In the wake of a sexual assault, astronaut Amanda Nguyen turned to activism
Apr 08, 2025•9 min
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Episode description
In 2013, Amanda Nguyen was a Harvard senior interested in pursuing a career at NASA or the CIA. But she says those plans were temporarily derailed when she was raped just a few months before graduation. Nguyen went on to become an advocate for survivors of sexual assault – and her advocacy resulted in federal legislation that changed the way law enforcement handles rape kits. Now, she's out with a book about her experience called Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope. In today's episode, Nguyen speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about navigating bureaucracy as a survivor, sharing her story with lawmakers, and her parents' response to her activism.
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