This summer, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was eliminated through a rescission bill passed by Congress, which effectively defunds public media, which includes NPR, PBS and member stations all around the country. I figured it would be good to have a conversation about what that means and what we stand to lose.
I called my friend Jay Allison because he's been working in and around public radio since it started around a half century ago. Jay has been an independent public radio producer and journalist and teacher since the '70s. His work has won a bunch of awards. He's the founder of Transom, where I learned to make radio and he produces the Moth Radio Hour. I called him from my closet and we recorded a conversation about where public radio came from and why we should probably try to keep it around.
Links:
- Rumble Strip episode with Jay Allison from happier times
- Radio organization founded by Jay Allison: Transom
- Jay's public radio benediction
- A Founding Father of NPR Worries About Its Fate (New York Times)
Rumble Strip is a podcast produced by Erica Heilman and distributed on the radio by Vermont Public. Learn more about the show here.
