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.
-
Mississippi got lots of attention this week for finally having ratified the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. But many states have taken decades to join the rest of the country when it comes to amending the Constitution. And some have withheld approval to this day. -
If you're not from St. Louis, you've probably never heard of Provel. It's a processed blend of cheeses extolled in the area for its buttery texture and smoky, tangy flavor. Now Provel has made its way into the unlikeliest of places: the hipster foodie mecca of Brooklyn. -
President Obama called repeatedly on Congress to address issues of paramount importance to the country during his State of the Union address Tuesday. But he also made it clear that when Congress fails to act or agree with his policies, he intends to push ahead on his own. -
Presidents use references to great events as a way of acknowledging that what unites Americans is not ethnicity or even language but ideas and a shared past. President Obama cited historical moments in his inaugural; look for similar touchstones at the State of the Union address. -
The Weather Channel has granted itself naming rights for winter storms, calling the current nor'easter Nemo. While many meteorologists gripe that it's just a marketing gimmick, others think it might help people focus on severe weather and plan accordingly.
-
There are always losers in politics. But even some of the winners wind up so badly outnumbered that accomplishing anything is a rare treat. On the surface, their jobs might seem so hopeless that you wonder why anyone took them on. -
The former South Carolina governor hopes to make a comeback by winning a special election to his old House seat. He'll have to overcome a large field filled with current officeholders and quasi-celebrities such as Ted Turner's son and Stephen Colbert's sister -
President Obama will address the immigration issue in a speech Tuesday, following hard on the heels of a new overhaul proposal out of the Senate. Despite new momentum on the issue, those who favor a harder line against illegal immigrants are not convinced they need to change tack. -
Republicans in states that President Obama carried are looking at proposals to change the way Electoral College votes are given out. If these changes had been in place nationwide in November, Mitt Romney might have won.
-
President Obama offered a more full-throated defense of government in his inaugural address than has been heard from a major politician in a generation. Obama may be seeking to shift debate from defending programs to praising the value of government as a whole.
