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Civics 101: The CPB and the Politics of Public Media

The U.S. Capitol building in April 2024. Zoey Knox photo / NHPR
Zoey Knox
/
NHPR
President Trump's new head of the Federal Communications Commission has ordered an investigation of NPR and PBS, with an eye toward unraveling federal funding for all public broadcasting.

This episode of Civics 101: The CPB and the Politics of Public Media aired Monday, August 5, 2024. It was updated in January 2025.

What is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or the CPB? How does it all work? And why is it SO political?

In this episode, senior producer Christina Phillips explains it all. She first spoke with the CPB's Anne Brachman, and then did a deep dive to learn more. Christina also covers 2024 legislation called the Defund NPR Act. You can read that bill right here.

Since we taped the episode, there's a new effort afoot to defund the CPB. More on that here.

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Christina joined the Civics 101 team in 2021. Previously, she worked on The Exchange, NHPR's flagship live news talk program, where she produced shows on topics including healthcare, social services, politics, and breaking news. She grew up all over the country, but considers New Hampshire her home base.
Hannah McCarthy first came to NHPR an intern in 2015, returned as a Fellow the following year and then bounced around as a reporter and producer before landing as co-host of Civics 101. She has reported on everything from the opioid epidemic to State House politics to haunted woods of New Hampshire.
Nick has been the co-host and Education Outreach Producer for Civics 101 since 2018, where he creates episodes and works with teachers across the country to design lesson plans to pair with the show.
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