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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Unsecure Wi-Fi networks have been a well-known vulnerability in the tech industry for years. They can let even an unsophisticated hacker capture your traffic and possibly steal your identity. -
We looked at 15 top companies and services that handle your email or store your data every day to see what steps they take to keep it from prying eyes. See how they stack up. -
NPR's Steve Henn, along with two tech experts, allowed Internet traffic through his laptop and cellphone to be monitored. If someone tapped your Internet connection, what would he find out? -
There are lots of entrepreneurs who would love to build drone-based businesses. But right now, there's a battle over whether it's legal for drones to take to the sky.
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Congress has ordered the FAA to create new rules to safely integrate drones into U.S. airspace by 2015, but North Dakota's farmers aren't waiting. -
Facebook has introduced a way for users to log into apps anonymously as a way to build trust and protect privacy. User info would be protected from app developers, but visible to Facebook. -
Broadcasters say the TV streaming company is violating copyright laws. The ruling will influence the future of television, and also affect technologies such as cloud computing.
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The quest for cheap, reliable electricity to power enormous cloud computing facilities is sending tech companies to the ends of the earth. -
A bug called Heartbleed has revealed a hole in one of the most popular encryption programs online. Tech professionals are working on other ways to protect your data beside needing a password.
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As companies scramble to patch a bug that exposed much of the Internet for two years, you can protect yourself by practicing some good Web hygiene.
