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Melissa Block

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Melissa Block is a 28-year veteran of NPR and has been hosting All Things Considered since 2003, after nearly a decade as an NPR correspondent.

Frequently reporting from communities in the center of the news, Block was in Chengdu, China, preparing for a weeklong broadcast when a massive earthquake struck the region in May 2008. Immediately following the quake, Block, along with co-host Robert Siegel and their production team, traveled throughout Sichuan province to report extensively on the destruction and relief efforts. Their riveting coverage aired across all of NPR's programs and was carried on major news organizations around the world. In addition, the reporting was recognized with the industry's top honors including a Peabody Award, a duPont-Columbia Award, a National Headliner Award and the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award.

Throughout her career, Block has covered major news events for NPR ranging from on-the-scene reporting from the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the days following Hurricane Katrina to a series from Texas gauging the impact of the Iraq War on the surrounding communities. Her reporting after the September 11, 2001 attacks was part of coverage that earned NPR a George Foster Peabody Award. Block's reporting from Kosovo in 1999 was cited among stories for which NPR News won an Overseas Press Club Award.

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Fine Art
5:20 pm
Wed January 23, 2013

In 'According To What?' Ai Weiwei Makes Mourning Subversive

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Credit Cathy Carver / Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum
Grapes, a spiky cluster of wooden stools from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is part of Ai Weiwei's repurposed furniture series.
Credit Cathy Carver / Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum
Ai Weiwei's Snake Ceiling, a serpentine form made from children's backpacks, is currently on display at the Hirshhorn Museum's "According to What?" exhibit. It commemorates the thousands of students who died in poorly constructed schools during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Credit Cathy Carver / Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum
He Xie, or "river crab," consists of more than 3,200 porcelain crabs. "He xie" is also a homophone for the Chinese word for "harmonious," which is part of the Chinese Communist Party slogan. Today, "he xie" has become an ironic Internet euphemism for official censorship.
Credit Cathy Carver / Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum
Grapes, a spiky cluster of wooden stools from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is part of Ai's repurposed furniture series, meant to prioritize an item's design over its functionality.
Credit Cathy Carver / Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum
Peering through different circular holes in Moon Chest (right) reveals various stages of a lunar eclipse. It's also part of Ai's repurposed furniture series.
Credit Cathy Carver / Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum
Ai's most controversial work involves altering revered objects, like these paint-covered ancient Chinese vases, or destroying them altogether, as shown in the photographic triptych, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn.
Credit Cathy Carver / Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum
Ai has likened Cube Light to the storm-shaken chandelier in Sergei Eisenstein's 1928 film October, which he says represents the instability of a government on the verge of collapse.
Credit Cathy Carver / Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum
A seam running through the middle of Ai Weiwei's Straight conjures the image of a fault line.
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Originally published on Thu January 24, 2013 4:48 pm

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Around the Nation
7:19 pm
Mon January 21, 2013

Inaugural Balls Downsized The Second Time Around

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Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

So 9-year-old Lauren Kanabel there has a dream: a girl president elected in 2016. And whether or not that dream comes true, there will be inaugural balls. The tradition dates back to George Washington. Four years ago, President Obama attended ten inaugural balls, this year only two, both at the convention center here in Washington. And NPR's Allison Aubrey is there. She joins us by phone. Allison, the ball has been going on for a few hours now. What's the scene?

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Politics
10:18 pm
Thu December 20, 2012

House Pulls 'Plan B' Tax Measure From The Floor

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

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Politics
5:01 pm
Tue December 18, 2012

Boehner, Obama Closer To A Fiscal Cliff Deal But Not There Yet

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Originally published on Thu December 20, 2012 3:16 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. One week before Christmas and there's still no deal to avert the big tax increases and federal spending cuts slated for the end of the year. Today, House Speaker John Boehner is floating the idea of a backup plan if talks between him and the president break down.

REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER: At the same time that we're going to continue to talk with the president, we're going to also move plan B.

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Politics
4:27 pm
Mon December 3, 2012

Republicans Counter With $2.2 Trillion Deficit Plan

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Originally published on Mon December 3, 2012 6:08 pm

On Monday, House Speaker John Boehner answered criticisms that Republicans have not proposed a deficit plan to counter the one from President Obama which they find so objectionable. Boehner's plan takes elements from presidential nominee Mitt Romney's proposal. David Welna talks to Melissa Block about the counteroffer.

Politics
5:37 pm
Thu November 29, 2012

Of Top Taxpayers, 1 In 5 A Small Business Owner

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

One of the big sticking points in negotiations to avoid the fiscal cliff is President Obama's insistence that income tax rates go up for the wealthiest Americans. Most congressional Republicans are against that idea. Here's House Speaker John Boehner yesterday.

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Politics
4:48 pm
Mon November 26, 2012

Fiscal Cliff Talks Resume As Deadline Ticks Closer

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Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 6:18 pm

Negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff remained low-key in the first day of congressional work following the Thanksgiving holiday. Tamara Keith talks to Melissa Block.

The Salt
5:15 pm
Thu November 15, 2012

A Dash Of Latin Flavor On The Thanksgiving Table

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Credit Jason Varney
Chef Jose Garces' quinoa soup.
Credit Jason Varney
Chef Jose Garces
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Originally published on Fri November 16, 2012 4:59 pm

When Chef Jose Garces, the Philadelphia-based restaurateur and author of The Latin Road Home, thinks back to the Thanksgiving table of his youth, he remembers the turkey, and his father's chicken giblet gravy.

But his parents, who emigrated to Chicago from Ecuador in the 1960s, whipped up Ecuadorean staples as well.

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Election 2012
7:57 pm
Tue November 6, 2012

Ohio Already Reporting Solid Voter Turnout

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Originally published on Tue November 6, 2012 8:08 pm

Melissa Block talks with Don Gonyea as polls close in Ohio.

Around the Nation
5:23 pm
Wed October 31, 2012

Atlantic City Starts To Dig Out From Sandy

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Originally published on Wed October 31, 2012 6:53 pm

We report from Atlantic City, N.J., on the aftermath of superstorm Sandy and the beginnings of clean up efforts on the barrier island. In the nearby town of Longport, Sandy poured straight through the multi-million dollar oceanfront homes. Casinos in Atlantic City have been closed down since Sunday, with no word yet on when they might reopen. And people who obeyed the order to evacuate the island are still not being allowed back.

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