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A View from Washington: The People and Politics of D.C.
A Washington veteran, STEVEN ROBERTS is a consummate political analyst and is well placed to explain the politics that dominate the news and affect the lives of all Americans.
My Fathers’ Houses
STEVEN ROBERTS talks about becoming an American and becoming a writer, and the forces that shaped the life of this leading political analyst.
Steven Roberts honors his late wife Cokie Roberts in his new book and speaks about her life and legacy
Leading political pundit STEVEN ROBERTS honors the extraordinary life and legacy of journalist Cokie Roberts—a trailblazer for women—in his new book Cokie: A Life Well-Lived
Through her visibility and celebrity, Cokie Roberts was an inspiration and a role model for innumerable women and girls. A fixture on national television and radio for more than 40 years, she also wrote five bestselling books focusing on the role of women in American history. Cokie had many roles in her lifetime: Daughter. Wife. Mother. Friend. Journalist. Advocate. Historian. Reflecting on her life, those closest to her remember her impressive mind, impish wit, infectious laugh, and the tenacity that sent her career skyrocketing through glass ceilings at NPR and ABC. They marvel at how she often put others before herself and cared deeply about the world around her. When faced with daily decisions and dilemmas, many still ask themselves the question, ‘What Would Cokie Do?’
In this loving tribute, Cokie’s husband of 53 years and bestselling-coauthor STEVE ROBERTS reflects not only on her many accomplishments, but on how she lived each day with a devotion to helping others. Her commitment to celebrating and supporting other women was evident in everything she did, and her generosity and passion drove her personal and professional endeavors. In Cokie, he has a simple goal: “To tell stories. Some will make you cheer or laugh or cry. And some, I hope, will inspire you to be more like Cokie, to be a good person, to lead a good life.”
Steve Roberts has been a journalist for almost 50 years, covering some of the major events of his time, from the antiwar movement and student revolts of the 60s and 70s to President Reagan's historic trip to Moscow in 1988 and twelve presidential election campaigns. After graduating from Harvard magna cum laude in 1964, he joined the New York Times as research assistant to James 'Scotty' Reston, then the paper's Washington bureau chief. His 25-year career with the Times included assignments as bureau chief in Los Angeles and Athens, and as Congressional and White House correspondent. He was a senior writer at U.S. News for seven years, specializing in national politics and foreign policy. Roberts continues to write a nationally-syndicated newspaper column he previously co-wrote with his late wife, TV journalist Cokie Roberts. The column was named one of the ten most popular columns in America by Media Matters. In February of 2000 Steve and Cokie published From This Day Forward, an account of their marriage, as well as other marriages in American history. The New York Times called the book "inspiring and instructive" and it spent seven weeks on the Times bestseller list. Roberts also writes a bi-monthly column, Hometown, for Bethesda Magazine and is a regular book reviewer and travel writer for The Washington Post. His childhood memoir, My Fathers' Houses, was published in the spring of 2005 and was featured at the National Book Festival in Washington. In 2009 he published From Every End of This Earth, the story of 13 immigrant families and the new lives they've made in America. The book, which was also featured at the National Book Festival, started life in the feature writing course he teaches at GW and is dedicated to his students. In 2011 he wrote Our Haggadah (with his wife Cokie), which was featured on many national TV shows, including This Week and Morning Joe.
A well-known commentator on many Washington-based TV shows, Roberts also appears regularly as a political analyst on the ABC radio network and was a substitute host on NPR's Diane Rehm Show. As a teacher, he lectures widely on American politics and the role of the news media. Since 1997 he has been the Shapiro Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, where he has taught for the last 23 years. His many honors include the Dirksen Award for covering Congress, the Wilbur Award for reporting on religion and politics, the Bender prize as one of GW's top undergraduate teachers, and four honorary doctorates. He's been named a Father of the Year by the Father's Day Council and received the Public Service Sector Award from the Aspen Institute. Steve and Cokie have two children: Lee, a banker in Raleigh, NC, and Rebecca, a program specialist for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, and six grand-children. In his spare time, Roberts plays tennis and roots for his grand-children’s sports teams.
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