Steve Henn
Steve Henn is NPR's technology correspondent based in Menlo Park, California, who is currently on assignment with Planet Money. An award winning journalist, he now covers the intersection of technology and modern life - exploring how digital innovations are changing the way we interact with people we love, the institutions we depend on and the world around us. In 2012 he came frighteningly close to crashing one of the first Tesla sedans ever made. He has taken a ride in a self-driving car, and flown a drone around Stanford's campus with a legal expert on privacy and robotics.
But Steve's favorite technology stories are the ones that explain how little-understood innovations can change the way millions of us behave. Why do people buy cows in Farmville? Why are video games so compelling and why do some people have such a hard time setting Twitter aside? He is fascinated by how digital companies attempt to mold our behavior and study our every move in a world where we are constantly interacting with connected devices.
Prior to moving to Silicon Valley in 2010, Steve covered a wide range of topics for the public radio show Marketplace. His reporting kicked off the congressional travel scandals in late 2004, and helped expose the role of private military contractors at Abu Ghraib.
At Marketplace, Henn helped establish collaborations with the Center for Public Integrity and the Medill's School of Journalism.
Steve spent his early life on a farm in Iowa where his parents, who are biochemists, hoped to raise all their own food and become energy self-sufficient. It didn't work. During college Steve hoped to drop out and support himself by working in the fishing industry in Alaska. That also didn't work. After college he biked around the country with his sweetheart, Emily Johnson. He then followed Emily to Africa, volunteering at Soweto Community Radio. That did work out. He and Emily are now happily married with three daughters.
Steve graduated from Wesleyan University's College of Social Studies with honors and Columbia University's Graduate school of Journalism.
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If you bank online or sign into work remotely using a virtual private network, your data may not be safe. A flaw in the encryption program OpenSSL could expose much of the encrypted traffic.
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Over the past few months, the country's biggest technology firms have spent billions buying startups like WhatsApp and Nest. That has analysts wondering if another tech bubble is about to burst. -
The digital currency Bitcoin is becoming more prevalent, both for benign purchases and as a way for criminals to conduct illicit transactions. Bitcoins have been used on underground websites to facilitate sales of narcotics and child pornography. But even those most concerned about criminal activity agree that the emerging digital currency has arrived and can have beneficial uses.
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Computer technology offers us abilities we could once only dream about. But many companies have yet to recognize the commercial opportunity in making products for the disabled. Some argue that ignoring accessibility issues completely is a multi-billion dollar mistake. -
Lavabit, an encrypted email service reportedly used by former government contractor Edward Snowden, ceased operations yesterday. In a message to users, the owner of Lavabit hinted that the company was the target of a request for information about customers from the federal government. He said he chose to shut down his service instead of becoming "complicit in crimes against the American people." Later in the day, another secure email service, called Silent Circle, also shuttered itself.
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Recent Amber Alerts startled millions of mobile phone owners and left them confused. The wireless emergency alert system just rolled out for mobile phones earlier this year. Some child advocates worry that the alerts' lack of context may cause people to turn them off. -
Are you addicted to technology? Do you check email obsessively, tweet without restraint or post on Facebook during Thanksgiving dinner? Many techies and marketers are tapping into powerful reward mechanisms in our brain to make their products as compelling and profitable as possible.
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The British prime minister says a plan to outlaw "violent" porn and block certain search terms is designed to protect children. Will a crackdown result in less child abuse? -
Whether it's facial recognition or snapping photos with a wink of an eye, hackers are proving it's possible to re-engineer Google Glass in a number of creative ways. -
There's been excitement on Wall Street about a turnaround at Yahoo since Marissa Mayer became head of the company last year. Mayer has completed high profile acquisitions and sought to improve worker morale. Second quarter revenues missed expectations as Yahoo struggled to corral advertising dollars.
