Now Playing

Loading streams...

HPPR hosts & contributors

Marshal Allen Bailey
Marshal Allen Bailey
Western Swing & Other Things Host & Producer
Skip Mancini
Skip Mancini
Producer and host of High Plains History and Growing on the High Plains
Mike Fuller
Mike Fuller
Music Director and High Plains Morning Host
Cindee Talley
Cindee Talley
Regional Programming Director
Stephen Johnson
Stephen Johnson
Open Range and High Plains Saturday Night Host
Debra Bolton
Debra Bolton
Silver Rails co-host
Lynn Boitano
Lynn Boitano
Silver Rails co-host
Brother T-bone (Tony Hornberger)
Brother T-bone (Tony Hornberger)
Friday Night Blues host

Podcasts & RSS Feeds

Steve InskeepRSS
All ContentRSS
View all podcasts & RSS feeds

Steve Inskeep

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

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.

Pages

Revolutionary Road Trip
2:13 am
Thu July 5, 2012

In Libya's Shifting Sands, Kids Try To Find Their Way

Next imagePrevious image
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Three students outside the Science College of Benghazi University. They say they expect to have opportunities in Libya that would not have been possible when Moammar Gadhafi was in power.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Schoolgirls outside the Martyrs of Libya school near Leptis Magna, Libya. The country's history books are being rewritten, and Gadhafi's rule is now described as a time of corruption and atrocities.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Schoolgirls at the newly renamed Independent School in Misrata. The city was badly damaged in the fighting last year, and many lost friends or family members.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
The vice principal at the Okba Bennafee high school, Abdel Mutaleb Suker, is a former rebel who says he started wearing military fatigues to command respect from the students, many of whom come from families loyal to Gadhafi.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 9:25 pm

In a stretch of sandy wasteland, Hisham Sadowi, 12, smacks a tee shot across a makeshift golf course in Benghazi, Libya.

On this course with no grass, local rules allowed him to place the ball on a little square of artificial turf he carries around.

Hisham dreams of becoming a professional golfer, and he stops briefly to speak to us. We asked him who his favorite golfer is.

"Tiger Woods," he exclaims.

Read more
Sports
4:31 am
Mon June 25, 2012

Worried By The Debt Crisis, Soccer Distracts Europe

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Mon June 25, 2012 12:37 pm

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

You know, if you're weighed down by worry, you find a distraction. That at least is what Europeans are doing amid their economic trouble. They've been turning to their favorite sport - soccer. This weekend saw the last two Euro 2012 quarterfinals. This is a huge competition viewed in Europe, as second only to the World Cup. NPR's Philip Reeves of course has been following the action. He's on the line from London.

Hi, Phil.

PHILIP REEVES, BYLINE: Hi.

Read more
Middle East
6:17 am
Fri June 22, 2012

More Syrians Openly Criticizing Assad's Government

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Fri June 22, 2012 6:31 am

It's been another tumultuous week in Syria. NPR's Deborah Amos was reporting from inside Syria earlier this week but she's back in Lebanon now. She says what surprised her most while she was in Damascus, is that more people are speaking out against President Assad's government.

Revolutionary Road Trip
2:14 am
Tue June 19, 2012

Muslim Faction Has Its Roots In Cairo Coffee Klatch

Next imagePrevious image
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Mohammed Tolba (center) talks with friends at a coffee shop in the Cairo suburbs. The 33-year-old Egyptian is trying to change the public perception of Salafists, Muslims who believe in a literal interpretation of the Quran.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Tolba sports a bushy beard — a marker of religious conservatives — yet also wears Western-style jeans. He says he doesn't agree with all aspects of modern life in Egypt, yet he knows he cannot change things overnight.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Tue June 19, 2012 8:48 am

NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is nearing the end of his Revolutionary Road Trip, a journey across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team began in Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, drove across the deserts of Libya, and filed this report from the third and final country, Egypt.

Read more
Revolutionary Road Trip
2:07 am
Mon June 18, 2012

And Now For The Lighter Side Of Egypt's Revolution

Credit John W. Poole / NPR
One of the founders of Egypt's satirical online magazine El Koshary Today, Taha Belal, 28, at the Freedom Bar in downtown Cairo. Since Egypt's revolution last year, political parody has become popular on the Internet.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 8:48 am

NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is wrapping up his Revolutionary Road Trip, a journey of more than 2,700 miles across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team have traveled from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya, and filed this report from the third and final country, Egypt.

Read more
Revolutionary Road Trip
4:36 am
Thu June 14, 2012

Divided Politics, Creaky Economy Put Egypt On Edge

Next imagePrevious image
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
The Khan el-Khalili market in downtown Cairo. Election posters for the two candidates in Egypt's presidential runoff election are hanging above the street.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A scale model of the SODIC development outside Cairo.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A golf course designed by Greg Norman is the centerpiece of the new SODIC gated community under construction on the outskirts of Cairo.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
In the Khan el-Khalili market, cafe owner Hassan El Halwagy (left) thinks that Islamist groups are not qualified to run the country.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
The Khan el-Khalili market in downtown Cairo used to attract many visitors, but tourism is down sharply since last year's revolution.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
At the market, a small group gathers to watch England play France in a soccer match at the European championship. They're rooting for England.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Building construction in the upscale SODIC housing development outside Cairo.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Scenes from the Khan el-Khalili market in downtown Cairo. Election posters for the two candidates in Egypt's upcoming runoff election can be seen hanging above the street.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Scenes from the Khan el-Khalili market in downtown Cairo. Karim Gomma (right), a shop worker, says he's voting for the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohammed Mursi. But he says most shop owners are voting for Ahmed Shafiq because he has promised to restore law and order.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Fri June 15, 2012 10:06 am

NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is nearing the end of his Revolutionary Road Trip, a journey of some 2,500 miles across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team have traveled from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage across the deserts of Libya and have now reached the third and final country, Egypt.

On the road eastward from the Libyan border, the Egyptian desert became a blur. Then we started to run low on fuel.

Read more
Revolutionary Road Trip
3:30 am
Wed June 13, 2012

In The New Libya, Lots Of Guns And Calls For Shariah

Next imagePrevious image
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Libyans rally in favor of Shariah law, in Benghazi, eastern Libya. The city was the birthplace of the uprising that ousted Moammar Gadhafi.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Weapons were openly displayed at the demonstration.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Wed June 13, 2012 2:33 pm

Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is taking a Revolutionary Road Trip across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team are traveling some 2,000 miles from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya and on to Egypt's megacity of Cairo. In the Libyan towns of Benghazi and Derna, he talks to Islamists about their desire to see a new Libya ruled by Shariah law.

The other day in Benghazi, Libya, we found our vehicle surrounded by truckloads of men with machine guns.

Read more
Revolutionary Road Trip
4:00 am
Tue June 12, 2012

After Libya's War, Acts Of Vengeance

Next imagePrevious image
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A destroyed apartment building in Tawargha, south of the Libyan coastal city of Misrata. Rebels from Misrata destroyed Tawargha, accusing residents of supporting Moammar Gadhafi and committing atrocities.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A destroyed building in Misrata holds the damaged remains of tanks that belonged to Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A destroyed home in Tawargha, south of Misrata. Residents were driven out and have not returned, fearing they will be killed. Graffiti in the town talks of "slaves," a reference to the black-skinned people of Tawargha. The town has been unofficially renamed New Misrata.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A destroyed apartment building in Tawargha, south of the Libyan coastal city of Misrata. Rebels from Misrata destroyed Tawargha, accusing residents of supporting Moammar Gadhafi and committing atrocities.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A man fishes in the Mediterranean outside a Tawargha refugee camp on the outskirts Tripoli. The people of Tawargha fled their ancestral homeland after the revolution when people from the city of Misrata accused them of collaborating with Gadhafi.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A diorama at the Tawargha refugee camp that represents their old home.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A Tawargha man - who declined to give his name or show his face for fear of reprisals - shows his disfigured legs. He says after his friends were shot dead, a man from Misrata intervened to save his life. Instead of killing him, he says, a militia from Misrata then broke his legs with a rifle butt.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
An English class in the Tawargha refugee camp. Students here are studying a new history textbook that makes almost no mention of Gadhafi.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Houda Mohammed Belaid says that when she and her sister joined a protest march against their status as refugees from Tawargha, gunman attacked the protest march and shot them.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR
The view out a broken window in the Tawargha refugee camp near Tripoli.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
An English class in the Tawargha refugee camp. Students here are studying a new history textbook that makes almost no mention of Gadhafi.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A destroyed home in Tawargha, south of Misrata. Residents have not returned home for fear of death. Misratans have burned every single home in the area and destroyed the town's infrastructure.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Fri June 15, 2012 11:05 am

NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is taking a Revolutionary Road Trip across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team are traveling some 2,000 miles from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya and on to Egypt's megacity of Cairo. Near the Libyan coastal city of Misrata, he looks at violence that took place after the revolution.

Read more
Revolutionary Road Trip
3:44 am
Mon June 11, 2012

Looking To The Future, Libya Erases Part Of Its Past

Next imagePrevious image
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A map of the oil pipelines at Al-Sidrah. The man pointing to the map is Abujala Zenati, who had retired as manager of the operation. He says he returned to work after the revolution to help support the new Libya.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A map of the oil pipelines at Al-Sidrah. The man pointing to the map is Abujala Zenati, who had retired as manager of the operation. He says he returned to work after the revolution to help support the new Libya.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Abujala Zenati in the central control room at the oil production facility at Al-Sidrah.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
An oil tanker sits off the coast of Al-Sidra, filling its tanks with oil from an undersea pipeline. Oil production crashed during last year's fighting, but is now approaching pre-revolutionary levels.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A display in Libya's national museum used to read "The Museums of the Jamahiriya." Jamihiriya was a word Ghaddfi invented to describe the governing system of Libya. The word has been covered with stickers of the revolutionary flag.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Libya's deputy oil minister, Omar Shakmak, says he secretly supported the opposition in Libya while working in the oil industry for decades.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A view of the Leptis Magna amphitheater. Leptis Magna is a massive Roman ruin on the Libyan coast between Tripoli and Misrata.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 10:11 am

NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is taking a Revolutionary Road Trip across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team are traveling some 2,000 miles from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya and on to Egypt's megacity of Cairo. In his first story from Libya, he looks at what has changed in a country that was dominated for decades by one man.

Read more
Monkey See
3:36 am
Mon June 11, 2012

Picturing Tunisia: A Favorite Hollywood Location Through A Different Lens

Next imagePrevious image
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A scene from the Kairouan medina - where some of the street scenes from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark were filmed.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Kairouan is home to scores of places of worship, including the Great Mosque, a building of sandy bricks with a square minaret and a design that is said to have influenced mosques all through the region. Visitors and tourists are silhouetted inside the ancient building.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
The courtyard of a house in the old section of Kairouan.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A scene from the medina in Tunis.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A scene from the Kairouan medina - where some of the street scenes from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark were filmed.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Many of the old city walls are still standing.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
People walk through the narrow streets of Tunis' medina, or marketplace.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
The real Kairouan is a Muslim holy city, was an early foothold for Islam as it spread across North Africa. Most of the door knockers in old-town Kairouan are in the shape of a hand. It symbolizes the hand of the prophet Mohamed's daughter Fatma.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Mon June 11, 2012 5:48 am

Here's a movie scene burned into my brain: Harrison Ford, playing Indiana Jones, is on a chase through the streets of Cairo. It's in the original movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, which I saw as a kid. Today I couldn't tell you who was chasing whom or why, but I remember the climax. Jones is pushing through a mass of people when the crowd abruptly parts. He's confronted by a swordsman, who flips his giant scimitar around both artfully and menacingly.

Read more
Revolutionary Road Trip
1:54 am
Wed June 6, 2012

Once Tolerated, Alcohol Now Creates Rift In Tunisia

Next imagePrevious image
Credit John Poole / NPR
Children ride the train, hopping in and out of the open doors, from Tunis to the suburb of Sidi Bou Said.
Credit John Poole / NPR
Buckshot pockmarks the outside of a mosque in Sidi Bouzid, where there have been confrontations over the presence of liquor stores.
Credit John Poole / NPR
A monument to Mohammed Bouazizi, a fruit seller who touched off the Arab Spring by setting himself on fire in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid. The graffiti reads, "For Those Who Yearn To Be free."
Credit John Poole / NPR
A vendor sells fruit in the same market area where Bouazizi worked.
Credit John Poole / NPR
Jacob LaLoush poses beside bougainvillea flowers outside his kosher restaurant in Sidi Bou Said, outside Tunis. He says his is the only kosher restaurant left in all of Tunis.
Credit John Poole / NPR
A boy peers out a bus window in the Tunis suburb of Sidi Bou Said.
Credit John Poole / NPR
Political activist Ramy Sghayer says he favors a secular society for Tunisia.
Credit John Poole / NPR
LaLoush's mother, Lily, and chef Hadia Ben Mahmoud prepare dinner in the family restaurant, Mamy Lily.
Credit John Poole / NPR
The wall surrounding the Celtia brewery is about 12-feet high and topped with razor wire and broken beer bottles. The brewery is owned by the state, and the government is currently controlled by the Islamist party Ennahda.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A vendor sells fruit at the Sidi Bouzid market where fruit-seller Mohammed Bouazizi worked. Bouazizi's self-immolation in front of the governor's offices nearby was the catalyst for protests all over the county.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Thu June 14, 2012 11:07 am

Over the next couple weeks, NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is taking a Revolutionary Road Trip across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves as they write new social rules, rebuild their economies and establish new political systems. Steve and his team will be traveling some 2,000 miles from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya and on to Egypt's megacity of Cairo. In this story, he looks at the friction that has developed over alcohol in Tunisia.

Read more
Africa
2:00 am
Tue June 5, 2012

Tunisian Women Turn Revolution Into Opportunity

Next imagePrevious image
Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Workers at a carpet-making business in the town of Kairouan are paid about $2.50 a day. Many carpet buyers are tourists, but the number of foreign visitors has dropped since the revolution.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Women talk with a police officer in Tunis.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Women in a range of styles pose for a picture near the entrance to the old medina, or marketplace, in Tunis.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
Lawyer Ferida Lebidi heads the commission writing the "rights and liberties" section of Tunisia's new constitution. She belongs to an Islamist party that is considered moderate, though she advocates capital punishment for adultery.
Credit John W. Poole / NPR
A woman walks through the marketplace in Kairouan, where some street scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark were filmed.
Credit John Poole / NPR
Tunisian women walk through the narrow streets of Tunis' medina, or marketplace. Compared to women in other Arab countries, Tunisian women have had access to education and job opportunities for decades.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Wed June 6, 2012 12:42 am

Over the next couple weeks, NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is taking a Revolutionary Road Trip across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves as they write new social rules, rebuild their economies and establish new political systems. Steve and his team will be traveling some 2,000 miles from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya and on to Egypt's megacity of Cairo. In this story, he looks at the changing role of women in the new Tunisia.

Read more
Middle East
3:48 am
Thu May 24, 2012

Iran Nuclear Talks Described As Long, Hard

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Thu May 24, 2012 5:40 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers resumed this morning in Baghdad. The United States and its allies are pressing Iran to freeze its production of highly enriched uranium, but are refusing to offer the kind of easing of economic sanctions that Iran is seeking as a concession. These talks are described as long and hard, and NPR's Peter Kenyon is covering them in Baghdad, Iraq. Hi, Peter.

PETER KENYON, BYLINE: Morning, Steve.

Read more
Middle East
3:41 am
Wed May 23, 2012

Voting Opens In Egypt's Historical Presidential Election

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 4:22 am

Egyptian voters go to the polls over the next two days to vote for president. There are 12 candidates but polls suggest the race is down to four men: two Islamists and two former officials in the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. If no one wins at least 50 percent of the vote in the first round, a runoff will be held next month.

Business
5:34 am
Fri May 18, 2012

Facebook To Begin Trading On Nasdaq

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Fri May 18, 2012 3:49 pm

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

There you have it, the sound of money. Mark Zuckerberg rang the opening bell for the NASDAQ stock exchange this morning. Facebook, his company, is going public today. The company's shares start trading under the ticker symbol FB. And we talked about one of the largest IPOs, initial public offerings, in history with NPR's Steve Henn.

OK. When we say one of the largest in history, how big is it here?

Read more
Latin America
4:27 am
Tue May 15, 2012

Mexican Police Investigate Latest Atrocity

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Tue May 15, 2012 8:51 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

A news item last weekend reminded us that we live in a largely peaceful country right next door to a country at war with itself. In northern Mexico on Sunday, authorities found the bodies of 49 people. They were left on a highway outside Monterrey about 75 miles from Texas. They are described as victims of the Zetas crime syndicate. And the dumping of bodies like this is not unusual in Mexico.

Read more
Middle East
5:23 am
Mon May 14, 2012

Violence In Syria Has Not Abated

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Mon May 14, 2012 5:44 am

Over the weekend, Syrian troops continued their brutal campaign against those who oppose the regime of President Bashar Assad. And a questionable video has been released by a group claiming responsibility for massive explosions that shook Syria's capital last week.

Analysis
3:51 am
Mon May 14, 2012

Polticis In The News

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Mon May 14, 2012 6:10 am

The head of JPMorgan Chase says the trading strategy that cost it $2 billion in a matter of weeks won't really affect the bank's bottom line. But the trade happened during a presidential campaign where the economy and Wall Street are major themes.

Sports
3:47 am
Mon May 14, 2012

NHL Action Moves On To Conference Finals

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Mon May 14, 2012 5:44 am

The conference finals are underway in the National Hockey League playoffs. In the East, the New York Rangers will face the New Jersey Devils Monday. In the West, the Los Angeles Kings have won Game 1 — beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2.

Pages