Joe Shapiro

The deceptive phrase behind Trump's Medicaid purge How the idea of “able-bodied” is abused

The Trump Administration wants to add a work requirement for "able-bodied" Medicaid recipients. But medical professionals don't use that term. @juliametraux.bsky.social explains the history of a political term

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Justice Department Sues Uber for Denying Rides to Passengers with Service Dogs, Wheelchairs The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. for discriminating against passengers with disabilities, including those who use service animals and mobility devices such as stow...

U.S. Department of Justice sues Uber for driving past would-be customers in wheelchairs or with service animals

www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...

Are hotel rooms accessible for people who use wheelchairs? NPR wants to hear from you Hotels have accessible rooms for wheelchair users. If you or someone you know has experienced problems with those rooms, we'd like to hear about it.

NPR wants to write about what makes travel difficult for people who use wheelchairs--with hotels. Tell us your stories. www.npr.org/2025/09/11/g...

Photo of DOGE staffer Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old white man in a blue pullover, carrying a black backpack.

Photo of 53-year-old Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi. He is sitting, wearing white pants and shirt with a brown vest.

On the left: Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old DOGE staffer and college dropout.

On the right: Mohammad Halimi, a 53-year-old exiled Afghan scholar.

This is the story of how DOGE targeted Halimi on social media.

Then the Taliban took his family. 🧵

Susan Stamberg Retirement News

Susan Stamberg helped build NPR, paved a path for women journalists, writes radio copy that sounds like poetry, has one of the best voices in broadcast.. and is a warm, supportive and treasured colleague. Retirement? Hard to imagine NPR without her.
www.npr.org/sections/npr...

Trump Administration Poised to Cut SSI Benefits for Nearly 400,000 Low-Income Disabled and Older People | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The average annual savings from these benefit cuts would barely pay for a single day of the massive tax cuts for the wealthy that are part of the Republican megabill enacted in July.

The Biden Administration expanded benefits to many of the poorest disabled on SSI. Now Trump Administration proposes a reversal.
www.cbpp.org/research/soc...

From my colleague @tomdreisbach.bsky.social

A federal report looks at Amtrak's efforts to improve for passengers with disabilities For years, disabled passengers have complained about Amtrak and its poor service -- that it's too hard for them to ride the train. A new federal report looks at its efforts to get better.

Disabled people say they love riding trains. Does Amtrak love them back? (My NPR story on a new federal report.)
www.npr.org/2025/07/17/n...

Shackled for weeks: Federal report finds abuse of restraints in prisons The Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General found widespread abuse of shackles in federal prisons. One prisoner was held in restraints so tight that he had to have a limb amputated.

Shackled for days, weeks--DOJ report finds abuse of restraints in federal prisons. (My story from NPR)

www.npr.org/2025/07/14/n...

After leaving the military, NPR’s public service mission gave us a new opportunity to serve - Poynter After serving in the Coast Guard and Army, we received internships at NPR. The roles launched our careers and let us keep serving the public.

"We didn’t necessarily see ourselves as the kind of journalists NPR would want, but NPR not only wanted us, they wanted to support us, help us grow and nurture our perspectives."
www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

The disabled teen stuck in a hospital for six years finally gets her own home When a disabled young woman moved out of a hospital to her own apartment, the Trump administration celebrated — even though it's ending the federal program that made it possible.

"I'm only 19. I've got a lot of life to live." Alexis Ratcliff spent six years inside a North Carolina hospital. Now she's finally moved to her own home. Trump Administration wants to end program that got her out. My radio and print stories for NPR:
www.npr.org/2025/07/01/n...

Louisiana journalist Stanley Nelson exposed secrets of the civil rights era Stanley Nelson, the editor of a small-town weekly newspaper in Louisiana, exposed secrets about unsolved murders by the Ku Klux Klan. Nelson died this week at the age of 69.

When Stanley Nelson investigated unsolved KKK killings, some of his best sources were the spouses and children of the Klansmen. The men who would torture and kill were often abusive to their family at home--and those spouses and kids talked. My expanded story for npr.org. www.npr.org/2025/06/07/n...

A man with gray beard and hair, wearing a blue sport coat, points to a blown up photo posted on a wall. In the photo, someone holds a worn silver dollar.

Stanley Nelson, editor of a small town newspaper in Louisiana, reported, obsessively, about unsolved murders by the Ku Klux Klan. I wrote about Stanley, who died unexpectedly after surgery. www.npr.org/2025/06/07/n...

Deaf students had a path to science careers -- until their federal grants ended For years, the U.S. government tried to encourage deaf people to study science. But the programs were just ended by the Trump Administration, leaving deaf students unsure about their future.

There are barriers to Deaf people trying to make careers as scientists and teachers. The federal government helped--until the Trump Administration said "no more"
www.npr.org/2025/04/28/n...

Nonprofits discuss how to handle potential backlash from the Trump administration A number of nonprofit leaders have met to discuss how to handle potential backlash from the Trump administration.

Why are nonprofit groups so worried? DOGE went into federal agencies--cut programs and staff. New target: Nonprofits that get federal grants, especially for immigration, environmental and criminal justice work
www.npr.org/2025/04/20/n...

An interview to get a sense of the man who always asked: "How does policy dignify?" mn.gov/mnddc/rud-tu...

"I was an accidental activist," Rud Turnbull said. The accident was the birth of his disabled son, Jay. He called him "our best professor." Because via Jay, he learned about the failures of how we care for people with developmental disabilities. Rud, who died this week, was a leader in the field.

🔊 Listen Now: Lawsuit targets Section 504 disability protections on NPR One | 4:45

Something I did last week on the pending lawsuit over a major disability civil rights law. What the red state AGs say they're suing about is not exactly what the lawsuit says. one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5321...

People with intellectual disabilities do lots of jobs–but they don't direct air traffic After the fatal crash over the Potomac River, the President says diversity hiring has made the skies unsafe, but that's not how disability hiring works

No, the FAA did not recruit people with intellectual disabilities to work as air traffic controllers. Despite what the President said about anti-discrimination programs. My story @npr.org www.npr.org/2025/01/30/n...

Do you know the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history? The Peshtigo Fire of 1871. At least 1,200 dead in northeastern Wisconsin.

The R-Word's Comeback Is a Grim Sign of Our Political Moment The R-slur has made a comeback thanks to the MAGA movement and Elon Musk, who use it to dehumanize their political opponents.

On the resurgence of #disability slurs. An unsettling read.

A Billionaire Gave $1,000 to UMass Dartmouth Graduates. Some Missed Out. A billionaire gave $1,000 to University of Massachusetts Dartmouth graduates in May. The catch? You had to be there.

Gross. Billionaire Rob Hale gave $1k to each graduate of UMass Dartmouth at their graduation. But those who couldn't attend graduation do not get the $.

At an outdoor ceremony where it was pouring rain, who missed out? Disabled people.
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/25/y...

A great one. Privileged to be there.

YouTube video by NPR Music Shakti: Tiny Desk Concert

Master drummer, tabla player Zakir Hussain has died. He played across musical genres. Wonderfully here with Indian jazz fusion group Shakti. m.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx8A...

The toxic autism politics of Trump’s second administration From Elon Musk to RFK, the right has developed an obsession with pushing two seemingly contradictory — but equally damaging — theories on autism, writes Eric Garcia. And this obsession is bleeding int...

Trump's presidency includes a number of grifters, most notably many who have promoted misinformation about autism. I wrote about how Trump's presidency represents the apotheosis of toxic theories about autism.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Trapped in a Social Safety Net : Up First from NPR In 1972, the federal government launched a program to support the poorest disabled and elderly Americans. Supplemental Security Income, run by the Social Security Administration, provides monthly checks that are a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable people in this country.SSI was intended to serve as a powerful safety net and a tool for fighting poverty. But a recent NPR Investigation led by correspondent Joseph Shapiro has discovered a very different reality today.In today's episode of The Sunday Story, Shapiro explains how SSI's outdated rules have made the system difficult to run and almost impossible for its beneficiaries to navigate. Impoverished disabled and elderly people say they have been penalized for trying to improve their lives—for saving money, getting married, and even daring to have careers.

You will hear people say social safety net programs are bloated with those who don't belong, there's fraud. My stories on SSI tell different story--of people in great need who try to follow the rules. But the rules don't work. A podcast version from NPR's The Sunday Story www.npr.org/2024/12/08/1...

Top-Gun Navy Pilots Fly at the Extremes. Their Brains May Suffer. A confidential Navy program is studying whether intense fighter jet operations can cause devastating brain injuries in flight crews.

NY Times reporter @davephilipps.bsky.social keeps doing superb reporting on hidden brain injuries in the U.S. military. His latest on the toll on Top-Gun pilots and crew: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/u...

YouTube video by Coldplay Coldplay - ALL MY LOVE (Official Video) (Directors' Cut)

I don't know what brought this pairing about, but what a delight. www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Ol...

NPR and Religion News Service (RNS) announce new partnership Mission-driven news organizations expand access to vital religion reporting

It was called Religious News Service when I filled in as Vatican Correspondent one summer in Rome at the start of my career. Paid me 3 cents a word. Now maybe I can write for them again at NPR. (Religion is at the center of many big stories.)
www.npr.org/2024/12/04/g...

Hope the ticket price was reasonable. www.npr.org/2020/01/17/7...