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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Sports
4:16 am
Mon November 26, 2012

Notre Dame Beats USC, Moves To BCS Title Game

Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 8:44 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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

College football's wild season was not so wild this past weekend. There were no major shifts at the top of the BCS rankings as there were the week before. That's mainly because Notre Dame beat the University of Southern California on Saturday and maintained its number one ranking.

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Middle East
4:16 am
Mon November 26, 2012

Under Fire, Egypt's Morsi To Meet With Judicial Officials

Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 8:44 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi has granted himself almost absolute power, but has not been able to win anything like unanimous approval. The new president faces criticism for a decree stating he can do anything he thinks will advance Egypt's revolution, and that courts cannot review his decisions. Egyptians have taken to the streets in protest. Markets have reacted badly, and the country's top judges are paying Morsi a visit today to discuss this turn of events.

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Africa
4:20 am
Fri November 23, 2012

Warrant Issued For Ivory Coast's Ex-First Lady

Originally published on Fri November 23, 2012 12:53 pm

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The International Criminal Court has identified another defendant in its prosecution of violence in Ivory Coast. The former president is already awaiting trial in The Hague, accused of crimes against humanity for his effort to stay in power after losing an election. Now the court is calling his wife a co-perpetrator, and issued a warrant for the arrest of Simone Gbagbo. NPR's Africa correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton covered the conflict. She's on the line. Ofeibea, welcome back to the program.

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Middle East
3:47 am
Fri November 16, 2012

Gaza Violence, Palestinians

Originally published on Mon November 19, 2012 1:09 pm

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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Fiscal Cliff
3:42 am
Fri November 16, 2012

Sen. Murray's Recommendation For Fiscal Cliff

Originally published on Fri November 16, 2012 4:26 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Listen carefully to both President Obama and Republican leaders, and you hear hints of room for compromise. They're talking of taxes and spending as a deadline approaches, December 31st, when higher taxes and spending cuts would take effect. That would reduce the federal deficit, but also damage the economy, according to forecasters.

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Sports
4:37 am
Wed November 14, 2012

Florida Marlins Trade Starters To Toronto Blue Jays

Originally published on Wed November 14, 2012 7:06 am

The Florida Marlins have dumped much of their starting line-up, engineering a huge trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. The players include high-priced free agents the team pursued for its inaugural season in its new stadium.

In Memoriam
10:12 am
Tue November 13, 2012

Jazz Musician Bob French Dies At 74

Credit Dan Lang / Flickr
Bob French at Snug Harbor in 2008, with the Charmaine Neville band.

Bob French was one of the legends of New Orleans' jazz. French was a drummer and singer, and bandleader of the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band. He died Monday of complications from diabetes. He was 74.

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Sports
4:02 am
Tue November 13, 2012

Mike D'Antoni Is Laker's New Head Coach

Originally published on Wed November 14, 2012 11:39 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK. The NBA season is only two weeks old, but already there's controversy. The Los Angeles Lakers are scheduled to introduce their new head coach in the next day or so. He's Mike D'Antoni, who resigned last season after a largely unsuccessful four years at the New York Knicks. Many Lakers fans are livid the team did not rehire Phil Jackson, who won 11 NBA titles as a head coach, five of them with L.A., and who was ready to come out of retirement to coach again. NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman is with us.

Tom, good morning.

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First And Main
3:26 am
Fri November 9, 2012

Voters In Swing Counties Revisit Election Issues

Originally published on Fri November 9, 2012 11:46 am

Now that the election is over, Morning Edition is getting back in touch with some voters we met over the summer for our series First and Main. That's when we visited three political swing counties.

Steve Inskeep talks to Jim Meeks and his daughter-in-law Xiomara in Hillsborough County, Florida. Jim supported Governor Romney and Xiomara, President Obama.

David Greene spoke to voters in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. He catches up with farmer Charlie Knigge, who voted for Mitt Romney, and corrections officer Jason Menzel, who voted for Obama.

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Jazz
3:31 pm
Thu November 8, 2012

Diana Krall: Old-Time Music, Rooted In Nostalgia

Credit Mark Seliger / Courtesy of the artist
Diana Krall's latest album is titled Glad Rag Doll.

Originally published on Thu November 8, 2012 7:13 pm

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