David Greene

David Greene is NPR's Morning Programming Host/Correspondent. In this role he is the primary substitute host for Morning Edition as well as Weekend Edition Saturday and Sunday. When he is not hosting he brings his deep reporting talents to these programs.

For two years prior to taking on his current role in 2012, Greene was an NPR foreign correspondent based in Moscow covering the region from Ukraine and the Baltics, east to Siberia. During that time he brought listeners stories as wide ranging as Chernobyl 25 years later and Beatles-singing Russian Babushkas. He spent a month in Libya reporting riveting stories in the most difficult of circumstances as NATO bombs fell on Tripoli. He was honored with the 2011 Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize from WBUR and Boston University for that coverage of the Arab Spring.

Greene's voice became familiar to NPR listeners from his four years covering the White House. To report on former President George W. Bush's second term, Greene spent hours in NPR's spacious booth in the basement of the West Wing (it's about the size of your average broom closet). He also spent time trekking across five continents, reporting on White House visits to places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Rwanda, Uruguay – and, of course, Crawford, Texas.

During the days following Hurricane Katrina, Greene was aboard Air Force One when President Bush flew low over the Gulf Coast and caught his first glimpse of the storm's destruction. On the ground in New Orleans, Greene brought listeners a moving interview with the late Ethel Williams, a then-74-year-old flood victim who got an unexpected visit from the president.

Greene was an integral part of NPR's coverage of the historic 2008 election, covering Hillary Clinton's campaign from start to finish, and also focusing on how racial attitudes were playing into voters' decisions. The White House Correspondents Association took special note of Greene's report on a speech by then-candidate Barack Obama, addressing the nation's racial divide. Greene was given the association's 2008 Merriman Smith award for deadline coverage of the presidency.

After President Obama took office, Greene kept one eye trained on the White House and the other eye on the road. He spent three months driving across America – with a recorder, camera and lots of caffeine – to learn how the recession was touching Americans during President Obama's first 100 days in office. The series was called "100 Days: On the Road in Troubled Times."

Before joining NPR in 2005, Greene spent nearly seven years as a newspaper reporter for the Baltimore Sun. He covered the White House during the Bush administration's first term, and wrote about an array of other topics for the paper: Why Oklahomans love the sport of cockfighting, why two Amish men in Pennsylvania were caught trafficking methamphetamine and how one woman brought Christmas back to a small town in Maryland.

Before graduating magna cum laude from Harvard in 1998 with a degree in government, Greene worked as the senior editor on the Harvard Crimson. In 2004, he was named co-volunteer of the year for Coaching for College, a Washington, D.C., program offering tutoring to inner-city youth.

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5:25am

Mon December 24, 2012
NPR Story

Politics In The News

Originally published on Mon December 24, 2012 6:27 am

On Friday, members of Congress went home without settling their differences over how to avoid the spending decreases and tax increases known as the "fiscal cliff."

10:16am

Fri December 21, 2012
Politics

Sen. Kerry Gets Obama's Nod For Secretary Of State

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. This afternoon, President Obama is set to nominate Massachusetts Senator John Kerry as the nation's next secretary of state. Kerry would replace Hillary Clinton, who's planning to leave that post after four years as the president's globe-trotting emissary. Joining us to talk about the move is NPR White House correspondent Scott Horsley; and NPR's diplomatic correspondent Michele Kelemen, who's here in the studio with me.

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9:48am

Fri December 21, 2012
Politics

Boehner Answers Questions About Withdrawing 'Plan B'

Originally published on Fri December 21, 2012 10:16 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Action last night in the U.S. House of Representatives suggests just how hard it could be to pass a solution to the tax increases and spending cuts due at the end of the year.

INSKEEP: House Speaker John Boehner has yet to reach a deal with President Obama so he sought to put his own plan before the House last night.

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5:07am

Mon December 10, 2012
Sports

NFL Copes With Another Tragedy

Originally published on Mon December 10, 2012 5:47 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

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4:18am

Fri December 7, 2012
Economy

Superstorm Sandy May Hurt November's Jobs Report

Originally published on Fri December 7, 2012 10:51 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

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4:04am

Fri November 30, 2012
Latin America

High Expectations As Mexico's Pena Nieto Takes Helm

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 6:05 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

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3:37am

Thu October 18, 2012
Business

Lance Armstrong Parts Ways With Livestrong, Nike

Originally published on Thu October 18, 2012 11:11 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

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7:29am

Fri September 28, 2012
Asia

China's Communist Party Expells Disgraced Politician

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

A sensational political scandal in China involves murder, abuse of power, and an attempted defection. And the case of senior politician Bo Xilai took another twist today. After months of speculation, it has just been announced that he has been expelled from the Communist Party and will face criminal charges. NPR's Louisa Lim is on the line with us from Beijing, and Louisa, what kind of charges is Bo Xilai going to face?

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2:30am

Thu September 20, 2012
Sports

'Itch' For Baseball Returns After Year In The Minors

Originally published on Thu September 20, 2012 4:14 am

When Reid Gorecki began his quest to make it to baseball's major leagues this year, he probably didn't expect things to end up in Camden, N.J. The city is the home of Campbell's Soup — and Campbell 's Field, where the Camden Riversharks play their games.

And that's where Gorecki now plays, after being traded by the Long Island Ducks. Tuesday night's game was supposed to be one of the last of his season. But the game was canceled owing to rain, and the stadium was quiet.

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5:08am

Fri August 31, 2012
National Security

Pentagon: SEAL Violated Publication Agreement

Originally published on Fri August 31, 2012 11:48 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The Pentagon has sent a letter, warning author Mark Owen that he could be in trouble. Owen is the author of "No Easy Day," an account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden by one of the Navy SEAL's who killed the al-Qaida leader. The Pentagon says Owen violated agreements to submit any publications for review. And joining us to discuss this, is NPR's Larry Abramson.

Larry, good morning.

LARRY ABRAMSON, BYLINE: Good morning, David. How are you?

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4:46am

Thu August 30, 2012
Around the Nation

Isaac Aftermath Update

Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 5:26 am

Even though Isaac has been down graded from its hurricane strength, it hasn't lost all its punch. The storm continues drench Louisiana and Mississippi, and it's making it difficult to restore electricity and to get a full sense of damage.

7:50am

Wed August 29, 2012
Around the Nation

Even At Category 1, Isacc Packs A Punch

Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 3:04 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Hurricane Isaac made landfall last night in Louisiana and it is battering the Gulf Coast with high winds and a lot of rain. For the latest we turn to NPR's Greg Allen. He's in New Orleans and we have reached him by telephone. And Greg, give us a sense of this storm. It sounds like, you know, Category 1, which, you know, makes you not worry so much, but a lot of people fearing that it could just stay in one place for a good while.

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4:39am

Mon August 27, 2012
Europe

Group Announces 2 Pussy Riot Members Flee Russia

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

In Russia, three members of a feminist punk band are preparing to appeal their two-year prison sentences. The young women were convicted 10 days ago of hooliganism after staging a protest in Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral. The group, Pussy Riot, also announced on Twitter yesterday that two other members who took part in that protest have fled the country to avoid being arrested. The tweet came after police said they were still searching for the activists, who are part of a broader opposition to Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

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2:22am

Thu August 23, 2012
First And Main

Wis. Business Owner Relates To Romney's Resume

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 7:47 pm

As the presidential election nears, Morning Edition is visiting swing counties in swing states for our series First and Main. We're listening to voters where they live — to understand what's shaping their thinking this election year.

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2:04am

Wed August 22, 2012
First And Main

Wis. State Senator Connects Her Politics To Her Past

Originally published on Wed August 22, 2012 7:35 pm

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

As the presidential election nears, Morning Edition is visiting swing counties in swing states for our series First and Main. We're listening to voters where they live — to understand what's shaping their thinking this election year. This week, we're spending time in Winnebago County, Wis., where we spoke with two women — one Democrat, one Republican — who embody their state's Midwestern charm and spirit of self-reliance. First, we hear from the Democrat.

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