Beenish Ahmed is one of Michigan Radio’s Detroit-based reporters. Since 2016, she has been a reporter for WNYC Public Radio in New York and also a freelance journalist. Her stories have appeared on NPR, as well as in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Atlantic, VICE and The Daily Beast. Additionally, Beenish spent two years in Islamabad, Pakistan, working with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, covering the country’s first democratic transition of power as well as Pakistan’s education system.
Much of her reporting has focused on covering under-reported stories and adding nuance to major headlines. That included covering stories related to DACA and the #MeToo movement as well as reporting on the personal challenges Muslims in metro Detroit faced in taking a public stand against President Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban.”
She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge. She was also a Spencer Fellow at the Columbia School of Journalism in New York, and an NPR Kroc Fellow.
Contributions from Beenish Ahmed
- Event featuring "killology" police trainer canceled after outcry
An event for local police chiefs featuring a controversial law enforcement trainer scheduled to take place in Novi next month has been canceled, following a series of complaints to the church where it … - This nurse got vaccinated after losing her mother and aunt to COVID-19
Marion King said her hesitancy about the vaccine turned into urgency only after she lost both her mother and aunt to COVID-19 last month. “When I found out my mom was positive, I know my aunt had to b … - Statewide COVID hospitalizations see slight decrease, but patient age, lack of vaccination worrying
Nurses in the Henry Ford Health System say they're feeling the strain of the latest COVID-19 surge. When Lauren Varley saw her first COVID-19 case in the ICU last year, she told her parents she c … - Detroit, Dearborn & Grand Rapids protest leaders react to "bittersweet" Chauvin verdict
Members of the Michigan-based protest movements that formed in the wake of George Floyd’s killing say Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction is a vindication of their cause. Leaders from the protest moveme … - As COVID cases surge across Michigan, Detroit school board extends pause on in-person learning
Update: 8:55 p.m. At a meeting on Thursday evening, Detroit public school board members adopted a plan to maintain a pause on in-person instruction through May 11. The district will open schools for l …