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

Presidential Race
5:18 pm
Tue October 30, 2012

Romney Blurs Campaigning Line At Ohio Event

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

Mitt Romney did not officially campaign today out of respect for those recovering from Sandy or still enduring the giant storm, but he did appear in a crucial swing state before thousands of cheering supporters.

NPR's Ari Shapiro reports on Romney's balancing act one week before the election.

Read more
Election 2012
5:33 am
Tue October 30, 2012

Romney Campaign Has Tricky Balancing Act On Storm

Originally published on Tue October 30, 2012 1:20 pm

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

All this morning we'll be bringing you the latest on the massive storm Sandy that made landfall last night on the East Coast and is now making its way to the Midwest. President Obama and Mitt Romney both cancelled their campaign rallies scheduled for today. President Obama's role is clear as he monitors events from the White House and oversees the federal response.

It's a trickier balancing act for Mitt Romney, as NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

Read more
It's All Politics
5:01 pm
Mon October 29, 2012

Romney Retrospective: The Business Candidate, Still Working To Close The Deal

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Mitt Romney greets supporters Sunday during a campaign rally in Findlay, Ohio.

Originally published on Mon October 29, 2012 8:17 pm

Looking at this year's Republican primary field, Sigmund Freud might have divided the candidates into superego and id.

The id is all about passion and zeal — and that defined most of Romney's challengers: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, businessman Herman Cain, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich all made pulses race.

The superego is more measured.

This much smaller column consisted briefly of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, and more notably, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Read more
Presidential Race
5:57 pm
Fri October 26, 2012

Romney: Obama's Policies Slowed The Recovery

After a week full of campaigning across several battleground states, Mitt Romney delivered an economic policy address in Ames, Iowa, on Friday.

Presidential Race
5:18 pm
Wed October 24, 2012

Romney Faces Challenges In Nevada

Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 5:53 pm

Republican nominee Mitt Romney campaigned in Nevada on Wednesday.

Presidential Race
7:30 am
Wed October 24, 2012

Romney Rides Momentum To Nevada, Colorado

Republican nominee Mitt Romney campaigned Tuesday in Nevada and Colorado.

Presidential Race
5:31 pm
Tue October 23, 2012

Romney Hits Ground Running After Final Debate

Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 4:18 am

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Governor Romney went straight to Nevada this morning and is now in Henderson for a campaign event. NPR's Ari Shapiro is there and joins us now. Hi there, Ari.

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: Hi, Audie.

CORNISH: So, what does Mitt Romney have to say out there on the campaign today?

Read more
Presidential Race
8:11 am
Mon October 22, 2012

Foreign Policy Takes Center Stage In Final Debate

Originally published on Sun October 28, 2012 9:44 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning.

Tonight the presidential candidates meet for the final debate of this presidential election. President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney will be in Boca Raton, Florida. The event will focus on foreign policy, which was never expected to rival the economy as a major issue in this campaign. But foreign policy has played a bigger role than anticipated in recent weeks.

Read more
It's All Politics
4:54 pm
Fri October 19, 2012

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

Credit Daytona Beach Visitors Bureau
Annual "Biketoberfest" participants ride along Beach Street in downtown Daytona Beach, Fla., in 2010.

Originally published on Fri October 19, 2012 7:12 pm

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
Election 2012
4:51 am
Thu October 18, 2012

Romney Reviews Debate Issues During Virginia Stops

Originally published on Thu October 18, 2012 12:11 pm

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning.

After their lively town hall debate on Long Island Tuesday night, President Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney jetted off in different directions yesterday to rally the faithful and woo the undecided in some key battleground states.

Read more

Pages