Neal Conan
Award winning journalist Neal Conan was the final host of Talk of the Nation, which broadcast its final show on June 27, 2013.
Conan brought decades of news and radio experience to the program, which reached over 3.5 million listeners per week on more than 400 NPR member stations. The program featured the popular Political Junkie segment on Wednesdays, with the irrepressible Ken Rudin.
A familiar voice, Conan joined NPR in 1977, and worked as a reporter based in New York, Washington and London. He served as NPR's Bureau Chief in both New York and London and anchored live coverage of many live events, including national political conventions, confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominees and a presidential impeachment. For five years, he hosted Weekly Edition: The Best of NPR News. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Conan played a major role as an anchor of NPR's continuous live coverage, a role he reprised during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2004, he hosted the first radio-only presidential candidates' debate since 1948.
On the other side of the microphone, Conan has also served as editor, producer, and executive producer of NPR's flagship evening newsmagazine, All Things Considered and, at various times, acted as NPR's foreign editor, managing editor, and news director.
Conan's awards include a Major Armstrong award for his coverage of the Iran-Iraq War, a prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University award as part of NPR's coverage of the Gulf War, another duPont and a George Foster Peabody Award for his part in NPR's Coverage of Sept. 11 and yet another duPont for NPR's coverage of the war in Iraq. During his time at All Things Considered, the program won numerous awards, including the Washington Journalism Review's Best in the Business award.
During the 2000 baseball season, Conan took a leave of absence from NPR News to work as the play-by-play announcer for the Aberdeen Arsenal of the independent Atlantic League. He filed a series of commentaries about life on the fringe of professional sports for Morning Edition and later wrote a book about his experiences, Play By Play: Baseball, Radio and Life in the Last Chance League.
Conan tours nationally with Ensemble Galilei as the narrator and host of A Universe of Dreams, which features images from the Hubble Space Telescope, and First Person: Seeing America, which features selected images from the photography collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Conan was born in Beirut, Lebanon.
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The gigantic energy bill headed to the president's desk would encourage new nuclear power plants, make the electricity grid more reliable and extend daylight savings time. But, it would do little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Join host Neal Conan and guests for an exploration of energy independence.
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China both competes with and contributes to the U.S. economy. A look at the new China with Bill Powell, Shanghai correspondent for Time and Clyde Prestowitz, author of Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East. -
Host Neal Conan and guests examine how al Qaeda and other terrorist groups recruit and train suicide bombers.
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Where does your garbage go after you put it out on the curb? Host Neal Conan talks with a woman who actually followed the trail of her own trash.
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On July 16, 1945, a successful atomic test in the New Mexico desert launched the nuclear age. Weeks later, U.S. planes dropped A-bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war in the Pacific. Neal Conan and guests discuss the 60th anniversary of the Trinity Test Site explosion.
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The Catholic Church has a new pope. Former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected Tuesday to be the new leader of the world's 1 billion Catholics. Neal Conan talks with guests and takes listener calls about Pope Benedict XVI and what challenges lie ahead for him.
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Utah officials replace the driver's licenses of undocumented workers with "driving privilege cards" that can't be used as legal identification. Congress is a debating a similar concept to fight terrorism and illegal immigration. Neal Conan and guests discuss the pros and cons of Real ID.
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On the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey Team's win over the Soviet Union, NPR's Neal Conan looks back at the stunning defeat for the U.S.S.R. Conan covered the event for Morning Edition in 1980.
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Japanese comics, called manga, take up more and more space on American bookshelves, and they've infused new life into the publishing industry. Neal Conan and guests discuss the growing influence of Japanese culture in America.
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Voters in Afghanistan and Ukraine embraced democracy. Iraqi insurgents call it an "evil principle." Almost everyone agrees it's a work in progress. We examine what it means when a nation moves toward democracy.
