In September 2015, Shapiro became one of four rotating hosts on National Public Radio's flagship drive-time program All Things Considered.

Shapiro began his NPR career as an intern to legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg in January 2001.

[14][4] In 2019, Shapiro embarked on a cabaret career, joining Alan Cumming for a show called Och & Oy!

[25] Shapiro has won three national Edward R. Murrow awards; one for a global series that connected the dots between climate change, migration, and far-right political leaders;[26] another for his reporting on the life and death of Breonna Taylor;[27] and the third for his coverage of the Trump Administration's asylum policies on the US-Mexico border.

"[30] In December 2010, MSNBC's entertainment website BLTWY placed Shapiro 26th on its "power list" of "35 people under 35 who changed DC in 2010," calling him "one of NPR's fastest rising stars.

"[31] In 2016 and 2008, LGBT-themed magazine Out included Shapiro in the "Out 100", a list of "the year's most interesting, influential, and newsworthy LGBT people".

[34] On February 27, 2004, Shapiro and longtime boyfriend Michael Gottlieb were married at San Francisco City Hall.