Before coming to Columbia University to study broadcast journalism, Ailsa Chang was a freelance producer for KQED public radio in San Francisco. She is a lawyer and former law clerk to Judge John Noonan, Jr. on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. She received her bachelor's degree in public policy from Stanford University, her J.D. from Stanford Law School and a Masters in media law from Oxford University where she was a Fulbright Scholar.

Ailsa is having way more fun in the radio studio than she ever did at the law office. She has accepted a Kaiser health reporting internship at KQED radio this summer 2008. In August, she moves to Washington, D.C. to begin a Kroc Fellowship at NPR. She can be reached at ailsa.chang@gmail.com.

When Khalil Gibran International Academy became New York City's first dual language Arabic school last September, some citizen groups wanted to shut it down. They said the Boerum Hill school might be indoctrinating its 60 sixth graders with fundamentalist Muslim beliefs. But when reporter Ailsa Chang met some of the students last week, radical Islam didn't seem to be on their minds. Feb 15, 2008

The largest school construction project in the city's history is taking place right now in the South Bronx. Four new schools will sit on seven acres of contaminated land. This month, parents and environmental advocates gathered next to the construction site to demand that the city tell them exactly how it plans to prevent that contamination from harming students. Ailsa Chang reports. Feb 29, 2008

Mayor Michael Bloomberg took control of city schools in 2002. The legislation that gives that right expires in 2009. The City Council and state legislature are now considering whether to extend the law. One of Bloomberg's key initiatives has been his push to open 200 small schools to replace larger failing schools. But students and staff at remaining large schools say competition with small schools has left them with more problems. Ailsa Chang reports. Mar 28, 2008

Governor Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation this week after investigators found that he may have spent tens of thousands of dollars meeting with prostitutes. Spitzer joins a long line of politicians tainted by sex scandal. And probably the question on everyone's mind this week was, why did he think he could get away with it? Ailsa Chang talked earlier with NYU professor Joe Magee. He's written widely on the psychology of power. He says power can cause people to engage in risky, self-destructive behavior. Mar 14, 2008

A new study this week supports what other researchers have found - breastfeeding can boost a baby's intelligence. A research team monitored some 14 thousand infants in Belarus in the largest study ever on the subject. Some babies were breastfed exclusively for three months or longer, while others were also fed formula. The babies who were breastfed more scored higher on IQ tests when they were six years old. I spoke with pediatrician Michael Kramer, who led the study. He says that breastfeeding may make a kid smarter, but he's not sure why. May 9, 2008

It's Leap Year Day. Newborns who make their entrance into the world today will only have a birthday once every four years. That leaves mothers with mixed feelings about giving birth on February 29. Reporter Ailsa Chang visited the maternity center at White Plains Hospital this morning. Feb. 29, 2008