Ari Shapiro

Ari Shapiro has been NPR's White House Correspondent since 2010. His stories appear on all of NPR's newsmagazines, including All Things Considered and Morning Edition, where he is also a frequent guest host.

Shapiro began reporting on the White House after five years as NPR's Justice Correspondent, covering national security and counterterrorism during one of the most tumultuous periods in the Justice Department's history.

He spent 2012 on the campaign trail, leading NPR's coverage of Mitt Romney during the primary and general election. He also travels widely overseas in his reporting, including visits to Afghanistan with President Obama and to Iraq with Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

The first NPR reporter to be promoted to correspondent before age 30, Shapiro has been recognized with several journalism prizes, including The American Bar Association's Silver Gavel for his coverage of prisoners lost in Louisiana's detention system after Hurricane Katrina; The Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize for his investigation of methamphetamine use and HIV transmission; the Columbia Journalism Review's "laurel" recognition of his investigation into disability benefits for injured veterans; and the American Judges' Association's American Gavel for a body of work reporting on courts and the justice system. He regularly appears as a guest analyst on CNN, PBS, NBC, and other TV news outlets.

Before covering the Justice Department, Shapiro worked as a public radio reporter in Atlanta, Miami, and Boston.

Shapiro moonlights as a guest singer with the "little orchestra" Pink Martini, based in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Since he debuted with them at the Hollywood Bowl in 2009, he has performed with the band at many of the world's most storied venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, L'Olympia in Paris, and Mount Lycabettus in Athens. He has recorded songs on three of Pink Martini's albums, in five languages.

Shapiro is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale. He began his journalism career in 2001 in the office of NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg. Shapiro was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and grew up in Portland, Oregon.

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5:00am

Tue August 14, 2012
Election 2012

On The Road With Romney

Originally published on Tue August 14, 2012 6:37 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

On a Tuesday, it's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

Paul Ryan's addition to the Republican ticket brings a number of advantages, including youth and conservative credentials. One thing he doesn't add is racial diversity. Yesterday, Mitt Romney was campaigning in Florida, a state where more than a third of eligible voters are minorities. NPR's Ari Shapiro offers this look at whether a ticket of two white men is a disadvantage in 2012.

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4:24pm

Mon August 13, 2012
Presidential Race

Medicare A Hot Topic As Romney, Ryan Hit The Trail

Originally published on Mon August 13, 2012 6:09 pm

Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan campaigned in different states on Monday. Ryan was in Iowa, where President Obama was also campaigning. Meanwhile, Romney was in the important battleground state of Florida. Some analysts believe that Ryan's budgets proposals — which make major changes to Medicare — could hurt the Romney/Ryan ticket in Florida, especially among older voters.

4:23am

Mon August 13, 2012
Election 2012

Ryan Energizes Romney's Weekend Campaign Stops

Originally published on Mon August 13, 2012 4:48 am

Rep. Paul Ryan will be campaigning in Iowa Monday. It will be his first day campaigning solo since GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney named him as his running mate on Saturday. Over the weekend, thousands of people lined up for hours to see the newly minted GOP ticket.

3:32pm

Sun August 12, 2012
Presidential Race

Ryan Brings The Love To Romney's Campaign

Originally published on Sun August 12, 2012 4:59 pm

Since Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., came on the scene Saturday, Mitt Romney's rallies have felt different. The crowds are bigger. The audience is more raucous. Lines that used to be a routine part of the Republican presidential candidate's stump speech have become rousing battle cries.

At the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C., 1,600 people crowded into the room and thousands more swarmed outside.

"I feel like I'm in Woodstock," gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory exclaimed. "There's a parking jam!"

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5:51am

Sun August 12, 2012
Presidential Race

Romney-Ryan Ticket Debuts On The Trail

Originally published on Sun August 12, 2012 9:40 am

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer. The Romney campaign is calling it America's Comeback Team. Congressman Paul Ryan is officially Mitt Romney's choice for vice president. After a flashy rollout in Norfolk, Virginia, the two men campaigned together across the state. Today, they're holding rallies in North Carolina and Wisconsin. NPR's Ari Shapiro has the story of Ryan's first day on the ticket.

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4:59pm

Thu August 9, 2012
It's All Politics

On The Trail, Even Republicans Spin Clinton Years Into Gold

Originally published on Fri August 10, 2012 11:02 am

Credit Tim Sloan / AFP/Getty Images

This week, the presidential campaign has been dominated by debate over the welfare law from the 1990s. It's just the latest example of how both sides are trying to use the Clinton years to their advantage — portraying them as a halcyon golden age.

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8:09am

Thu August 9, 2012
Election 2012

Election Spotlight Returns To Iowa

At the beginning of the presidential race, Iowa was among the most important states in the country. Now, after a few months out of the spotlight, it's the center of political attention again. Mitt Romney campaigned in Des Moines Wednesday. Barack Obama will be there next week.

6:00pm

Tue August 7, 2012
It's All Politics

On The Trail, A Campaign's Style Can Reveal A Lot About Substance

While President Obama and Mitt Romney offer competing visions every day on the campaign trail, there's also a more superficial aspect to their campaigns.

And on the surface, Obama and Romney events feel completely different.

Take a recent summer night in Leesburg, Va. Dorothy Fontaine had been standing outside of a local high school since the sun was high in the sky.

When asked why she would spend that much time waiting, Fontaine replied: "It's the president of the United States! I mean, isn't it cool to go see the president of the United States?"

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6:10am

Sun August 5, 2012
Presidential Race

Back Scratch? Romney Has An Ally In Indiana

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 7:48 pm

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images

Republican Mitt Romney campaigned this weekend in a state that has not seen much of either presidential candidate. Nobody considers Indiana a toss-up in the presidential race.

But the Senate contest there is a different story. It's a very close race, and the result could determine which party controls the Senate next year. So Romney showed up at a barbecue shack in Evansville to give the conservative Republican candidate a boost.

'Help Me Elect This Guy'

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5:32am

Thu August 2, 2012
NPR Story

Breaking Tax Code: Obama Jumps On Romney's Policy

A new study by some prominent tax analysts looks at how much Mitt Romney would have to reorder the tax code in order to make the tax cuts he proposes. As NPR's Ari Shapiro reports, that became a rallying cry for President Obama during a pair of campaign stops in Ohio Wednesday.

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