At the end of May, 2020, the daily number of new coronavirus cases and deaths had dropped dramatically from the peak of the pandemic in New York. But as people felt like the worst was behind them, New York faced a new challenge. Massive demonstrations filled the streets night and day in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. Steve Kastenbaum was in the thick of it, covering peaceful Black Lives Matter protests, clashes with police, sporadic looting, the implementation of a curfew, and a large memorial featuring George Floyd’s brother.

New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, rising quickly to a peak in April before slowly subsiding in the following months, and resurging again in the fall. Steve Kastenbaum reported on the spread of the virus and the impact of the subsequent shutdown on New York. Steve covered it all, describing a tragic landscape for listeners, from the refrigerator trucks that were used as a temporary morgue at the hospital outside his window, to the financial and emotional impacts it had on New Yorkers, and the overwhelming challenges healthcare workers faced on the front lines.

Steve Kastenbaum covered his first presidential election in 2004 when the Republican Convention was held at Madison Square Garden in New York. Every four years after, he was on the campaign trail, at debates and inside convention halls. Steve reported on Barack Obama’s historic wins in 2008 and 2012 to audiences across the US. In 2016, Steve was at Donald Trump’s election night headquarters as the world was stunned by the unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton. In 2020, Steve was back out on the campaign trail, covering the Iowa Caucuses, the New Hampshire Primary and Super Tuesday.

Joey “Jaws” Chestnut has been called the Great American Hero for bringing the Yellow Mustard Belt back to the US after defeating the greatest competitive eater in the world, Takeru Kobayashi, at The Nathan’s 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2007. Chestnut won the contest 13 times and set several records. Steve Kastenbaum was there for each one, including in 2020, when the tradition continued without an audience because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In September of 2015, Pope Francis visited the United States. The eight day trip took him to New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia. He spoke at the UN, St Patrick’s Cathedral, the 9/11 Memorial, met with President Obama at the White House, spoke to US bishops about sex abuse in the church and finished his trip at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. Steve Kastenbaum reported from every stage of the Pope’s trip.

Steve Kastenbaum went to his first Olympic games in Rio-de-Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. He served as the primary news correspondent for the US’s licensed radio broadcast of the competition. For three weeks, Steve kept listeners up to date on record breaking performances from gymnast Simone Biles, swimmer Michael Phelps, sprinter Usain Bolt and many others, while reporting on other aspects of the first Olympics ever held in South America.

In 2018, Steve Kastenbaum returned to coverage of the Olympics, this time for the winter games in Pyeongchang, South Korea for the winter games. Once again, Steve served as the primary news correspondent for the Olympics’ official US radio network, giving his audience a front row seat for the competitions as Americans won gold medals in several sports, including Snowboarding, Hockey and Curling.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people fill “The Crossroads of the World” to ring in the New Year in New York. Steve Kastenbaum brought the celebration to audiences across the country from the 1990’s through today, finding unique stories among the celebrants, from those who were there for the first time to the veterans who watch the ball drop in person every year. 

Steve Kastenbaum reported on the running of the New York City Marathon nearly two-dozen times, interviewing participants and spectators from all over the world. After hearing from so many people how it was the best race in the world, Steve decided to run the race for the first time in 2017. While running all 26.2 miles he also reported on his experience from the route for Westwood One News.

Over the course of three decades, Steve Kastenbaum has brought news from New York City to an audience across the country and around the world. In December of 2016, Steve reported on the closing of a New York institution, the Carnegie Deli. People came from hundreds and thousands of miles away to order the Carnegie Deli’s famous pastrami sandwich one last time.