Melissa Block

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

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

4:50 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.

By Melissa Block

Originally published on Thu January 24, 2013 3:48 pm

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Around the Nation

6:19 pm

Mon January 21, 2013

Inaugural Balls Downsized The Second Time Around

By Melissa Block

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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?

Politics

9:18 pm

Thu December 20, 2012

House Pulls 'Plan B' Tax Measure From The Floor

By Melissa Block

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Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

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

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

Movie Interviews

11:33 am

Thu December 20, 2012

Naomi Watts, Mulling 'The Impossible'

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Credit Jose Haro / Summit Entertainment

Maria (Naomi Watts) and her family, including her son Lucas (Tom Holland), fight to survive when they are caught in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Credit Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images

Naomi Watts has won acclaim for her dramatic roles in films such as Mulholland Dr. and 21 Grams. She has been nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in The Impossible.

By Melissa Block

Originally published on Wed February 20, 2013 11:55 am

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The Impossible, a feature film opening Dec. 21, is about a family swept away by the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. It's based on the true story of a Spanish family.

In the movie, they're British — a couple and their three young sons, on vacation in Thailand. It looks like paradise. Then, the earth trembles, and the ocean roars in, bringing with it catastrophe and heartbreak.

The mother is played by Naomi Watts, who spoke with NPR's Melissa Block about the film and its retelling of a grimly familiar story.

Politics

3:27 pm

Mon December 3, 2012

Republicans Counter With $2.2 Trillion Deficit Plan

By Melissa Block

Originally published on Mon December 3, 2012 5:08 pm

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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.

Food

2:04 pm

Thu November 29, 2012

Horseradish Tea And Other Global Cold Cures

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Lidia Bastianich's great-aunt swore by a horseradish tea for clearing our cold-clogged sinus.

By Melissa Block

Originally published on Tue November 27, 2012 7:20 pm

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From chicken noodle soup to alcohol-spiked drinks, everyone has a preferred remedy for cold symptoms. Since she was feeling a little under the weather, Melissa Block, host of All Things Considered, asked some foodies for their tried and true remedies from around the globe. Their suggestions range from the gentle to the pungent, but each bears a timeworn seal of approval.

Chinese Rice Porridge And Mustard Greens

Music Interviews

3:55 pm

Fri November 16, 2012

Mick Jagger On The Apocalyptic 'Gimme Shelter'

Credit Carl de Souza / AFP/Getty Images

Mick Jagger says "Gimme Shelter" is about a "world closing in on you."

By Melissa Block

Originally published on Mon November 19, 2012 9:52 am

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The Salt

4:15 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

By Melissa Block

Originally published on Fri November 16, 2012 3:59 pm

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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.

Movie Interviews

3:57 pm

Fri November 9, 2012

Daniel Day-Lewis On Creating A Voice From The Past

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Credit David James / DreamWorks

Day-Lewis used firsthand accounts of Abraham Lincoln's speeches, along with his personal letters, to develop a voice and a style for Steven Spielberg's biographical drama.

Credit Lefteris Pitarakis / AP

Daniel Day-Lewis is known for his intense preparation for roles in films such as There Will Be Blood.

By Melissa Block

Originally published on Wed February 20, 2013 2:29 pm

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Daniel Day-Lewis has won two Academy Awards for fully immersing himself in his characters in There Will Be Blood and My Left Foot.

Now the British actor is taking on one of America's most iconic figures in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, playing the 16th president during the final months of his life. Day-Lewis tells NPR's Melissa Block that it was a daunting prospect — but that ultimately Lincoln was a surprisingly accessible figure.

Interview Highlights

On playing such an iconic figure

Commentary

3:59 pm

Wed November 7, 2012

Mid-Week In Politics: Voter Demographics And More

By Robert Siegel and Melissa Block

Originally published on Thu November 8, 2012 8:08 am

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Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

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

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.President Obama wins a second term; Democrats flip a handful of seats. in both the House and the Senate; and Republicans begin a new round of soul-searching.

SIEGEL: It's only Wednesday, but we have more than enough to talk about with our Friday regulars - E.J. Dionne, of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution; and David Brooks, of the New York Times. Welcome to both of you.

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