Cokie Roberts
Cokie Roberts was one of the 'Founding Mothers' of NPR who helped make that network one of the premier sources of news and information in this country. She served as a congressional correspondent at NPR for more than 10 years and later appeared as a commentator on Morning Edition. In addition to her work for NPR, Roberts was a political commentator for ABC News, providing analysis for all network news programming.
From 1996-2002, she and Sam Donaldson co-anchored the weekly ABC interview program This Week. In her more than forty years in broadcasting, she has won countless awards, including three Emmys. She was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, and was cited by the American Women in Radio and Television as one of the fifty greatest women in the history of broadcasting. In 2020, she was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in the Longstanding Network/Syndication (20 years or more) category.
In addition to her appearances on the airwaves, Roberts, along with her husband, Steven V. Roberts, wrote a weekly column syndicated in newspapers around the country by Universal Uclick. The Robertses also wrote From This Day Forward, an account of their more than 40-year marriage and other marriages in American history. The book immediately went onto The New York Times bestseller list, following Roberts' number one bestseller, We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, an account of women's roles and relationships throughout American history. Roberts's histories of women in America's founding era — Founding Mothers, published in 2004 and Ladies of Liberty in 2008 — also became instant bestsellers. Her most recent book, Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868, was published in 2015. In total, she wrote six national bestsellers that honored and elevated the role of women in American history.
Cokie Roberts held more than thirty honorary degrees. She served on the boards of several non-profit institutions and on the President's Commission on Service and Civic Participation. The Library of Congress named her a "Living Legend." Roberts was the mother of two and grandmother of six. She died on September 17, 2019, at age 75.
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Steve Inskeep talks to columnist and commentator Cokie Roberts, who answers listener questions about the lame-duck session of Congress.
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Commentator Cokie Roberts knew the Bush family well. She shares her personal experiences with former President George H.W. Bush and reflects on his friendship with Bill Clinton.
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There is another big presidential primary this week. Some analysts think the contest in Indiana could seal the deal for both parties' front-runners: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
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Michigan and Mississippi hold primaries on Tuesday. After a flurry of weekend voting, all of the key candidates picked up delegates. Steve Inskeep talks to Ben Domenech, founder of The Federalist.
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Coming off a dramatic weekend, the campaigns move on this week to Republican caucuses in Nevada and a Democratic primary in South Carolina. Jeb Bush dropped out of the race after the S.C. primary.
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Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders hold substantial leads in their parties' polling. On the Republican side, the positioning of second and third-place candidates could be significant as well.
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President Obama delivers his final State of the Union of his presidency on Tuesday. The Republican presidential candidates are already preparing their attacks.
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The race for House speaker took an unexpected turn late last week when leading candidate, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy withdrew his name. That threw the House GOP into a leadership crisis.
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Cokie Roberts offers her take on John Boehner's abrupt resignation as House speaker and what it will mean for Congress in the days to come.
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As Biden considers whether to launch a presidential bid, he met with Sen. Elizabeth Warren over the weekend. She's not running for president but has passionate supporters.