NPR Coverage of the State of the Union Address

NPR News will provide extensive coverage of the President's State of the Union speech and the Republican Response. This will be President Obama’s last State of the Union address of his White House term as he heads into the 2012 presidential election campaign.

Facing into an election year, the President is expected to continue pushing Congress on his economic agenda. The GOP response will be given by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels.

Melissa Block will host. She'll be joined in the studio by NPR National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson. Our special coverage will augmented with reporting and reaction from NPR correspondents on Capitol Hill, as well as analysis of the speeches from NPR correspondents and outside contributors. NPR will report the Tea Party response in our special as news warrants.

[The program will run through the end of the Republican response.]


Arts & Culture

NPR

Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process

After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.

Food

NPR

In Raw Milk Case, Activists See Food Freedom On Trial

Activists say the case against Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger is about raw milk — and much more. His supporters have turned the case into a rallying cry for personal food freedom and the rights of farmers and consumers to enter into private contracts without government intervention.

Politics

NPR

Obama Group's Climate Push Puts President Under Scrutiny

Organizing for Action — a group that formed out of President Obama's re-election campaign — has focused its ire on Republicans it calls "climate change deniers." But some environmentalists are frustrated with the president himself on issues like the Keystone pipeline.

Technology

NPR

How That 'Nigerian Email Scam' Got Started

You've probably seen it in your inbox before: Someone who claims to have come into a fortune needs your help. You can share in the profits — if you send along a deposit or your bank account number. Boston Globe correspondent Finn Brunton talks about the history of the "Nigerian prince" or "419" scam, which actually got its start long before email.