Maddie Bender
Executive Producer, The ConversationMaddie Bender is a science, health, and technology journalist. She has contributed print, digital, and audio stories to outlets including The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Scientific American, Smithsonian and VICE.
She provided production assistance on This Is Our Hawaiʻi, HPR's first narrative podcast, and joined The Conversation in 2024.
She holds a master's degree in epidemiology from the Yale School of Public Health. When not editing out "uhs" and "ums" in interviews, you can find her baking sourdough and teaching group fitness classes.
Contact her at mbender@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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The Conversation's Maddie Bender spoke to two scientists involved in the Lost Manu Research Initiative, which uses game cameras and 3D scanning to study native bird and plant interactions. -
University of Hawaiʻi president Wendy Hensel reflects on her first six months on the job; Scientists Sam Case and Molly Hagemann document interactions between Hawaiʻi's native birds and plants -
HPR's Maddie Bender and Mark Ladao report on a law regulating māmaki tea that takes effect today. -
University of Hawaiʻi's Institute for Astronomy Director Doug Simons discusses the proposed federal funding cuts to science; Former Gov. Ben Cayetano reflects on the origin of the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority as the agency faces restructuring -
University of Texas at Austin Biologist Justin Havird spoke with HPR’s Maddie Bender about his research about Hawaiian volcano shrimp. -
What's next for the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority?; Maui County conservationists work to restore the island's sand dunes with native plants -
Ty Dutoit won the state title for the K-12 division at the 2025 Guy Ontai Hawaii Scholastic Chess Championship in April. He spoke with The Conversation’s Maddie Bender about his chess philosophy before competing in the Scholastic Chess Nationals in July. -
Hawaiʻi Chief Energy Officer Mark Glick discusses Hawaiʻi's dependence on oil amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East; The National Council on Teacher Quality rates Hawaiʻi's math teacher training as "unacceptable" -
Sayla Uʻilani Whalen is making her directorial debut at the upcoming Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival. The Conversation's Maddie Bender spoke to Whalen about her short film screening on June 28, at the HoMA Doris Duke Theatre. -
Erik Kloninger, Director of Finance at Aloha Hospitality Consulting, provides a snapshot on the economic impact of short-term vacation rentals on Hawaiʻi Island; Filmmaker Sayla Whalen discusses her debut film "First Comes Love," which is screening as part of the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival
