Alan Greenblatt
Alan Greenblatt has been covering politics and government in Washington and around the country for 20 years. He came to NPR as a digital reporter in 2010, writing about a wide range of topics, including elections, housing economics, natural disasters and same-sex marriage.
He was previously a reporter with Governing, a magazine that covers state and local government issues. Alan wrote about education, budgets, economic development and legislative behavior, among other topics. He is the coauthor, with Kevin Smith, of Governing States and Localities, a college-level textbook that is now in its fourth edition.
As a reporter for Congressional Quarterly, he was the inaugural winner of the National Press Club's Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, which is given to outstanding reporters under the age of 35. Sadly, he no longer meets that requirement.
Along the way, Alan has contributed articles about politics and culture for numerous publications, including The New York Times, Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is happy to be working for an outlet where he has been able to write about everything from revolutions in the Middle East to antique jazz recordings.
Alan is a graduate of San Francisco State University and holds a master's degree from the University of Virginia.
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With his career put at risk by scandal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie held an epic-length news conference on Thursday. Taking questions for two hours was part of his overall message, which is that he has nothing to hide.
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Certain issues brook no dissent. But how do media outlets decide if and when a strong enough consensus has emerged to safely dismiss other viewpoints?
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The transition from one role to the other is difficult, and many have failed making the attempt. Nelson Mandela was a rare example who succeeded in both jobs. In addition, he willingly stepped down after one term in office, setting an example for a young democracy.
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The president is being accused of having misled the public about problems with his health care law — or having been misled himself. Either way, the president is taking political punches for not seeming on top of his own agenda.
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Minneapolis is home to the largest population of Somali Americans in the nation. Next week, they may see one of their own elected to the City Council for the first time.
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Voters in 11 Colorado counties may approve secession resolutions next month. It's largely a symbolic gesture, but the idea of splitting off and creating new states is taking root all over the country.
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Companies and individuals are considered grandfathered and exempt from new sets of regulations all the time. But the term and the concept date from the era of segregation that followed the Civil War.
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Americans who were already tired of partisan bickering endured a lot more this past month. But it's unlikely the budget package that reopened the government is going to do anything to end the rancor.
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If Congress can't agree to raise the debt ceiling before Thursday, it's not necessarily the case that Treasury will immediately be unable to pay bills. But if there's no agreement, financial markets might panic at any time, doing real harm.
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Government workers are convinced that the work they do is crucial for the country, even if they've been deemed "nonessential." They're starting to wonder whether politicians in Washington agree.