Twice in his 27 year career with the Times, Mr. Sanger has been a member of teams that won the Pulitzer Prize, first for the investigation into the causes of the Challenger disaster in 1986, and later for investigations into the struggles within the Clinton Administration over controlling technology exports to China. He also won the Weintal Prize for diplomatic reporting for his coverage of the Iraq and Korea crises, the Aldo Beckman prize for coverage of the Presidency, and in two separate years, the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for coverage of national security issues.

Sanger has specialized in coverage of nuclear proliferation. "Nuclear Jihad" the documentary he reported for Discovery/Times Television won the 2007 DuPont Award for is explanation of the workings of the Q.A. Khan nuclear proliferation network. The documentary was based on a series of investigative articles that he co-authored with William Broad; that series was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Sanger has reported from New York.Tokyo, and Washington, covering a wide variety of issues surrounding foreign policy, globalization, nuclear proliferation, and Asian affairs. He is a member of the Aspen Strategy group. His book "The Inheritance" explores the national security challenges facing the new American president.