ON AIR The Triumph and Tumult of NPR

Narrator Stephen Graybill uses a measured tone and deliberate pace to tell the raucous story of the founding and vicissitudes of National Public Radio. Longtime listeners will recognize well-known names like Bob Edwards and Susan Stamberg, but Oney also dives deep into how managers and producers covered controversial issues, warts and all. Oney documents the network from its beginning in 1971 as a counterculture home with the likes of Allen Ginsberg, who illuminated "flower power" on the network's inaugural broadcast of "All Things Considered," to its present status as a trusted member of mainstream media. Most entertaining is the focus on the signature program and finest example of what NPR does best: the Pulitzer Prize-winning "This American Life," hosted by Ira Glass. R.O. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2025]