Mike Pesca
Mike Pesca first reached the airwaves as a 10-year-old caller to a New York Jets-themed radio show and has since been able to parlay his interests in sports coverage as a National Desk correspondent for NPR based in New York City.
Pesca enjoys training his microphone on anything that occurs at a track, arena, stadium, park, fronton, velodrome or air strip (i.e. the plane drag during the World's Strongest Man competition). He has reported from Los Angeles, Cleveland and Gary. He has also interviewed former Los Angeles Ram Cleveland Gary. Pesca is a panelist on the weekly Slate podcast "Hang up and Listen".
In 1997, Pesca began his work in radio as a producer at WNYC. He worked on the NPR and WNYC program On The Media. Later he became the New York correspondent for NPR's midday newsmagazine Day to Day, a job that has brought him to the campaign trail, political conventions, hurricane zones and the Manolo Blahnik shoe sale. Pesca was the first NPR reporter to have his own podcast, a weekly look at gambling cleverly titled "On Gambling with Mike Pesca."
Pesca, whose writing has appeared in Slate and The Washington Post, is the winner of two Edward R. Murrow awards for radio reporting and, in1993, was named Emory University Softball Official of the Year.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife Robin, sons Milo and Emmett and their dog Rumsfeld. A believer in full disclosure, Pesca rates his favorite teams as the Jets, Mets, St. Johns Red Storm and Knicks, teams he has covered fairly and without favor despite the fact that they have given him a combined one championship during his lifetime as a fully cognizant human.
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NPR's Mike Pesca reports on what Iraqi citizens living in the United States have to do to vote in their country's upcoming elections.
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The underground female 'tween empire has cast its vote: The Barbie Doll is out, and American Girl Dolls are in. NPR's Mike Pesca visits the American Girl Place in Manhattan to find out about this lucrative doll empire. The boutique is where the popular American Girl Dolls and all of their accessories are sold to legions of girls.
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NPR's Mike Pesca examines how the amount of relief aid pledged by the United States to South Asian countries in the wake of the tsunami disaster compares to what other countries have offered. After a United Nation official complained this week about the generosity of the richest countries of the world, United States officials countered that no single nation gives more than America.
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NPR's Mike Pesca explains the lack of armored vehicles for U.S. soldiers in Iraq, highlighted Wednesday when a National Guard soldier challenged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the issue at a news conference in Kuwait. The U.S. military is currently rushing to armor Humvees heading for combat zones, but transport and supply trucks may remain vulnerable.
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There's a high-calibre battle between the Harlem Yacht Club and New York City officials. The club wants to revive a tradition of firing a cannon every night as it lowers its American flag. Club members call it free speech -- but Manhattan officials call it an environmental hazard. NPR's Mike Pesca reports.
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NPR's Mike Pesca reports on the controversy over the proposed construction of the new stadium for the Jets NFL team on the west side of crowded Manhattan Island.
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NPR's Noah Adams talks to NPR's Mike Pesca about the announcement of elevated terror alerts in New York City, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has raised the terror threat level for financial institutions in those cities to orange, or high alert.
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NPR's Mike Pesca talks with NPR's Noah Adams about the home-state enthusiasm of conventioneers, and reports on the local color those enthusiastic Democrats are bringing to Boston.
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NPR's Mike Pesca reports from the Democratic National Convention in Boston on how the political party is trying to emphasize its appeal to Americans from diverse backgrounds and portray itself as the "big tent" party.
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Sen. John Kerry spends the holiday weekend campaigning in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, appealing to rural voters. But the presumptive Democratic nominee is not yet saying who he will choose as a running mate. Hear NPR's Mike Pesca.