It's impossible to fit 'All Things' Ari Shapiro does into this headline

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/22/ [login to see] /ari-shapiro-npr-pink-martini-best-strangers-world
Ari Shapiro has traveled the world, both as a journalist for NPR and as a singer with the music group Pink Martini. He also occasionally performs in a cabaret act with actor Alan Cumming. No matter where he is, Shapiro says he always brings his "full self" — albeit maybe a "slightly different iteration" depending on the audience.

"When I'm in the fields for NPR stories, or when I'm hosting All Things Considered, ... I don't want to disappear, but I want to be a surrogate for the listener," Shapiro says. "I want to make the listener feel like they could be where I am, like they could be in my shoes."

Performing cabaret or singing on stage with Pink Martini is a different story. That's when Shapiro feels more comfortable inhabiting the spotlight: "I can be camp. I can be gay. I can make Jewish jokes. I can sort of toy with my identity as a vehicle for connection, which is less foregrounded when I'm on NPR."

Shapiro's path to NPR host was a winding one. In college, he applied for an NPR internship — and was turned down. He's able to laugh about it now. "Anybody who ever feels like they're a failure, just remember: NPR's Ari Shapiro got rejected for an NPR internship," he says.