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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University of Hawaiʻi researcher Alika Maunakea spoke with HPR’s Maddie Bender about recent results from the Maui Wildfire Exposure Cohort Study. -
HPR's Catherine Cluett Pactol speaks with Maui residents as they commemorate two years since the Maui fires; Dr. Alika Maunakea shares insights on the mental and physical health of people exposed to the Maui fires -
Hawaiʻi County Council member Matt Kanealiʻi-Kleinfelder and Elaine Partlow from Action 4 Animals Hawaii sit down with HPR’s Maddie Bender to debate a bill that would prohibit feeding stray or feral animals on county property. -
University Hawaiʻi planetary geophysics researcher Matt Siegler spoke with HPR’s Maddie Bender about being selected to develop an instrument for a NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle. -
Sacred Hearts School principal Tonato Lolesio talks about plans to set up classrooms in temporary facilities while rebuilding their campus, which was destroyed in the Lahaina fire; Hawaiʻi County Council Member Matt Kanealiʻi-Kleinfelder and Elaine Parlow from Action 4 Animals discuss a divisive measure that would prohibit the feeding of stray or feral animals on county property -
Eva Fischer, an assistant professor at the University of California, Davis, spoke with HPR’s Maddie Bender about a new paper on what makes coqui frogs tick — and why they’re so invasive on Hawaiʻi Island. -
Theo Morrison with the Lahaina Restoration Foundation shares plans for a park under Lahaina's historical banyan tree; David Tumilowicz with the Domestic Violence Action Center discusses federal funding cuts and staff departures -
The hosts of NPR’s "Short Wave" podcast, Emily Kwong and Regina Barber, spoke with HPR’s Maddie Bender about “Sea Camp,” a series releasing episodes weekly on Mondays throughout the summer. -
The Conversation's Maddie Bender sat down with the creative team behind the film "Split Ends." The film won both the Judge's Choice and Audience Choice Awards at the Showdown in Chinatown filmmaking contest. -
Local film industry professionals form the Hawaiʻi Film Alliance; NPR "Short Wave" co-hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber dive into the ocean in a new series called "Sea Camp"
