Ari Shapiro

Ari Shapiro reports on the White House for NPR with a focus on national security and legal affairs. 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 covering the White House in 2010 after five years as NPR's Justice Correspondent, during which time his coverage of Justice Department policies and controversies chronicled one of the most tumultuous periods in the department's history.

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 has appeared as a guest analyst on television news programs including The NewsHour, The Rachel Maddow Show and CNN Newsroom.

Shapiro is based in Washington, D.C., where, as NPR's Justice Correspondent, he covered some of the most significant court cases in recent history, including Supreme Court rulings on Guantanamo detainees, the perjury trial of top White House official Lewis "Scooter" Libby and the fraud trial of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. He has also broken stories about the government's evolving approach to counterterrorism, detention and interrogation policies. He investigated abuses of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and covered the legal proceedings against American soldiers accused of those abuses.

Before covering the Justice Department, Shapiro was NPR's regional reporter in Atlanta and then in Miami. In 2003, he was an NPR reporting fellow at WBUR in Boston.

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.

Pages

4:00pm

Fri October 19, 2012
It's All Politics

White Men, A Key GOP Demographic, Discuss The Romney Appeal

Originally published on Fri October 19, 2012 6:12 pm

Credit Daytona Beach Visitors Bureau

For all the attention paid to women in this race, there's another gender gap — with white men.

The Republican ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan campaigned in northeastern Florida on Friday, where thousands of men had descended on Daytona Beach for the annual motorcycle festival Biketoberfest.

A bunch of them were at Willie's Tropical Tattoo smoking cigarettes, drinking beer and listening to music.

Read more

3:57pm

Fri October 12, 2012
Presidential Race

Ryan Attacks Biden On Libya Post-Debate

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 4:59 pm

One day after Congressman Paul Ryan debated Vice President Joe Biden, Mitt Romney took to the campaign trail in Virginia and Ohio.

4:29pm

Thu September 27, 2012
It's All Politics

A Second, Chance Interview With Subject Of Controversial First Lady Remarks

Originally published on Thu September 27, 2012 5:17 pm

Credit Alex Wong / Getty Images

During the Republican National Convention last month, I traveled with Mitt Romney's campaign from Tampa, Fla., to the American Legion conference in Indianapolis.

Romney delivered a speech about foreign affairs and national security. Among the thousands of attendees from around the country, I interviewed one woman from Virginia whose quote sparked a conversation among NPR's audience and staff.

Read more

3:35pm

Mon September 24, 2012
The Message Machine

Colorado Springs Soaks In Triple The Political Ads

Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 4:11 pm

Second of a two-part series

Read more

2:26am

Mon September 24, 2012
Presidential Race

Ads Slice Up Swing States With Growing Precision

Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 8:08 am

4:26pm

Mon September 17, 2012
It's All Politics

Obama, Romney In Tug Of War Over China Trade

Originally published on Sun October 21, 2012 5:04 pm

Credit Alexander F. Yuan / AP

President Obama kicked off the week in the battleground state of Ohio, where he spent much of the time Monday talking about China.

His administration filed a new trade complaint against China with the World Trade Organization on Monday. The White House is challenging Chinese subsidies for auto parts.

Read more

3:29pm

Tue September 11, 2012
It's All Politics

Reporter's Pledge-Of-Allegiance Quandary Sparks Twitter Debate On Romney Trail

Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 3:34 pm

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP

Mitt Romney's rally in Mansfield, Ohio, on Monday began the way every political event begins. "Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and our country's national anthem."

This is always an uncomfortable moment for me. While I sat at my laptop, most of the reporters around me stood and put their hands over their hearts. This time instead of just sitting and working, I tweeted what I was feeling:

Read more

3:57pm

Thu August 30, 2012
Presidential Race

Romney's Road To The Nomination A Bumpy One

Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 5:09 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Tonight, Mitt Romney formally accepts the Republican Party's nomination to be president of the United States. The path to a presidential nomination is never smooth, but by Republican Party standards, this year's primary campaign was pretty choppy. NPR's Ari Shapiro has this look back.

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: Mitt Romney launched this campaign on June 2nd, 2011, at a farm in New Hampshire.

Read more

4:19pm

Wed August 22, 2012
It's All Politics

Despite Fact Checks, Romney Escalates Welfare Work Requirement Charge

Originally published on Wed August 22, 2012 6:59 pm

Credit Stephen Jaffe / Reuters /Landov

Wednesday marks the 16th anniversary of President Clinton's welfare overhaul. That law has become a major issue in this year's presidential campaign.

Read more

8:53am

Tue August 21, 2012
It's All Politics

Ryan Takes His Workout On The Road

Originally published on Tue August 21, 2012 10:27 am

Credit Gerardo Mora / Getty Images

From the window of my room at the Courtyard Marriott in downtown Pittsburgh, I can see a sliver of the hotel fitness center. This morning I looked down there and saw a guy with an earpiece. Secret Service.

So I wasn't entirely surprised to walk into the tiny exercise room a little after 7 a.m. and find the Republican vice presidential candidate working out. There was a row of about half a dozen elliptical machines and treadmills, one workout bench, a small rack of dumbbells, an inflatable exercise ball, and a folding workout mat.

Read more

Pages