democratic party this summer and will be running as an independent candidate, he said, in order to be free of the “dogma or set of rules and expectations” of the party.

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