About All Things Considered

Host Robert Siegel

Host Michele Norris

Host Melissa Block

At 5 p.m. ET on May 3, 1971, the first All Things Considered went on the air. In the three decades since, almost everything about the program has changed -- the hosts and producers, the length and time of the program, the equipment used, and the audience. But one thing remains the same: the determination to get the day's big stories on the air, and to bring them alive through sound and voice.

For two hours every weekday, All Things Considered hosts Robert Siegel, Michele Norris and Melissa Block present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features.

The program rings with the disparate voices of its commentators, from veteran analyst Daniel Schorr and storyteller Kevin Kling to poet Andrei Codrescu. It hums with the distinctive music that threads between reports -- music collected in the online program All Songs Considered. And by the time All Things Considered marked its 30th anniversary on the air, the program had earned many of journalism's highest honors, including the Peabody, DuPont and Overseas Press Club awards.

In 1977, All Things Considered expanded to seven days, with one-hour news magazines Saturday and Sunday evenings. The weekend program keeps listeners on top of the latest news and trends.

• Contacting All Things Considered
• Listening to All Things Considered on the Web
• Music heard on All Things Considered
• Tapes and transcripts of All Things Considered
• Submissions to All Things Considered
• Contacting other NPR programs
• Help with the Web site

Contacting All Things Considered

E-MAIL -- For programs heard weekdays, send e-mail to atc@npr.org; for programs heard Saturday and Sunday, send e-mail to watc@npr.org. All e-mail receives an automated reply, and is read by the program's hosts, editors and producers. Unfortunately, the volume of e-mail we receive each day makes it impossible for us to answer each query personally. If you have included All Things Considered's e-mail address on a mail distribution list, please do us the favor of removing it. Your prompt attention to this is appreciated.

MAIL/FAX -- Letters may be faxed to 202-513-3025, or mailed to 635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20001-3752, USA. Though all letters and faxes are read, the volume of correspondence makes it impossible to answer each one personally. Please specify whether your correspondence concerns programming heard on a weekday or on the weekend.

All Things Considered regularly reads a selection of letters on the air. When you write, please include the pronunciation of your name and where you're from.

PHONE -- The number for NPR Audience Services is 202-513-3232. That line is staffed weekdays 10am-5pm ET, and carries a taped information menu during non-business hours.

Listening to All Things Considered on the Web

To listen online to all or part of an All Things Considered broadcast, go to the All Things Considered home page. You'll find links to the most recent shows there, and the option to listen to the whole show or to individual segments. You will need a Real audio player (a Windows Media player will not work) installed on your computer to listen. Get one of the free (really!) players at the Real Web site and find answers to questions about listening to NPR audio on our audio help page.

For all earlier broadcasts, click "Previous Shows" on the right-hand navigation. From the calendar choose the day, month and year of a past show, and get a directory of all the reports and musical interludes on that show.

If you don't know the exact date of the story you're looking for, you can often track it down by using the SEARCH function in the archives.

Audio links -- enabling you to listen to all or part of the show -- will be added to show directories after 9 p.m. ET on the day the show aired. Audio is available for listening only and cannot be downloaded.

If you can't find an item on our Web site, chances are we weren't given permission to put it on the Internet. Some commentators and performers do not allow NPR to distribute their works electronically.

Music Heard on All Things Considered

To find the name and artist for a piece of music used between reports on All Things Considered, follow the instructions in Listening to All Things Considered on the Web (above) to find a directory for either the latest show or a previous show. Those directories list the artist's name and the title of every piece of music used in these interludes.

Hear more about some of the music used on the program by going to the All Songs Considered area of the Web site. And learn more about how the music is chosen, in a Q&A with director Bob Boilen.

On weekends, information on these music pieces is not always listed the same day the pieces are played. If you do not find the information the same day a show airs, please return to the show directories in subsequent days to look for it.

Tapes and transcripts of All Things Considered

For information on how to order tapes and transcripts of NPR stories, visit our Tapes and Transcripts page.

Submissions to All Things Considered

STORY IDEAS -- We're always interested in hearing your suggestions for stories for NPR newsmagazines and newscasts. Please read our tips and get answers to frequently asked questions about how to suggest a story idea. You can send it by e-mail to atc@npr.org. For the weekend shows, write to watc@npr.org. Unfortunately, the volume of mail received makes it impossible to acknowledge each one personally. Remember to include "Story Idea" in the subject line of your message. Because of security concerns we are unable to open e-mails with attachments.

COMMENTARIES -- We accept commentaries on all subjects, serious or funny. We are looking for pieces that express an original idea in clear, creative writing. We read all commentaries that are submitted, but very few - only the best - are broadcast. Please send submissions to: atccommentary@npr.org. Because of the volume of e-mails we are unable to answer each one personally. We will contact you if we are interested in airing your piece. Here are some guidelines:

· Send one or two written commentaries in the body of the e-mail. Because of security and virus concerns, we are unable to open e-mails with attachments.
· Each commentary should take about two-and-a-half minutes to read aloud (about 300 words in length).
· Include your name, address, daytime telephone number, and e-mail address.

To get a sense of what we're looking for, please visit our commentary archives.

PRESS RELEASES -- All Things Considered e-mail addresses are maintained to provide our listeners a way to comment on what they hear on the program and to make suggestions about future coverage. We ask that they not be used for press releases, media alerts or bulk-mailed material. We are better able to receive that sort of information by U.S. Postal Service delivery at the address above.

Contacting other NPR programs

We cannot forward e-mail to other NPR programs or departments. You can e-mail them directly at addresses listed here: http://www.npr.org/contact

If you have a question about something you heard on another NPR program, either write to the show directly, or call NPR Audience Services at 202-513-3232 between 10am-5pm ET weekdays.