Philip Reeves

Philip Reeves is an award-winning veteran foreign correspondent who covers Europe out of NPR's bureau in London.

Reeves has spent two decades working as a journalist overseas, reporting from a wide range of places including the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and Asia.

A member of the NPR team that won highly prestigious Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University and George Foster Peabody awards for coverage of the conflict in Iraq, Reeves has been honored several times by the South Asian Journalists Association.

In 2010, Reeves moved to London from New Delhi after a stint of more than seven years working in and around South Asia. He traveled widely in India, taking listeners on voyages along the Ganges River and the ancient Grand Trunk Road. He also made numerous trips to cover unrest and political turmoil in Pakistan.

Reeves joined NPR in 2004, after spending 17 years as a correspondent for the British daily newspaper, The Independent. During the early stages of his career, he worked for BBC radio and television after training on the Bath Chronicle newspaper in western Britain.

Over the years, Reeves has covered a wide range of stories - from the Waco siege, to the growth of the Internet, Boris Yeltsin's erratic presidency, the economic rise of India, and conflicts in Gaza and the West Bank, Chechnya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

Graduating from Cambridge University, Reeves earned a degree in English literature. He and his wife have one daughter. His family originates from New Zealand.

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1:35am

Fri September 21, 2012
Europe

A Stiletto, A Lamppost And The Soul Of Berlin

Originally published on Fri September 21, 2012 8:09 pm

Something horrible has happened in Berlin.

You won't see it on TV or in the newspaper, but I know about it. So do my neighbors.

That's because there's a lamppost on our street, festooned with a note that reads, "A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT HAS HAPPENED." And naturally, once you see a note like that, you have to find out more.

As it turns out, the note was written by 29-year-old Maira Becke. But before I reveal her calamity, I must first explain the significance of lamp posts here in Berlin.

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2:19pm

Thu August 16, 2012
NPR Story

WikiLeaks Founder Caught In Diplomatic Standoff

Originally published on Thu August 16, 2012 4:19 pm

The diplomatic duel over Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange intensified with Britain and Ecuador battling over his future. Ecuador says it will give Assange asylum. For now, he's holed up in Ecuador's London embassy. Britain says it wants Assange extradited to Sweden, where he's wanted over a rape allegation.

1:33pm

Mon August 13, 2012
The Torch

Winners And Losers From London's Summer Olympics, 'The Crying Games'

Credit Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

The London 2012 Olympics were billed as the Social Games, with Twitter, Facebook and other services making it an immersive experience. But it might be remembered as "The Crying Games," for the swelling of emotions many Britons experienced. We run down some of the Olympics' winners and losers:

The Losers

The Stiff Upper Lip

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5:32am

Sat August 4, 2012
Europe

Olympics Sets Off British Tears

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 9:43 am

Transcript

SUSAN STAMBERG, HOST:

You find out so much about a country, you know, when it's hosting the Olympics. It's almost as if the games lay bare a nation's soul. NPR's Philip Reeves says that is what's happening in Britain. He's finding the experience unnerving, as he explains, in this letter from the Olympics.

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8:54am

Fri August 3, 2012
The Torch

Olympics Energize Britain's Patriots, Even (Perhaps) In Scotland

Credit Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

Any claim the British have to their fabled "stiff upper lip" is being destroyed by these Olympic Games. The Brits' lips are wobbling like jellies; their tears are flowing faster than the summer rain; their crowds are cheering themselves hoarse.

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8:13am

Thu August 2, 2012

11:48am

Thu July 26, 2012
The Torch

Video Clip Previewing London 2012 Opening Ceremonies Is Released

Originally published on Thu July 26, 2012 1:13 pm

Credit YouTube

7:08am

Tue July 24, 2012
Business

'News Of The World' Editors Charged In Hacking

Originally published on Wed July 25, 2012 8:30 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We've been following some big developments today in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal in Britain. Prosecutors are charging eight people - including a former top aide to Prime Minister David Cameron - and a woman who was Rupert Murdoch's top lieutenant. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

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2:48am

Tue July 17, 2012
Europe

Olympic Athletes, Visitors Flood London

Originally published on Tue July 17, 2012 10:17 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Start with a city centuries old, mix in contests that trace their origins back millennia, then add in record numbers of arrivals at London's Heathrow Airport, including athletes who in some cases felt like they'd spent centuries on the bus stuck in traffic on the way into town.

The London Olympics are days away, along with some complications, as NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF AIRPLANE)

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3:23am

Thu July 5, 2012
Business

EX-Barclays CEO Apologizes To British Panel

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 8:25 pm

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

In Britain today, parliament continues its hearing on the interest rate scandal at Barclays Bank. This week, several of the bank's top executives resigned, including the chief executive, Bob Diamond. Yesterday, parliamentarians quizzed Diamond for three hours.

NPR's Philip Reeves is in London, where he says outrage is growing.

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