Nathan Fernando-Frescas

Senior Host, All Things Considered

@heffeln[email protected]

Nathan Fernando-Frescas (Heffel) is a host for All Things Considered on CPR News.

Professional background:
Nathan returned to Colorado Public Radio in 2022, bringing years of on-air experience with radio stations across Colorado. From 2015 to 2018, he was a host and producer for CPR News' daily interview show, Colorado Matters. In 2018, he left CPR to work as an editor for NPR’s All Things Considered in Washington, D.C., before returning to Colorado to become the station manager for KRVG FM, a commercial music station in Western Colorado. Nathan was a host and reporter for KUNC in Greeley, Colo., with an emphasis on coverage of transportation, public infrastructure and LGBT issues. Prior to that, he was news manager for KUVO and began his radio career as an assistant producer for KYGO, both Denver stations.

Nathan's work has been featured on national and international radio shows including PRI's The Takeaway, NPR's Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, All Things Considered, Here and Now, and ABC's Victoria Statewide Drive. In print, The Denver Post, U.S. News and World Report and numerous other local newspapers around Colorado.

Education:
Bachelor’s degree in government, Lawrence University.

Awards:
Nathan's work in journalism has been recognized by the Associated Press, the Colorado Broadcasters Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and Public Radio News Directors Incorporated.

Why A Denver Curator Returned Nearly All Of His Museum’s American Indian Artifacts, Like A Scalp From The Sand Creek Massacre

A scalp from the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, where dozens of American Indians were murdered by Union soldiers, sat in the depths of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for decades. The Cheyenne and Arapaho asked for it back, and the museum returned it, but it took years. For the current curator of the museum, the episode raised the question: Who owns the past? His new book explores the fight to reclaim American Indian culture. Later in the show, why Boulder and Denver have the biggest “achievement gaps” among Colorado’s largest school districts.

Colorado Preps For An Electric-Vehicle Future; Aviation Hall of Fame Inductee; Ghoulish Halloween Ideas

General Motors says its working toward a future with only electric vehicles. But companies have to overcome people’s fear that electric cars will leave them stranded miles away from charging stations . Now Colorado’s government is trying to ease drivers’ “range anxiety.” Then, only white pilots could fly commercial airplanes until a Supreme Court ruling in 1963. The case came out of Colorado, when Marlon DeWitt Green applied to Continental Airlines. Green will be inducted this weekend into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame. Plus, rents are up in Denver, and evictions have followed. The city has launched new programs to keep people in their homes. And, Halloween’s around the corner. We have some ghoulish ideas to trick out your house or costume this year.

Solar Home Innovations; Ski Season Forecast; Coors Heir’s Death; Remembering Tom Petty

A temporary village has popped up near Denver International Airport, with completely solar homes built by college students and sponsored by the federal government. A team from the University of Denver built a home with a wall covered in moss. Then, with the possibility of snow hitting the Front Range by Monday, a meteorologist offers a ski season forecast. And, a Coors heir was killed in a botched kidnapping in 1960. A new book tells the tale of the manhunt for his brilliant but bumbling murderer. Plus, CPR’s OpenAir remembers rock legend Tom Petty, who passed away this week at the age of 66.

Gov. Hickenlooper’s Déjà Vu With Latest GOP Health Care Plan; Why An Army Ranger Turned Bank Robber; Better Hospital Food

What would the latest plan to repeal and replace Obamacare mean for Colorado? The governor gives his take, plus shares what he’s willing to sacrifice to lure Amazon’s second headquarters. Then, a respected Colorado teen joins the Army and becomes an elite Army Ranger. But in his final hours before shipping to Iraq, he didn’t hug his family or girlfriend. He robbed a bank. A new book explores why. And, a competition to make hospital food taste better. Finally, the second annual Supernova Outdoor Digital Animation Festival screened videos from around the world.

Social Media Aids Disaster Relief; When Brown Skin Turns White; Saturn Mission Ends

In natural disasters, people turn to social media to find out about conditions on the ground and to call for help. A Colorado company trains first responders to take advantage of that, aiding in the wake of hurricanes in the southeastern U.S. Then, a Colorado photographer who has vitiligo, which turns her brown skin white. She gets tattoos to track the changes on her body, and takes pictures of other people with the condition. And, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has revolutionized scientists’ understanding of Saturn, and this week it will burn up in the planet’s atmosphere. Also, a 155-year football rivalry in Pueblo.

Mystery Changes Coming to National Monuments; Aurora Theater Shooting Memorial Artist; App-Rated Couples

The Trump Administration may change dozens of national monuments in the West, but after months of public input and review, the recommended changes remain a mystery. The White House is also already clearing the way for more private business on public lands, including National Parks. Plus, the artists who designed a new memorial to the Aurora theater shooting victims explains his design. Then, a Fort Collins author turns her own experience with stressful new relationships into a new novel for young adults, called “Worthy.”