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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Presidential Race
2:41 pm
Thu April 19, 2012

Romney, Obama Give Dueling Speeches In Ohio

Originally published on Thu April 19, 2012 5:36 pm

Mitt Romney spoke at a shuttered factory in Lorain County, Ohio, Thursday. He was giving a response to President Obama, who spoke in the same county a day before. Romney blamed the president for failing to turn around the economy and re-open the factory. Ari Shapiro tells Melissa Block Ohio is once again expected to be a battleground state.

It's All Politics
2:02 pm
Wed April 11, 2012

Not Just For Laughs: Why Humor Can Be A Powerful Campaign Tool

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 8:52 am

At the end of the month, President Obama will deliver a string of punch lines at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. It's an annual tradition, a chance for the man at the top of the pyramid to poke fun at his political opponents and himself.

Humor is an essential tool in any politician's kit — all the more so in an age of instant, constant media. It can disarm an opponent, woo a skeptical voter or pierce an argument. This year, both Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney are using it to try to win the upper hand in the presidential race.

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Election 2012
2:00 am
Thu April 5, 2012

Romney's Rhetoric Shifts Toward November Election

Mitt Romney is closer to winning the GOP presidential nomination after primary victories this week in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Halfway through the GOP nominating season, Romney's attacks on President Obama are intensifying.

Politics
2:30 am
Sat March 31, 2012

'Obamacare' Sounds Different When Supporters Say It

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP
Supporters of the health care law have recently embraced the term "Obamacare," a word they once recoiled from.

Originally published on Sat March 31, 2012 1:21 pm

Until recently, "Obamacare" was a word mostly used by opponents of President Obama's health care law. Now, supporters of the law are attempting to claim it as their own.

During the three days of health care hearings, protesters outside of the Supreme Court in favor of the law returned to one chant more than any other: "We love Obamacare."

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Health Care
2:00 am
Thu March 29, 2012

Supreme Court Justices To Decide Health Care Law's Fate

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 4:51 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

In the third and last day that the U.S. Supreme Court considered the Obama health care law, it turned its attention from the abstract legal issues to the very practical – what if it did overturn a key part of the law. In sessions in the morning and afternoon, the justices took on two separate questions related to the federal health care overhaul.

NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

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Law
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Justices Hear Arguments On Individual Mandate

The nation's capital is focused on the Supreme Court this week, and that includes members of Congress. Wednesday is the third day justices will hear arguments considering the constitutionality of President Obama's health care overhaul.

Law
2:00 am
Tue March 27, 2012

High Court Delves Into More Health Care Questions

At the Supreme Court, lawyers and justices will continue to spar over the new health care law. Tuesday's debate will center on whether the requirement that everyone carry health insurance — the individual mandate at the heart of the law — is constitutional.

Election 2012
3:19 pm
Fri March 23, 2012

How Would A President Romney Handle Afghanistan?

Originally published on Fri March 23, 2012 4:17 pm

An Army staff sergeant's alleged massacre of Afghan civilians has brought new calls for the United States to leave Afghanistan even before the timetable set by President Obama, who has announced that the U.S. combat mission will be over by the end of 2014.

Some Republican presidential candidates are among those publicly asking if now is the time for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan.

But not Mitt Romney.

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Election 2012
2:00 am
Wed March 21, 2012

Romney Wins Illinois With Range Of Voters

Originally published on Wed March 21, 2012 8:23 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

For once, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has met or even exceeded the expectations that were set for him. When he won the big Midwestern states of Michigan and Ohio, the margins were narrow enough and analysts were not impressed - given his huge advantage in money and organization. But in Illinois last night, even Romney's closest rival, Rick Santorum, did not come within 10 points.

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NPR Story
2:00 am
Tue March 20, 2012

Romney Drilled On Social Issues At Illinois Rally

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

When it comes to politics in this election cycle, Illinois is a place for grand themes.

INSKEEP: It's the home state of Abraham Lincoln, where several Republican candidates now seek to be the leader of the party of Lincoln.

GREENE: Illinois is also the home state of President Obama, the man Republicans desperately want to replace.

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Presidential Race
6:04 pm
Thu March 15, 2012

With New Film, Obama Hopes For Viral Video Boost

Credit BarackObama.com/YouTube
A screen shot of President Obama from the trailer for his campaign movie, The Road We've Traveled.

Originally published on Thu March 15, 2012 10:01 pm

Mitt Romney
1:07 pm
Thu March 15, 2012

For Appeal To Future, Romney's Rhetoric Looks Back

Originally published on Thu March 15, 2012 3:59 pm

Every good political campaign has a motif, from President Obama's "hope" to John McCain's "maverick."

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NPR Story
6:00 am
Sat March 10, 2012

Romney Wraps Up Deep South Tour

NPR's Ari Shapiro traveled with presidential hopeful Mitt Romney this week as the campaign swung through Mississippi and Alabama ahead of Republican primaries this coming Tuesday.

Election 2012
2:00 am
Fri March 9, 2012

Miss. Gov. Bryant Endorses Mitt Romney

Alabama and Mississippi are holding Republican primaries on Tuesday. The contests are vitally important for the candidacies of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Mitt Romney arrived in Mississippi Thursday night for a rally, and he has a pair of events in Mississippi and Alabama Friday.

Election 2012
2:00 am
Wed March 7, 2012

Romney Wins 6 States In Super Tuesday Contests

Originally published on Wed March 7, 2012 4:41 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

It was the biggest day yet in the Republican presidential race. Mitt Romney hoped that Super Tuesday would reinforce his frontrunner status. And to some degree it did. He won six of the 10 states, including the most populous and hotly contested state, Ohio.

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