John Hockenberry

Host

John Hockenberry has returned to his roots in public radio — where he was one of the medium's original innovators — after 15 years in network and cable television. During his time at ABC and NBC, he earned four Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award and a Casey Medal.

The Takeaway marks John Hockenberry's return to his roots in public radio, where he was one of the medium's original innovators after 15 years in network and cable television. During his time at ABC and NBC, he earned four Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award, and a Casey Medal. Hockenberry has also been recognized for his pioneering online content, hosts the award-winning public radio series The DNA Files, is a weeky commentator for the series The Infinite Mind and currently sits as a Distinguished Fellow at the prestigious MIT Media Lab.

At NBC, he served as a correspondent for Dateline where his work ranged from an intimate portrait of a schizophrenic young adult to an investigative piece that traced internet swindlers in an international web to the first and only interview with the brother of two of the 9/11 suicide hijackers. He also hosted two of his own programs for MSNBC, Hockenberry and Edgewise.

Hockenberry was one of the first Western broadcast journalists to report from Kurdish refugee camps in Northern Iraq and Southern Turkey. During the first Gulf War, he reported from Israel, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. Hockenberry also spent two years as a correspondent based in Jerusalem during the most intensive conflict of the Palestinian uprising.

John Hockenberry

John Hockenberry gives us his takeaway

The Takeaway's longtime host, John Hockenberry, says goodbye to the show.

John Hockenberry gives us his takeaway
Martin Luther King Jr.

50 years ago, MLK spoke out against Vietnam. His words are just as relevant today.

50 years ago, MLK spoke out against Vietnam. His words are just as relevant today.
Declaration of Independence

The Trump era resurfaces the unresolved riddle of the Constitution

The Trump era resurfaces the unresolved riddle of the Constitution
New Year's celebration

In 2017, let's embrace renewal

In 2017, let's embrace renewal
Sen. Strom Thurmond

The filibuster that tried and failed to stop the advancement of equality, 59 years ago today

The filibuster that tried and failed to stop the advancement of equality, 59 years ago today
A demonstrator in Baton Rouge

The long hot summer of ’16 is just getting started, but where is it headed?

Race, racism and privilege are central themes this summer, but they're anything but new. Only now, more people are recognizing there is a problem with the way justice and opportunity are present in the US.

The long hot summer of ’16 is just getting started, but where is it headed?
Tennessee Volunteers head coach Pat Summitt

Remembering the legacy Pat Summitt leaves behind

Pat Summitt's litany of records on the basketball court likely will never be broken. But she's remembered as much for the paths she blazed as for her impressive record.

Remembering the legacy Pat Summitt leaves behind
Robert F. Kennedy with Lyndon B. Johnson

RFK's 'Ripple of Hope' speech still touches the world, 50 years later

Many scholars believe this address, delivered in South Africa at the height of apartheid, was Robert F. Kennedy's greatest ever.

RFK's 'Ripple of Hope' speech still touches the world, 50 years later
Samantha Power, US Ambassador to the United Nations

Samantha Power is determined to keep up the pressure until her job expires next January

Whether with refugees or recalcitrant dictators, US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power has ambitious plans for how the last year of her tenure will unfold.

Samantha Power is determined to keep up the pressure until her job expires next January
Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates: It's never enough to win the argument logically

Coates said that his frustration that led him to write “Between the World and Me” came from loving James Baldwin, but feeling the world around him, and particularly whites, were stuck in the world of 1965.

Ta-Nehisi Coates: It's never enough to win the argument logically
Boy walks among flags

John Hockenberry: Why I'm done with the 9/11 ritual

"I cannot deny people's grief," writes the host of the radio show The Takeaway, who works not that far from Ground Zero. "But I think the 9/11-ization of American life has been a kind of poison for all of us."

John Hockenberry: Why I'm done with the 9/11 ritual
Jon and John

John Hockenberry: My Moment of Zen

That was the lesson. Stewart is quick because he’s really listening.

John Hockenberry: My Moment of Zen
Navajo Generating Station about 4 miles east of Page, Arizona; viewed northwest from SR 98. October 10, 2012

One of nation's biggest polluters sucks water from drier and drier river system

There's a massive coal-powered pumping station to extract drops from the Colorado River basin. Few things offer such an insight into the illogical water policies of the American West, says The Takeaway host John Hockenberry.

One of nation's biggest polluters sucks water from drier and drier river system
The US Supreme Court stands in Washington.

Why America needs a fix for its messed-up government

We wanted checks and balances. But immigration is just the latest issue in which it's clear there's a breakdown between branches. Meantime, millions of people needlessly suffer, writes the host of "The Takeaway."

Why America needs a fix for its messed-up government
David Carr at Capilano University, in North Vancouver, BC.

Grumpy, heroic, painfully true: David Carr's legacy

The irascible media critic of the New York Times had outsized influence as media moved from traditional to digital, writes John Hockenberry.

Grumpy, heroic, painfully true: David Carr's legacy