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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A strike has shut down the San Francisco area's rail system for a second day, stretching out commute times and confusing tourists and residents alike. Many people who rely on the system say they wish labor and management could just settle.
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Who will be presiding over the same-sex marriages that are expected to start up again, perhaps next month? An 80-year-old retired woman, among others.
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For years, governors were considered the most pragmatic figures in politics. Now, they're using their states to run ideological experiments.
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FBI agents believe they have a credible lead on the whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa's body. If they're right, it will solve a longstanding mystery, which will also deflate Hoffa's resonance in popular culture.
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On issues such as foreign policy, the economy and NSA snooping, people tend to back policies based on where their party stands, rather than holding fast to deep-seated beliefs. When party control switches, so do their positions.
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Some lawmakers have decried revelations that the government is collecting Internet and phone activity of millions of Americans. For the most part, though, there appear to be few calls for more oversight, let alone legislative changes.
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Once rare, recall elections are becoming increasingly common. It's not that politicians are markedly more crooked than in the past. Rather, foes view recalls as a way to fight back against policies they don't like.
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Prepare for a 2016 free-for-all. "This will be the most open Republican nomination in 50 years," says one GOP election veteran.
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Arpaio lost a civil suit last week but is expected to dodge an effort to recall him. Although the politics of immigration are changing in Arizona, the growth of the Hispanic population has not yet translated into a political force that can dislodge him.
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Central Oklahoma has been hit repeatedly by killer tornadoes. For many residents of the town of Moore, that history offers proof that they'll be able to rebuild, not evidence that they should leave.