Mom. Host @NPR's All Things Considered and Sources & Methods. Longtime national security correspondent. Author of the NYT bestseller #ItGoesSoFast & spy novels.
Joined April 2012
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Jun 12
You've made my day. Thank you. It's a good day if we manage to give people hope! And thank you for listening to @NPR.
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Mary Louise Kelly retweeted
Jun 11
Maria is a terrific reporter and a great colleague. Any news outlet would be lucky to land her. If you want details, let me know.
Jun 8
Well, NPR has decided to eliminate my role as financial correspondent. I've been laid off, along with several fantastic colleagues.
I spent the past two years at NPR covering Wall Street, the economy, and financial and corporate power — and how it affects all of us. It’s a crucial time for this coverage, and I’m incredibly proud of my work for NPR.
I looked beyond the daily numbers of “the markets” and “the economy” to cover the people and companies shaping them, and their real-world impact — from healthcare consolidation to private credit, olive oil tariffs to crony capitalism. I broke news, brought NPR ambitious and exclusive enterprise reporting, and provided analysis across NPR’s daily broadcast shows and podcasts.
I’m grateful to have spent two years learning audio storytelling, podcasting, and live broadcasting — and how fun they are! — from some wonderful colleagues and friends. I’ll miss them, and I’ll continue to be inspired by their commitment to journalism as a public service.
I’m looking forward to figuring out what’s next, and can be reached at maria.aspan@gmail.com.
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Mary Louise Kelly retweeted
Jun 3
Nice line from Sir Alex Younger's obituary:
"He was once invited to meet Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and de facto ruler. A helicopter picked Younger up from one of the Gulf states and flew him to an uninhabited island off the Saudi coast. There he found Prince Mohammed sitting beneath an umbrella, with his yacht moored nearby, watching a Bond film by way of preparation for the meeting."
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Jun 2
The honor was ours, @yjtorbati. Congrats on the book! And for those who want to hear the extended (26 min) version of our great interview, you can find it on #SourcesandMethods, wherever you get your podcasts... lnk.to/2KlKAa
There's no greater pro in the business than @NPRKelly, and it was an honor to talk about Iran and our book with her on @npratc npr.org/2026/06/02/nx-s1-566…
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Mary Louise Kelly retweeted
May 24
Wonderful to see some of you at events for HOW TO RULE THE WORLD this week!!
Major thank yous to @andrewrsorkin @NPRKelly and @Indira_L for the great conversations.
This book has been a labor of love and is deeply personal. So grateful for the chance to share it with you!
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Mary Louise Kelly retweeted
May 7
Ted Turner in the late 1990s made the bold and brave step of opening a CNN bureau in Saddam Hussein's Baghdad. I was the correspondent. He believed that if Americans could see that other people were much like them, there would be fewer wars. He believed in journalism.
May 6
Ted Turner, the billionaire media entrepreneur and philanthropist who launched the 24-hour cable TV news revolution when he founded CNN in 1980, has died. He was 87. cnn.it/4d7tcQ2
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Jane Fonda pays tribute to her former husband, Ted Turner:
“He swept into my life, a gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate and I’ve never been the same,” Fonda wrote on Instagram. “He needed me. No one had ever let me know they needed me, and this wasn’t your average human being that needed me, this was the creator of CNN, and Turner Classic Movies, who had won the America’s Cup as the world’s greatest sailor. He had a big life, a brilliant mind and a soaring sense of humor."
“He could also take care of me. That was new as well. To be needed and cared for simultaneously is transformative. Ted Turner helped me believe in myself. He gave me confidence. I think I did the same for him, but that’s what women are raised to do. Men like Ted aren’t supposed to express need and vulnerability. That was Ted’s greatest strength, I believe."
variety.com/2026/tv/news/rup…
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Mary Louise Kelly retweeted
Statement from The Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg:
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Apr 15
Thanks to you, @KatrinaManson for taking my questions!
Apr 15
My book Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare is an @NPR “Book of the Day”
Thanks to @NPRKelly for this interview.
npr.org/2026/04/09/nx-s1-577…
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Apr 12
Looking forward to it.
Apr 11
SUNDAY on @ThisWeekABC with @MarthaRaddatz from Islamabad
✅@SenRonJohnson
✅@timkaine
✅Former CENTCOM Commander Gen. Joseph Votel
✅@sbg1 & @NPRKelly
AND @donnabrazile, @SpeakerMcCarthy & @whignewtons join the roundtable
bit.ly/4254NWd
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Apr 2
Here's to art & to beauty & to hope. Merci @ElaineSciolino for the most charming conversation. And merci Embassy @franceintheus for hosting us.
Merci @ElaineSciolino and @NPRKelly for this touching advice.
A precious moment from Elaine's talk at the Maison Française, entitled, "Secrets of the Louvre : Art, History, Intrigue."
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Mary Louise Kelly retweeted
PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM!
It's official! The cherry blossoms are opening & putting on a splendid spring spectacle. See you soon.
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸!
#CherryBlossom #BloomWatch #WashingtonDC
ALT White cherry blossoms growing on thin tree branches frame the Tidal Basin and Washington Monument under a warm sunrise sky.
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Mar 23
Mr. President, calling @SangerNYT a "lightweight analyst" is laughable. David earned his place as dean of the natsec press corps through decades of reporting. He taught so many of us how it's done.
Mar 22
ALT “David Sanger brings more than 40 years of experience as a foreign and Washington correspondent for The Times — and a reputation for non-partisanship — to his work. His piece is a fair and thorough analysis of what the U.S. military and American diplomats have and have not accomplished so far, and helps the country understand the state of the war and the president’s choices going forward. It’s exactly the type of analysis an independent journalist is supposed to be doing.” — Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for The New York Times
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Mar 23
Excellent Robert Mueller remembrance by @vermontgmg, who spent dozens of hours interviewing him.
Garrett notes that by the end, Mueller was operating by a code of honor and rules & norms that no longer existed in Washington... doomsdayscenario.co/p/rememb…
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Mar 18
Can confirm
Don’t EVER let your printer know you’ve waited until the last minute and you’re in a hurry, because it can sense fear.
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Mary Louise Kelly retweeted
Mar 13
Israel's timeline and messaging on the Iran war are changing. Israeli officials now estimate at least 1 more week of war, I was told today. Netanyahu now saying Iran's regime may be weakened not toppled.
More on the podcast with @NPRKelly @TBowmanNPR
open.spotify.com/episode/5vQ…
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Mary Louise Kelly retweeted
Mar 11
Every journalist today
Mar 10
Man was not meant to monitor this many situations.
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Mar 9
Thank you for hosting me @readartdesk @KOSU @npr!
Mar 9
On November 4, 2025 in Oklahoma City, audiences got a behind the scenes look at the career of one of public radio’s most recognizable voices, Mary Louise Kelly (@NPRKelly). The award winning journalist shared insights from her career covering politics and world affairs.
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Mar 8
Thank you @NickKristof! Happy to keep you company on those long runs.
Mar 7
With so much international news, three podcasts focused on global news that I find particularly good are: @ForeignAffairs podcast with @dankurtzphelan; Sources & Methods with @NPRKelly; and The Long Game, with @jakejsullivan & @Jonfiner. They all make good running companions!
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3 weeks ago: WaPo dismantles its international desk
5 days ago: Iran war breaks out
Today: NYTs swoops in to pick up WaPo's ex Iran correspondent
nytco.com/press/our-new-iran…
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