Audie Cornish is an anchor and correspondent for CNN. She hosts a weekly CNN Audio podcast, The Assignment with Audie Cornish, and appears on CNN covering national, political and breaking news.
On The Assignment, Cornish explores the animating forces of this extraordinary American political moment. It’s not about the horse race, it’s about the larger cultural ideas driving the conversation: the role of online influencers on the electorate, the intersection of pop culture and politics, and discussions with primary voices and thinkers who are shaping the political conversation. The show was named “Best Interview Podcast” at the 2023 Ambies Awards and “Best News & Politics Podcast” at the 2023 Black Podcasting Awards.
Cornish joined CNN after two decades in journalism, serving as a co-host of NPR’s flagship news program, All Things Considered. She joined NPR’s National Desk in 2005, reporting from Nashville, covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and other news in the Southeastern United States. Cornish later joined the NPR politics team in Washington to cover the 2008 presidential race and the historic election of President Barack Obama. Named host of Weekend Edition Sunday in 2011, she earned a George Peabody Award for her work with David Isay’s StoryCorps 9/11 Project, and in 2020, the National Press Foundation recognized her work with the Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism. Her feature reporting on the opioid crisis in Baltimore earned a Salute to Excellence Award from National Association of Black Journalists.
Cornish’s career in journalism began at the Associated Press in Boston in 2001, just before the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The following year, her love of radio brought her to Boston’s WBUR, where she reported on the legislative battle in Massachusetts over same-sex marriage, the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal, and other major news.
Her interview subjects have ranged from stars such as singer Bruce Springsteen, to political figures such as former President Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren, to literary icons like Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Cornish is based in CNN’s Washington, D.C. bureau. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband – fellow journalist and author Theo Emery – and two sons.