Gov. Josh Shapiro emphasizes civic engagement in new memoir 'Where We Keep the Light'

Summary

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NPR’s Book of the Day: Gov. Josh Shapiro Emphasizes Civic Engagement in ‘Where We Keep the Light’

Date: February 10, 2026
Host: Andrew Limbong
Guest: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (interviewed by Scott Detrow)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Scott Detrow interviews Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro about his new memoir, Where We Keep the Light. The discussion centers on Shapiro’s personal experience with an arson attack at the Governor’s residence, his public Jewish identity, responses to rising antisemitism post-October 7, US immigration enforcement controversies, election integrity concerns, and speculation about his political future. Shapiro’s key message: Now is a time for active civic engagement, not retreat.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Crisis: The Arson at the Governor’s Residence

• Shapiro recounts the personal and political impact of the arson attack (01:24–02:07).
  • Immediate reaction focused on family safety and cooperation with authorities.
  • Initial assumption of accidental fire, soon revealed as a targeted attack.
  • Profound concern over explaining the incident to his children.

"Your initial reaction in that split second is, make sure my wife and kids are safe. Follow the directions of the police and the firefighters."
— Josh Shapiro (01:35)

"It wasn't until a few moments later where we learned that it was a targeted attack. And my first reaction was, how do I explain this to my kids?"
— Josh Shapiro (01:51)

2. Jewish Identity and Confronting Antisemitism

• Shapiro discusses his increasing openness about his Jewish faith, especially after October 7 and the Israel-Gaza conflict (02:07–03:25).
  • Unwavering criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, both before and after October 7.
  • Separation of views on Israeli politics from the challenge of rising antisemitism in the US.
  • Emphasizes the responsibility and comfort his visibility brings to others in the Jewish community.
  • Calls for public leadership on antisemitism.

"I thought he's [Netanyahu] taking Israel down a dangerous and isolated path and I don't get a vote there. But certainly I'd like to see a different government, and I hope the people of Israel do that."
— Josh Shapiro (02:27)

"The number of people came over to me and said how scared they were and how they found comfort in the fact that I could live openly with my faith, in the position that I'm in..."
— Josh Shapiro (02:57)

3. Immigration Enforcement and Government Overreach

• Shapiro forcefully responds to recent immigration raids and tensions between federal and local government (03:25–05:03).
  • Criticizes deployment of ICE and National Guard to communities without local consent, arguing it damages public trust and community safety.
  • Describes proactive legal and administrative steps to resist federal overreach in Pennsylvania.
  • Asserts that such actions violate constitutional rights and make communities less safe.

"When Donald Trump deploys...into a community where a mayor or governor does not want them there, he immediately erodes the trust that exists in a community."
— Josh Shapiro (03:42)

"We do not want ICE coming in, eroding that trust. I think what you're seeing with ICE are people who are being dispatched to a community violating the constitutional rights of, of individuals."
— Josh Shapiro (04:46)

4. Election Integrity and 2026 Political Stakes

• Shapiro reviews ongoing efforts to protect Pennsylvania’s elections and voter data amid mounting pressure and lawsuits (05:03–06:16).
  • Warns of ongoing attempts to undermine elections through conspiracy theories and lawsuits.
  • Refused to release private voter information demanded by federal authorities; currently fighting lawsuits to protect data privacy.
  • Stresses importance of upcoming midterms for democracy, personal responsibility, and broader implications beyond his own campaign.

"We refuse to turn that over because I believe they're going to use it for nefarious purposes...We're going to continue to battle in court to protect the private information of the citizens of Pennsylvania."
— Josh Shapiro (05:49)

5. Civic Engagement in Turbulent Times

• Addresses political fatigue and the temptation to disengage (06:16–07:22).
  • Acknowledges public exhaustion from negative news but urges engagement, especially through voting.
  • Argues that active participation, especially at the ballot box, sends a powerful message against chaos and corruption.

"Now is a time to engage, not to retreat. And the best way we can engage is by using our power...the power to vote."
— Josh Shapiro (06:48)

6. Memoir Motivation and Political Future

• Detrow poses the “are you running for president?” question, with Shapiro responding by emphasizing listening and public service (07:22–09:02).
  • Shapiro frames the memoir as an attempt to highlight community-driven ‘light’ amidst darkness, not as a campaign launch.
  • Insists his focus remains on Pennsylvania and the immediate challenges ahead—not 2028 presidential ambitions.
  • Expresses desire to shape the “heart and soul” of the Democratic Party from his current position.

"I wrote this book because I think our politics are not meeting the moment or the needs of the people..."
— Josh Shapiro (07:32)

"I want to have a voice in shaping that as governor of Pennsylvania...I don't think anyone can look past the immediate term here this year."
— Josh Shapiro (08:32)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On civic responsibility:

  "Now is a time to engage, not to retreat. And the best way we can engage is by using our power... the power to vote."
  — Josh Shapiro (06:48)

• On personal motivation after the arson:

  "We saw not only extreme darkness but extraordinary light."
  — Josh Shapiro (07:56)

• On resisting federal overreach:

  "Where they deploy troops against the law, I will take them to court to stop them."
  — Josh Shapiro (04:10)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 00:02–00:51: Introduction and episode framing
• 01:24–02:07: Shapiro recounts arson attack
• 02:07–03:25: Discussion on Jewish identity and antisemitism
• 03:25–05:03: Immigration enforcement and state-federal conflict
• 05:03–06:16: Election integrity and legal battles over voter data
• 06:16–07:22: Civic engagement and the importance of voting
• 07:22–09:02: Memoir motivations, shaping the Democratic Party, and 2028 speculation

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Summary

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s appearance on NPR’s Book of the Day reveals a deeply personal and timely call to civic action. Against a backdrop of personal attack, rising antisemitism, political polarization, and threats to electoral integrity, Shapiro centers his memoir and his message on the power of engaged citizenship and resilient communities. While sidestepping speculation on higher office, he underscores a wider sense of purpose and duty, encouraging listeners not to turn away, but to “lean in” and shape their communities and country through active participation.

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. In times of instability, when the news cycle feels like an endless stream of bad, confusing, frustrating stories, it can be tempting to tune it all out, to look away. And I get it. Listen, there's a reason why we feature as much fiction as we do on the podcast. But in today's interview, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says that it's times like these when it's important, important to do the opposite, to lean in and engage in civic life. He's got a new memoir out titled Where We Keep the Light. And if you're thinking, hey, wait, a rising politician coming out with a book, surely this points towards some future intentions, maybe towards a run for higher office, don't worry. NPR's Scott Detrow asks him about just that after the break.

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[Scott Detrow]

Not long after Josh and Lori Shapiro collapsed into bed on night one of their Passover Seder at the Pennsylvania governor's residence last year, they heard a banging on their door and shouting, fire.

[Josh Shapiro]

Your initial reaction in that split second is, make sure my wife and kids are safe. Follow the directions of the police and the firefighters.

[Scott Detrow]

Standing outside the historic building in Harrisburg, watching it burn, the first term Democrat says he naturally started wondering why, what had started the fire.

[Josh Shapiro]

To be honest with you, in the first minutes we assumed that there was a fire in the kitchen or some accident that led to this. It wasn't until a few moments later where we learned that it was a targeted attack. And my first reaction was, how do I explain this to my kids?

[Scott Detrow]

This is the story that opens up Shapiro's new memoir. It's called Where We Keep the Light. We sat down recently in his hometown on the campus of Penn State Abington to talk about the fire, about how Shapiro has been more public about his Jewish faith and about how he has confronted anti Semitism that has flared since the October 7th attacks and the war in Gaza that followed.

[Josh Shapiro]

My views on the Netanyahu government were the same pre October 7th and post October 7th in that I thought he's a bad leader. I thought he's taking Israel down a dangerous and isolated path and I don't get a vote there. But certainly I'd like to see a different government, and I hope the people of Israel do that. I also think he was undermining US Interests at times as well. I think anti Semitism is a separate conversation in many ways. And you know, for me, post October 7th, seeing the fear in some people's eyes about living openly their faith and practicing openly their faith, the number of people came over to me and said how scared they were and how they found comfort in the fact that I could live openly with my faith, in the position that I'm in put on me. And I guess I put this on myself. A feeling of responsibility to be open about who I am, to speak out about antisemitism and to be purposeful about doing that work.

[Scott Detrow]

From there, we quickly pivoted to talk about the story here in the US that is hard to look away from. ICE is sweeping immigration raids in Minneapolis and the clashes between agents and protesters. And a note we talked before Alex Preddy was shot and killed in the street when one or more federal agents opened fire.

[Josh Shapiro]

When Donald Trump deploys, whether it's the National Guard or ice, into a community where a mayor or governor does not want them there, he immediately erodes the trust that exists in a community. And instead of making communities safer, which is what they claim they want to do, they actually create danger in a community. You saw that with the loss of life of Renee Good. And so to me, this is about community safety, public safety first and foremost. And this president is eroding that trust. From my vantage point as a governor, what can I do? Number one, where they deploy troops against the law, I will take them to court to stop them. I've been very vocal about not letting the president take take the Pennsylvania National Guard away from my command and deploy it for other purposes. And so far we've been successful at that. Second, we have strong law enforcement, obviously through Pennsylvania State Police, but also with our municipal police departments that we coordinate closely with. We do not want ICE coming in, eroding that trust. I think what you're seeing with ICE are people who are being dispatched to a community violating the constitutional rights of, of individuals. What you see with ICE are people who are harming that trust and making communities less safe.

[Scott Detrow]

Shapiro is also thinking about another potential looming confrontation between the Trump administration and state governments this fall's election.

[Josh Shapiro]

We know that they are going to try and undermine the midterms again with their conspiracy theories and with their bogus lawsuits. We will be prepared again. We are already seeing them try to undermine the rule of law and undermine our elections. Let me explain. They asked, recently, demanded, I should say recently, all of the private voter information For Pennsylvanians, about 9 million or so registered Pennsylvania voters. And by the way, not just Scott Detrow and what party you're registered for and how many times you voted, that's publicly available, but all of Scott's private information that the state has a legal responsibility to protect. We refuse to turn that over because I believe they're going to use it for nefarious purposes. And we were sued by the Department of Justice to compel us to provide that information. We still haven't. We're going to continue to battle in court to protect the private information of the citizens of Pennsylvania. That's just one example of how I believe they're preparing to ramp up to trying to undermine the midterms. And I think these midterms are incredibly important.

[Scott Detrow]

They're important to you. You're on the ballot.

[Josh Shapiro]

I am on the bow. But I think it is broader than me. And look, I hope the good people of Pennsylvania return me to this position, which I just feel honored to serve them in. But I think right now you have people who, and I'm sure you've heard this, too, who can't. I mean this with the most respect, who can't handle the news, who just want to shut it off and they want to pull the covers over and they want to retreat. And what I would say to them is, now is a time to engage, not to retreat. And the best way we can engage is by using our power. Sometimes our power is engaging with people online, but for all of us, the power we have is the power to vote. And so whether you're privileged to live in a swing state like Pennsylvania or be in one of these swing districts, of which we've got four of them here in our commonwealth, or even if you're in One of these 80, 20 districts, show up and vote in record numbers. And that will send a message that. That we do not accept the chaos and the cruelty and the corruption of this administration.

[Scott Detrow]

You're running for governor right now. You're running for reelection. This is the type of book that people write when they're thinking about running for president in two years. How are you thinking about 2028 at this moment in time?

[Josh Shapiro]

I wrote this book because I think our politics are not meeting the moment or the needs of the people that a whole bunch of politicians represent. What do I mean by that? I travel across this commonwealth and more and more across the country and I just see goodness. I see people who are bringing light in their communities every single day, solving problems. I write about a number of the people in this book. And I wrote this book, which of course was interrupted in many ways by the arson attack where we saw not only extreme darkness but extraordinary light. And I wrote this book to speak to that. And I think it is important, I hope people will read this to recognize that our politicians need to do a better job of listening to the people and learning from the great example that the people set in their communities every day. As for the future, you talk about the sort of heart and soul of the Democratic Party and what's that going to look like? I want to have a voice in shaping that. I want to have a voice in shaping that as governor of Pennsylvania. I'm grateful for the chance to talk to someone like you about that, but I don't think anyone can look past the immediate term here this year. All of the challenges I have as governor, just Pennsylvania and other leaders have in their jurisdictions, but most importantly, these midterm elections. And that's all I'm going to focus on. That's all I think anyone should be focused on.

[Scott Detrow]

Josh Shapiro, governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, thank you so much for about.

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Talking talking to us.

[Josh Shapiro]

Good to be with you. Thank you.

[Scott Detrow]

You can watch our full interview with Shapiro on NPR's YouTube channel.

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