50 Years of Information & Innovation

Fifty years ago today NPR hosted its first on-air original broadcast of All Things Considered — a show that continues airing to this day. Against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, and with no playbook for how to structure or scale a radio news network of its kind, the early directors and Member stations charted a path forward with optimism and excitement. Through their incredible story-telling and constant innovation they have proved over and over again that public radio is no monolith.

Let’s pause for a moment and appreciate how well NPR has aged. The amount of information we consume on a daily basis (oh, the podcasts!) is — for many of us — at an all-time high. Where would our beloved podcasts and audio series be without the decades of programming brought to us by NPR?

And beyond the craft itself, the organization has been at the forefront of producing measured journalism, amplifying marginalized voices, and increasing accessibility to vital information at both local and national levels.

We are happy to collaborate with the organization in this capsule collection which celebrates five decades of National Public Radio. They represent humanity — and the human spirit — at all levels of their operation as they seek to live out their mission statement:

National Public Radio will serve the individual. It will promote personal growth. It will regard individual differences with respect and joy rather than derision and hate. It will celebrate the human experience as infinitely varied rather than vacuous and banal. It will encourage a sense of active, constructive participation, rather than apathetic helplessness.

We’re here for it. And we hope you are too.

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