Steve Inskeep

Steve Inskeep is host of NPR's Morning Edition, the most widely heard radio news program in the United States. He co-hosts the program with Renee Montagne.

Known for his probing questions to presidents, warlords, authors, and musicians, Inskeep has a passion for the stories of the less famous—like an American soldier who lost both feet in Afghanistan; the Bordelons, who remained in their home even when it flooded during Hurricane Katrina; or New Hampshire women at a dining-room table, pondering how to vote.

Since joining Morning Edition in 2004, Inskeep has hosted the program from New Orleans, Detroit, Karachi, Cairo, and Tehran; investigated Iraqi police in Baghdad; and received a 2006 Robert F. Kennedy journalism award for "The Price of African Oil," a series on conflict in Nigeria.

Above all, Inskeep and the rest of the Morning Edition team work daily to, as he puts it, "slow down the news," to make sense of fast-moving events and focus on the real people affected.

A prime example came during the 2008 Presidential campaign, when Inskeep and Michele Norris, host of NPR's All Things Considered, conducted "The York Project," groundbreaking conversations about race, which received an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton for excellence.

A veteran of public and commercial radio stations in and around New York, Inskeep was hired by NPR in 1996. His first full-time assignment was the 1996 presidential primary in New Hampshire. He went on to cover the Pentagon, the Senate, and the 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Inskeep covered the war in Afghanistan, the hunt for al-Qaeda suspects in Pakistan, and the war in Iraq for NPR. In 2003, he received a National Headliner Award for investigating a military raid that went wrong in Afghanistan. He has twice been part of the NPR News team that was awarded an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton for its coverage of Iraq.

On days filled with bad news, Inskeep is often inspired by the Langston Hughes book, Laughing to Keep From Crying. Of hosting Morning Edition during the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession, he told Nuvo magazine when "the whole world seemed to be falling apart, it was especially important for me ... to be amused, even if I had to be cynically amused, about the things that were going wrong. Laughter is a sign that you're not defeated."

Inskeep is the author of Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi, published in 2011 by The Penguin Press, a story of ordinary, often heroic people and their struggles to build one of the world's great megacities. In addition, Inskeep has written for publications including The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. He has been a guest on TV programs including MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports and the PBS Newhour.

A native of Carmel, Indiana, Inskeep is a graduate of Morehead State University in Kentucky.

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4:55am

Mon May 7, 2012
Analysis

Politics In the News

Originally published on Mon May 7, 2012 6:26 am

Vice President Joe Biden said he is "absolutely comfortable" with gay couples who marry getting the same civil rights and liberties as heterosexual couples. President Obama does not publicly support gay marriage.

6:07am

Tue May 1, 2012
Africa

Conflict Simmers Between Sundan, South Sudan

South Sudan is the country that voted to break away from Sudan. They've been jostling for control of border zones, including oil fields. And just as the two sides were sitting down to negotiate, fighting broke out.

5:25am

Mon April 30, 2012
Analysis

Bin Laden's Death Significant For White House

Originally published on Mon April 30, 2012 5:26 am

Tuesday marks one year from the day President Obama announced to the nation that Osama bin Laden had been killed. To underline the significance of the anniversary, the administration sent its counter-terrorism expert out on the airwaves Sunday. It also launched a controversial campaign ad about the raid against the al-Qaida leader.

4:18am

Mon April 30, 2012
Sports

NBA Playoffs: First Round Is Action Packed

Originally published on Mon April 30, 2012 5:45 am

Teams in the NBA playoff have begun their quest to be the champion. The headline story of the weekend: Chicago superstar Derrick Rose is out with a torn knee ligament.

4:12am

Fri April 27, 2012
Politics

Politics In The News

Originally published on Fri April 27, 2012 6:24 am

It's been a busy week in politics including Mitt Romney's five primary wins — making him the de facto Republican presidential nominee. Newt Gingrich, however, has still not pulled out of the GOP presidential race.

3:45am

Thu April 26, 2012
World

Hague To Issue Verdict Against Charles Taylor

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 8:21 am

A special tribunal in The Hague has found former Liberian President Charles Taylor guilty of aiding war crimes. Taylor armed fighters in neighboring Sierra Leone in return for "blood diamonds."

3:25am

Thu April 26, 2012
NPR Story

Pakistan's Prime Minister Found Guilty Of Contempt

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 8:21 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Pakistan faces even more political uncertainty. The country's supreme court today found the prime minister guilty of contempt of court. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had resisted demands by the court that he press authorities in Switzerland to pursue money laundering charges there against his boss, the president of Pakistan. NPR's Julie McCarthy has been following this story. She was at the court in Islamabad.

Hi, Julie.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.

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8:12am

Fri April 6, 2012
Economy

Jobless Rate Slips; Fewer New Jobs Than Expected

The Labor Department reported Friday that the nation's unemployment rate inched down to 8.2 percent in March, while only 120,000 jobs were added and Americans stopped looking for work. February's jobless rate was 8.3 percent.

8:05am

Mon March 19, 2012
NPR Story

Apple To Buy Back Stock, Pay Dividend

Originally published on Mon March 19, 2012 8:06 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with Apple's giant pile of money.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

INSKEEP: The maker of iPads, iPhones and computers is sitting on almost one hundred billion dollars in cash and securities. And today, Apple announced that it will spend some of that money paying a stock dividend to shareholders and buying back some company stock. NPR's Steve Henn has been following developments, and joins us on the line from Silicon Valley. Steve, good morning.

STEVE HENN, BYLINE: Good morning.

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3:00am

Mon March 12, 2012
Afghanistan

Shooting Is Another Blow To U.S.-Afghan Relations

A U.S. soldier is in custody after he allegedly killed 16 Afghan villagers Sunday. The incident is one more blow to an already fragile relationship between the United States and Afghanistan. There are also questions of what the incident will do to the U.S.strategy in Afghanistan.

3:00am

Fri March 9, 2012
Economy

Labor Department To Release February Jobless Report

The Labor Department today reported the nation's jobless rate remained unchanged at 8.3-percent for the month of February, as businesses added 227,000 jobs to payrolls.

3:00am

Wed March 7, 2012
Election 2012

Santorum Wins 3 Super Tuesday States

GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum won three Super Tuesday contests: Oklahoma, North Dakota and Tennessee. He just missed in Ohio. Mitt Romney went on to win there.

3:00am

Thu February 16, 2012
Economy

Frustrations Mount As Greece Waits For Economic Lifeline

Originally published on Thu February 16, 2012 9:53 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

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

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning.

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3:00am

Tue February 7, 2012
Sports

Sports Stories You May Have Missed

Steve Inskeep talks to NPR's Tom Goldman about two sports stories that got lost in the Super Bowl hype. They are the closing of the doping investigation into Lance Armstrong and the remarkable one-week turnaround by golfer Kyle Stanley.

3:00am

Mon January 23, 2012
Middle East

Syria Rejects Arab League Plan To Quell Fighting

The Arab League has launched a new plan to stop the crisis in Syria. The plan was announced in Cairo by the premier of Qatar. It comes after the Arab League's own observers completed a month-long mission in Syria.

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