The Justice

This American Life, a weekly radio program hosted by Ira Glass, is one of the most well-known programs on public radio. The show has a main theme and uses individual stories and experiences to illustrate it. As Stacy Handler '12 put it, "I like how the show has such a strong following of people of all ages. It's because it makes the nerdy hip."

Glass' nasal voice helps to make the show so unique. But the real reason it's so successful is because the show helps listeners see how something so small-like a fear of the dark-can unite so many people. However, even a show as popular as This American Life is looking for new ways to survive. The show has now also become a TV show and a podcast. In fact, almost all shows on public radio are now posted on iTunes as podcasts, which listeners can download and listen to at their leisure. Like the radio, they are all free, though listeners are always encouraged to give donations.

Every listener has a story of how public radio has shaped his or her life. I will never forget how National Public Radio's Morning Edition accompanied me on the drive to high school every morning, or trying to figure out with my parents the answers to the game show Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me on weekend mornings. Handler tells of a funny way that radio has shaped her life: "So my dad always jokes … that his love is conditional, so that way it means more than, say, my mother's, which is unconditional. Of course, I know that he's joking, but I still find this somewhat disturbing. I joke that his parenting strategy will cost me thousands of dollars in therapy as an adult. So I was listening to This American Life about a year ago, and I hear a story about a father who said the same thing to his daughter. I freak out because I never thought anyone else would do such a thing. I excitedly tell my dad to which he replies something like, 'Yeah, I know. That's where I got the idea. … You were listening to a rerun.' So basically, for good or for ill, my dad let NPR raise me."

So what does the future of public radio look like? In an economy spiraling downward, do people really have money to donate to radio stations they still get for free? Will the government deem public radio worthy of receiving aid? Or will public radio become a feature of the past? The answers remain to be seen. If public radio can adapt to the technology of the future, if people are still willing to donate money to their favorite shows, than radio may stand a chance. If not, then people will lose an important source of entertainment, news and stimulation. And I will have nothing to listen to on Saturday mornings.

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