News & Politics

The Morning Man: "Morning Edition" Cohost David Greene

With a new book about his exploits as NPR's Moscow correspondent, David Greene adds his own stats to the network's anniversary tally.

Photograph by Tim Coburn.

6,216: Miles Greene traveled on Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railway for the two journeys recounted in his book, Midnight in Siberia.

9: Continuous hours Greene and his colleagues broadcast live during the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bomber—while NPR moved its studios from Massachusetts Avenue to its current NoMa headquarters.

12,267,800: Number of weekly listeners to Morning Edition, now the top news program on radio and number three for talk radio overall. In its first week, the show drew 501,200 listeners.

28: Age when Greene was named NPR’s White House correspondent in 2005, the youngest in the organization’s history.

2:45 AM: Time that Greene gets up each morning to be on the air at 5 am—about two hours after his wife, Rose Previte, owner of the bar/restaurant Compass Rose on 14th Street, Northwest, typically comes to bed.

35: Years since NPR’s Morning Edition debuted on November 5, 1979.

5: Number of hosts in Morning Edition’s history. Greene joined Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne in 2012. Bob Edwards, who launched the program with cohost Barbara Hoctor, was at the helm until 2004.

42: Number of shots of vodka or Cognac consumed by Greene during interviews with Russians in his book.

520: Approximate number of times per year he announces, “This is NPR,” on average. “You have to say it a little differently depending on the story you’re following,” Greene says.

Paul O'Donnell

Freelance writer Paul O’Donnell is @paulwodonnell on Twitter.