How NPR reporters built an archive to document January 6th

NPR | By Barrie Hardymon,

Tom Dreisbach, Emily Kwong, Linah Mohammad, Sarah Robbins, Daniel Ofman

Published February 21, 2026 at 3:16 PM MST

Five years ago, a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol with the goal of stopping the certification of the presidential election. NPR's Tom Dreisbach wanted to preserve a record of the moments before, during, and after the attacks for future generations.

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Barrie Hardymon

Barrie Hardymon is the Senior Editor at NPR's Weekend Edition, and the lead editor for books. You can hear her on the radio talking everything from Middlemarch to middle grade novels, and she's also a frequent panelist on NPR's podcasts It's Been A Minute and Pop Culture Happy Hour. She went to Juilliard to study viola, ended up a cashier at the Strand, and finally got a degree from Johns Hopkins' Writing Seminars which qualified her solely for work in public radio. She lives and reads in Washington, DC.

Tom Dreisbach

Tom Dreisbach is a correspondent on NPR's Investigations team focusing on breaking news stories.

See stories by Tom Dreisbach

Emily Kwong

Emily Kwong (she/her) is the reporter for NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. The podcast explores new discoveries, everyday mysteries and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes, Monday through Friday.

See stories by Emily Kwong

Linah Mohammad

Prior to joining NPR in 2022, Mohammad was a producer on The Washington Post's daily flagship podcast Post Reports, where her work was recognized by multiple awards. She was honored with a Peabody award for her work on an episode on the life of George Floyd.

Sarah Robbins

Daniel Ofman