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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2:00am

Thu September 29, 2011
Middle East

Saudi Woman's Driving Violation Spurs Controversy

Saudi men are expected to cast votes Thursday in the kingdom's municipal elections. King Abdullah has promised that women can vote in the next election in four years, but that pledge has been overshadowed by the case of a woman sentenced to 10 lashes for violating the ban on driving.

2:00am

Tue September 27, 2011
Europe

Greek Parliament Weighs Property Tax Amid Protests

The Greek government hopes to pass a new tax law in Parliament on Tuesday, despite wide opposition to the move by a Greek public already suffering under a policy of strict austerity. Ministers say the new property tax, which would be added to people's electricity bills, is needed to persuade the IMF and EU to release more bailout funds to prop up the Greek economy.

8:38am

Wed September 21, 2011
World

Two Americans Held In Iran Released On Bail

A million-dollar bail agreement secured the release Wednesday of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who had been sentenced to eight-year prison terms for illegal entry and espionage. A third American arrested with them, Sarah Shourd, was released last year. All denied any wrongdoing.

10:49am

Tue September 20, 2011
Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Former President Rabbani Assassinated

Burhanuddin Rabbani, the head of the Afghan Peace Council and former president of Afghanistan, was killed in a bombing in the nation's capital.

6:26am

Tue September 13, 2011
Afghanistan

Insurgents Fire On U.S. Embassy In Afghan Capital

Insurgents appear to have launched a coordinated attack in the heart of Afghanistan's capital city. Rocket propelled grenades and assault weapons could be heard across Kabul — targeting the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters.

2:00am

Mon September 12, 2011
Analysis

Politics In The News

David Greene talks to NPR's Cokie Roberts about the week in politics.

2:00am

Wed September 7, 2011
Africa

With Gadhafi Missing, Rebels Move To Secure Libya

Libyan rebels continue to search for Moammar Gadhafi. While his whereabouts are unknown, convoys of Gadhafi loyalists left Libya for neighboring Niger.

10:01pm

Mon August 29, 2011
Crime In The City

Moscow, In A Time Of Fear

The novels of Tom Rob Smith are set mostly in the Soviet Union of the 1950s, a time and a place where oppression was palpable and any wrong move could get a person sent to a prison thousands of miles away.

Smith's first thriller, Child 44, was the story of a Soviet security agent whose job was to spy on fellow citizens. While many authors are virtual tour guides in the places where they set their novels, Smith had actually only been to Moscow once before — in 1997, on a high school trip.

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2:00am

Thu August 25, 2011
Business

Steve Jobs Resigns, Steve Cook Becomes Apple's CEO

Apple CEO Steve Jobs stepped down Wednesday, in a poignant letter to his board. Jobs has been battling cancer for some years. He will continue as chairman of the board.

2:00am

Tue August 23, 2011
Sports

NCAA Tunes In On Longhorn Network

TV money is changing the college sports landscape. Lured by bigger and bigger paydays, many conferences and some individual teams, are starting their own television networks. The University of Texas has launched the Longhorn Network.

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