Joe Shapiro
NPR Correspondent/Investigations Unit, author of NO PITY: People With Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement. Contact: jshapiro@npr.org or (encrypted) Shapirojoe@proton.me
- Reposted by Joe ShapiroIn October, ICE grabbed Maher Tarabishi. He was a 24/7 caregiver for his disabled son Wael. At the time of Maher’s detention, disability advocates warned that taking away Wael’s caregiver put his life at risk. Wael died on Friday at age 30. ICE caused his death. They didn’t get to say goodbye.
- R.I.P. disability rights leader Bob Kafka. The ADAPT leader was known for leading protests. But was also a savvy policy wonk who could work with government officials--of any party--to win programs. www.npr.org/2006/09/15/6...
- What if you showed up at your hotel and they didn't have the room you reserved? Or there was a shower or toilet you couldn't use. This is common for people who use wheelchairs. Even 35 years after federal law said hotels must be accessible. My NPR story. www.npr.org/2025/12/24/n...
- I'd like you to read it, too
- Reposted by Joe ShapiroWhat a privilege it is to be a younger disabled person in a community shaped by Alice Wong. Rest in peace, Alice.
- Judge: "White House press briefings engage the American people on important issues affecting their daily lives — in recent months, war, the economy, and healthcare, and in recent years, a global pandemic." From NPR's Kristin Wright www.npr.org/2025/11/05/n...
- Reposted by Joe ShapiroRemembering Paul and Sheila Wellstone and the others we lost on Oct 25, 2002.
- On undisclosed investors--including foreign ones--owning our voting systems: "If this seems like a bad idea to you, you’re right." slate.com/news-and-pol...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- Reposted by Joe ShapiroOn 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 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...
- 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
- 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 days, weeks--DOJ report finds abuse of restraints in federal prisons. (My story from NPR) www.npr.org/2025/07/14/n...
- "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...
- "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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- "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.
- An interview to get a sense of the man who always asked: "How does policy dignify?" mn.gov/mnddc/rud-tu...
- 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...
- 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.
- Reposted by Joe ShapiroOn the resurgence of #disability slurs. An unsettling read.
- Reposted by Joe ShapiroGross. 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...
- 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...
- Reposted by Joe ShapiroTrump'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...
- 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...
- 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...
- Reposted by Joe ShapiroI don't know what brought this pairing about, but what a delight. www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Ol...
