Martin Kaste
Martin Kaste is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk. He covers law enforcement and privacy. He has been focused on police and use of force since before the 2014 protests in Ferguson, and that coverage led to the creation of NPR's Criminal Justice Collaborative.
In addition to criminal justice reporting, Kaste has contributed to NPR News coverage of major world events, including the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the 2011 uprising in Libya.
Kaste has reported on the government's warrant-less wiretapping practices as well as the data collection and analysis that go on behind the scenes in social media and other new media. His privacy reporting was cited in the U.S. Supreme Court's 2012 United States v. Jones ruling concerning GPS tracking.
Before moving to the West Coast, Kaste spent five years as NPR's reporter 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, 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 political reporter for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul for seven years.
Kaste is a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.
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After early criticism for being late, FEMA is getting high marks from people affected by the July 4 floods, especially in hard-hit Hunt, Texas. But locals heap even more praise on religious charities. -
With 101 people still missing after the July 4 flash flood, the focus turns to local lakes, and what may be buried in them. -
The Supreme Court upheld federal restrictions on the kit guns in March, but gun rights groups hope the Trump administration -- or the courts -- will still roll them back. -
In March, the Supreme Court upheld Biden-era restrictions on build-it-yourself gun kits. But gun rights groups are still hoping the regulation will be swept away.
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Immigration enforcement speeds up in LA regardless of military presence -
With the federalized National Guard deployed against the state's wishes and the Marines on the way to L.A., there are growing concerns about the policing role of the military. -
Bystanders and protesters have been confronting ICE agents as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement. -
Hundreds of public safety grants cut, worth $500 million, funded initiatives like drug treatment and gun violence prevention programs. -
Real ID will be enforced in U.S. airports starting May 7. Implementing the law involved years of negotiations between federal and state officials. -
One executive order President Trump signed this week aims to expand legal protections for police accused of misconduct, seeking to establish pro bono legal assistance from private sector attorneys.
