Martin Kaste

Credit Doby / NPR

Martin Kaste is a correspondent on NPR's National desk. He covers the news throughout the Northwest, with an emphasis on technology and privacy stories.

In addition to general assignment reporting throughout the region, Kaste has contributed to NPR News coverage of major world events, including the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the 2011 uprising in Libya.

Focusing on technology and privacy issues, Kaste has reported on the government's wireless wiretapping practices as well as the data-collection and analysis that goes on behind the scenes in social media and other new media. His privacy reporting was cited in a US Supreme Court opinion concerning GPS tracking.

Before moving to the West Coast, Kaste spent five years as a reporter for NPR based in South America. He covered the drug wars in Colombia, the financial meltdown in Argentina, the rise of Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, and the fall of Haiti's president Jean Bertrand Aristide. Throughout this assignment, Kaste covered the overthrow of five presidents in five years.

Prior to joining NPR in 2000, Kaste was a policital reporter for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul for seven years.

Kaste is a graduate of Carleton College, in Northfield, Minnesota.

Three Ballot Measures Would OK Pot Beyond Medicine

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Credit Ed Andrieski / AP

A marijuana bud at a marijuana dispensary in Denver. Colorado, Oregon and Washington could become the first to legalize marijuana this fall.

Credit Rick Wilking / Reuters/Landov

Colorado already allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Amendment 64 would regulate marijuana like alcohol.

By Martin Kaste

Originally published on Wed October 24, 2012 2:53 pm

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Marijuana legalization is back on the ballot this year. California voters defeated a legalization proposal in 2010, but now similar measures have cropped up in three more Western states. This time around, some of the most intense opposition is coming from the earlier pioneers of legalization — the medical marijuana industry.

1:18 pm

Fri October 19, 2012

Colorado, A Big Win For Obama In 2008, Now A Harder Sell

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Credit RJ Sangosti / AP

Supporters turned out for President Obama's first post-debate rally on Oct.4 in Denver. The president is facing a fierce fight for Colorado after winning it by 9 points four years ago.

Credit Martin Kaste / NPR

Craig Romney, the son of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, signs postcards to voters at a campaign office in Aurora, Colo.

By Martin Kaste

Originally published on Fri October 19, 2012 4:12 pm

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In Colorado, the presidential race is a statistical dead heat. The state went heavily for candidate Barack Obama in 2008 — but the president is now facing fierce headwinds.

Obama won last time by 9 points, an astounding margin in a state that hadn't gone Democratic since 1992. One Democratic strategist calls 2008 a one-time case of "irrational exuberance," especially among Colorado's large contingent of swing voters.

3:17 am

Sat October 13, 2012

Hawaii Prep School Gave Obama Window To Success

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Credit Punahau School 1974-1975 Yearbook

Barack Obama in a 1975 photo from the Punahou School yearbook. He and his eighth-grade homeroom classmates pose with a slide projector as part of the yearbook's theme of "Nostalgia."

Credit Martin Kaste / NPR

Sandy Beach Park, one of Obama's favorite spots growing up in Hawaii.

Credit Laura S.L. Kong / Getty Images

Obama shoots the ball while playing for the Punahou School basketball team in 1979.

By Martin Kaste

Originally published on Sat October 13, 2012 7:15 am

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From now until Nov. 6, President Obama and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will emphasize their differences. But the two men's lives actually coincide in a striking number of ways. In this installment of NPR's "Parallel Lives" series, a look at Obama's time at a Hawaii institution called Punahou.

Punahou School was founded by missionaries in 1841 — the campus is just up the hill from Waikiki, and it's built around a historic spring.

3:49 am

Tue October 9, 2012

Outside Political Groups Swamp Montana's Media Market

By Martin Kaste

Originally published on Tue October 9, 2012 8:25 am

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Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

You heard Brian mention outside groups spending in Virginia. That spending was made easier by the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling back in 2010, which opened the door to more corporate political spending. Loud complaints about that decision came from the state of Montana, where we're going next. It has a history of restricting corporate political spending, and officials worried that outside groups would swamp their tiny media market - which they have, as NPR's Martin Kaste reports.

2:34 pm

Mon October 1, 2012

Outside Money Defining Montana Senate Showdown

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Credit Martin Kaste / NPR

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., (center) campaigns at a parade Saturday in Belgrade, Mont.

Credit Matt Gouras / AP

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., compaigns in Helena, Mont., on Sept. 7.

By Martin Kaste

Originally published on Mon October 1, 2012 3:23 pm

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Republicans are still within reach of a big political goal this year: retaking control of the Senate. They lost the majority in 2006, in part because of the razor-close victory of Democratic challenger Jon Tester in Montana.

Now, Tester is the incumbent facing a tough challenge of his own. And if he's going to win re-election, he has to turn out a lot of younger voters, the way he did in 2006. And on that front, he does have some allies.

1:02 pm

Thu September 13, 2012

Can A Republican Win A Senate Seat In Blue Hawaii?

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Credit Marco Garcia / AP

Former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle gives a victory speech in Honolulu after winning the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Aug. 11.

Credit Marco Garcia / AP

Democratic Rep. Mazie Hirono campaigns in Honolulu on Aug. 11.

By Martin Kaste

Originally published on Thu September 13, 2012 8:19 pm

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Republican hopes of capturing the Senate in November rest on a handful of tossup races in states like Montana, Missouri and Virginia.

Surprisingly, some analysts also are putting Hawaii in the tossup column.

Hawaii is the bluest of blue states; it hasn't elected a Republican to the Senate since 1970. But with the retirement of 22-year incumbent Daniel Akaka, Republicans believe they have a chance.

And regardless of who wins, the state will have its first female senator come January.

In Hawaii, the language of politics is a little different.

6:17 pm

Wed June 20, 2012

Seattle Forager Inspires Others To Learn About Wild, Forgotten Foods

Credit Martin Kaste / NPR

Langdon Cook shows off the morel and porcini mushrooms he's foraged and stored in the trunk of his car.

By Martin Kaste

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For Langdon Cook, a walk in the woods isn't that different from a walk through the produce section of the supermarket. He's a writer, blogger and all-around outdoorsy type, but in outdoorsy Seattle, he's made his name primarily as a forager.

3:23 pm

Fri April 6, 2012

Faith In Seattle Police 'Shaken' By DOJ Investigation

Credit Ted S. Warren / AP

Protesters demonstrate at City Hall in Seattle on Feb. 16, 2011, after the announcement that police officer Ian Birk would not face charges for the fatal shooting of John T. Williams.

By Martin Kaste

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Police departments have come under increased scrutiny from the Obama administration as the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division steps up investigations of corruption, bias and excessive force.

Some of the targeted law enforcement agencies have had ethical clouds hanging over them for years — the New Orleans Police Department being the prime example — but others, like the Seattle Police Department, aren't exactly usual suspects.

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1:43 pm

Wed October 24, 2012