Sam Baker
Senior Editor and Morning Edition HostSam Baker is KERA's senior editor and local host for Morning Edition. The native of Beaumont, Texas, also edits and produces radio commentaries and Vital Signs, a series that's part of the station's Breakthroughs initiative. He also was the longtime host of KERA 13’s Emmy Award-winning public affairs program On the Record. He also won an Emmy in 2008 for KERA’s Sharing the Power: A Voter’s Voice Special, and has earned honors from the Associated Press and the Public Radio News Directors Inc.
Sam worked in commercial television at NBC and CBS affiliates for six years before moving to public broadcasting. He was news director and Morning Edition host at KWGS-FM in Tulsa, Okla., for three years and moved to KERA in 1991. He has served on the board of Public Radio News Directors Inc. and is a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Communicators.
As a volunteer, Sam for seven years produced a weekly series, Jazz in Words and Music, for Reading and Radio Resources, an agency serving the visually impaired. He is also a former member on the board of Southwest Transplant Alliance, a private nonprofit organization that provides organs and tissues for transplantation.
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Using the highly advertised drug Keytruda can help a patient's immune system overcome cancer, but the drug alone doesn't help with melanoma. Dr. C. Lance Cowee explains how adding the COVID-19 technology may help.
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Eating plenty of fiber as part of our diets could also help improve brain health, but most Americans don’t do it. Dr. Donna Newsome of Texas Health Plano explains why, and how the supplements work.
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A city of Plano spokesperson said Friday water levels are back to normal after 1.5 million gallons of wastewater started overflowing into White Rock Creek March 14.
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A North Texas orthopedic surgeon blames the popularity of the sport and players not exercising as much care before playing as they should.
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A North Texas ophthalmologist explains how and when watching the eclipse can be dangerous. Dr. Karen Saland also tells how to tell real eclipse glasses from fakes.
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Prostate cancer disproportionately affects Black men. A Texas Health Dallas physician explains why and what can be done to address the issue.
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CLEAATS (College Level Aging Athlete Study) looks at how sports and resulting concussions impact brain wellness later in life. A North Texas expert shares early findings.
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An interventional pulmonologist from Texas Health Fort Worth explains how endobronchial valves can offer improved quality of life.
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Dr. Salman Bhai of Texas Health Dallas talks about why post-exertional malaise worries researchers, and how you can get back to a regular exercise routine.
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Cases of stroke among people 20 to 44 have increased over the last decade. A neuro-intensivist with Texas Health Fort Worth explains why.
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Renal denervation uses catheters to modify a patient's renal nerves which supply blood to the kidneys. A talk with the doctor who performed the first procedure in Texas.
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Texas ranked 43 out of 50 states based on seven metrics. A neurologist from Plano explains how those measures apply to good brain health.