Gov. Josh Shapiro has dealt with plenty of weighty topics. He's investigated abuse in the Catholic Church as Pennsylvania's attorney general. He and his family were the victims of an arson attack in 2005 – an attack that was motivated, in part, by his Jewish faith. And the Democrat dislikes what he's seeing from the Trump administration, which he describes as "chaos and cruelty."
But the governor, in his first term leading Pennsylvania, tells NPR, "I see people who are bringing light in their communities every single day, solving problems."
Shapiro is often mentioned in conversations about Democrats who might vie for the White House in 2028, but for now, he says, he's focused on the midterms. He's running for a second term, and he's got his eye on election security, in anticipation of conspiracy theories and lawsuits that could undermine the process.
Shapiro sat down with All Things Considered in an interview timed to the release of his memoir, Where We Keep the Light. He shares his memories of that terrible night during Passover, when for the first time, he listened to a law enforcement briefing not just as a leader, but as a victim.
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