Unity, Healing and Gratitude: The Work of Classical MPR's Bridge of Song

There's a culture of gratitude at APMG.It often shows up in the form of an all-staff email from one of our leaders, calling out a team or an individual's great work. While many of us have a love/hate relationship with email, our employees are spread all over the U.S. (and beyond). We work 24/7. We can't always connect in-person, so we use the available tools.Below are two great examples, highlighting Classical MPR's Bridge of Song, an evening of song and reflection after recent violence in the Twin Cities, Dallas, Baton Rouge and other communities. Our work touches many lives... and of course, our own. We are emotionally involved and we hope this translates to the audience.

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All-Staff Email From Dave Kansas, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer on July 15, 2016:  Earlier this week, Brian Newhouse, head of our Classical Music group, saw that Dallas planned to do a community sing July 14 to bring people together as that city tries to come together following the recent shooting of police officers. He immediately imagined that our own community, grappling with the police shooting of Philando Castile, could potentially join up with Dallas and create an event that connected two places and their people at a crucial time. Brian wrote: “Music and beauty are powerful agents of unity. And if enough of us make that so, if enough of us declare that we seek to make the world a better place with the tools at hand... that's what we need now. So...”Following that “So…” Brian and many others across the organization came together to pull off a great event in short order. Similar to how we responded to the untimely passing of Prince, we moved nimbly to provide an important space and moment for our community.All that effort culminated when Classical MPR packed Westminster Presbyterian last night with nearly 1800 people who wanted to join our “Bridge of Song” event. The event provided time in these tumultuous days for our community to rest, grieve, seek hope, and connect through singing. We fed it to Facebook Live as well, and thousands from all over the country and beyond joined in via that feed.All this to get at the essence of the MPR mission:

“…to enrich the mind and nourish the spirit, thereby enhancing the lives and expanding the perspectives of our audiences, and assisting them in strengthening their communities.”

The magic moment in the evening was a literal ‘bridge of song’ in which the Westminster crowd – linked via audio/video – sang the same song of hope with the crowd gathered at the companion event in Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. If you missed it, it’s all here:  http://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2016/07/15/bridgeofsong-helps-create-community-bonds

Along with thanking Brian, I want to thank and recognize for extraordinary, high-speed work:

• Classical: Vaughn Ormseth, Tesfa Wondemagegnehu
• The entire Operations team, especially Zack Rose, Erik Stromstrad, and Corey Schreppel
• Digital: Brett Baldwin, Luke Taylor, Dan Nass, Nate Ryan
• Marketing and PR: Jen Keavy, Angie Andresen, Jill Weflen; and Creative Services for design work
• Legal and Business Affairs: Christie Healy, Char Arends
• Live Events: Jeff and Ellie, Rose Martin
• Community Engagement: Ka Vang

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All-Staff Email from Randi Yoder, Chief Development Officer on July 15:  It was a remarkable evening, full of beautiful music, harmony and surprise appearances – all made possible because we have deep relationships in the community that give us the opportunity to call on short notice and make wonderful things happen. 

Imagine the joy of singing in concert with an equally engaged group in Dallas.  I was so proud to see Brian, Tesfa, Dessa and others attached to us, at the front of the room.  And the applause for these folks who are highly recognized in our community went on and on. Thank you, team, for making this very special event possible for so many to enjoy and be a part of it.  On the way out I heard someone say: “ these days, we need one of these every day!” 

The Power of Listening: Audience, Employees, and Community Partners Tackle Women's Financial Security

Written by Linda Miller Director, Network Journalism and InclusionMPR News recently partnered with the Twin Cities chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) to host Women Empowering Women: A Conversation About Financial Security at MPR's UBS Forum in downtown St. Paul.The idea for the June 29 event came from a Public Insight Network questionnaire that asked women how they are doing financially and what would help them do better. We heard from women working to overcome student loan debt, pay for childcare, save for retirement, live within their means, confront bias in the workplace, and have difficult conversations with loved ones about finances. We also heard from women with a lot of knowledge to share - about setting financial goals, creating budgets, negotiating a raise and eliminating credit card debt.Their insights sparked interesting on-air conversations with MPR listeners – something that is common for PIN sources to do. But when we asked the 170+ women what they wanted, the response, overwhelmingly, was to be in conversation with other women.Convening conversations is something that is second nature to MPR. Our show hosts do this every day, as do our digital and social media producers. And we have a strong track record of hosting community engagement events like Policy and a Pint, Talking Volumes, the Top Coast Festival and Conversations on the Creative Economy.Most often we invite authors, academics, journalists, politicos, pundits, thought leaders or other authoritative experts to answer questions, provide commentary and, in some cases, dole out advice. Here, however, women were asking for something different: an opportunity to learn from each other.To understand how a conversation like this might play out, we used the questions from the PIN survey to spark discussions among professionals at MPR through our Women's Employee Resource Group. Our conversations were deep, illuminating and cathartic, and many of us learned more about each other in two hours of conversation than we had in years of working together.Inspired, we reached out to our friends at NABA and asked if they would co-sponsor an event and help recruit their members to attend. About 25 women of diverse professional and personal backgrounds signed up and showed up, including a few MPR employees.Arts reporter Marianne Combs, co-chair of the MPR Women’s ERG, and PIN engagement and inclusion manager Annie Anderson facilitated the two-hour-long workshop, which started with networking and a Jamaican dinner catered by Pimento in Minneapolis. We did not record the event for broadcast, live-blog, stream or tweet it. But we did establish some values to guide our discussions:1) Everyone is an expert in her own lived experience.2) Everyone has insight to share.3) When you are curious, you cannot be judgmental.4) To be inclusive means to listen.We spent an hour circulating among tables labeled with topics the women most wanted to discuss, starting each conversation by sharing stories about steps we had taken to better understand or improve our financial futures.We spoke about our relationship to money and the role money plays in our relationships. We talked about debt, divorce, and online tools for creating and maintaining a household budget. We talked health care, retirement planning and philanthropy, about obstacles we are facing and hardships we have overcome. And we talked about how to talk about all of these things with children, parents and spouses.At the end of the night, we reflected on what we had learned and pledged to take one more action, write it down in a “memo to self,” and seal it in a self-addressed envelope to be mailed back to us in 30 days. Several women lingered to continue their conversations and swap contact information, and many have since offered written feedback on the event itself.“It was really incredible to speak with other women and hear about their struggles,” wrote 31-year-old Kristin Campbell of Minneapolis. “Money is one of those things that no one talks about so it's easy to assume you're the only person who's made poor choices or been through rough times or that those times are permanent. Here was a group of women in various stages of their lives, all who have struggled and worked and made their financial situations better.”“It was reaffirming that most women seem to want the same thing--to have financial independence and to give back,” wrote Elizabeth Dickinson, a 56-year-old life coach and writer.Andrea Jauli, 28, said she learned a lot from the older women about planning for kids and retirement, and she has since connected with women she met at the event. Next time, she suggested, build in more time for women to network.Speaking of next time, all of the women who have provided feedback so far would like MPR to host more events like this on topics ranging from gender equality at work to parenting for safety to empowering female heads of households to cultivating a practical spirituality.One of my big takeaways is that, by creating safe spaces for people to share their insights, especially on taboo topics like finances, Minnesota Public Radio can create learning opportunities with the potential to change the way we relate to one another. The experience also reaffirmed the founding principle of PIN®: It’s amazing what people will tell you if you bother to ask, and remarkable what we all can learn if we take the time to listen.

Linda Miller became a journalist in the small towns of Wyoming, where newspapers were pieced together with hot wax and held together by trust, transparency and a partnership with readers. As the Director of Network Journalism and Inclusion, she is still helping journalists deepen relationships with the communities they serve, albeit with better technology.

Public Radio Inclusion: First, We Must “Do The Numbers”

Submitted by Linda MillerDirector, Network Journalism and InclusionAt American Public Media, we understand our viability depends on our ability to rapidly expand efforts to become as relevant to emerging audiences as we are to our loyal listeners and members today, and to ensure that the faces, voices and programming of Minnesota Public Radio are inclusive of the communities and individuals who call our state and country home.As part of that effort, we recently hired Eric Garcia McKinley to the newly created position of Senior Research Analyst for Engagement and Inclusion, a position funded through the American Council of Learned Societies Public Fellows program.Starting Aug. 1, McKinley will help us develop and implement a system to measure and track the race, gender, age, religion and political persuasion of news sources throughout both broadcast and digital MPRNews content, and to grow, diversify, and use the Public Insight Network (PIN) to drive more inclusive content and programming.McKinley has a PhD in history from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During his interviews, he demonstrated a deep commitment to data-driven analysis, diversity and inclusion in his research, teaching and writing, as well as a passion for storytelling, context and the broad mission of public media.Our goal is not to build a bigger network of sources. It’s to know whose voices are being included and excluded and to use this research as a catalyst for a broader conversation about what topics we choose to cover, who we choose to hire, the importance of cultural competence, and how we can and must do better.As NPR’s chief diversity officer, Keith Woods, so aptly put it: [Public media’s] diversity deficit may be a complex problem, but the path to solving it is pretty clear: Find out how we’re doing, figure out why it’s turning out that way and do something bold to change it.”In the article below, Keith describes the myriad of factors that play into public radio's diversity deficit in clear terms. Clear, but not easy. Read on for a system-wide perspective on what's needed for public radio to truly serve the public. http://current.org/2016/07/focus-on-sources-race-wont-be-enough-to-close-public-radios-diversity-deficit/ 

Marketplace Presents “Politics Inside Out” Podcast

Pop-up Podcast will cover the conventions throughthe lens of Insiders & Outsiders

(July 15, 2016)-- LOS ANGELES-- Marketplace will produce a two-week “pop-up” podcast as part of its coverage of the Republican and Democratic national conventions, starting on Monday, July 18, in Cleveland. As both parties have seen internal tensions play out between “insiders and outsiders” this cycle , the stale divisions of “left versus right” and “big government versus small” are gone. This daily podcast will take the modern lens of “outsiders versus insiders” to examine questions from who is being left out of the economy or government,  to who are the winners and losers in this global economy, and how people’s lives are affected by their level of access to political power. Rather than just focus on play-by-play convention coverage, Marketplace believes that focusing on the human aspect of politics and socio-economic issues will deepen listeners’ understanding of why this “outsider versus insider” dynamic has so forcefully come to fruition.According to Washington, DC Bureau Chief Andrea Seabrook, “Our latest Marketplace-Edison Research poll shows that most Americans think the economy is rigged. Put that perception together with increasing income inequality and you get an insider versus outsider view of political and economic systems.” Seabrook says, “We want to push ourselves and our stories out of the convention bubble, and bring Americans’ questions in. Marketplace aims to both describe this generational shift in politics and economics, and work to bridge it.“Politics Inside Out” is an eight to ten minute podcast produced by Marketplace and hosted by Seabrook. It will include interviews at the conventions, conversations with Marketplace hosts including Kai Ryssdal and David Brancaccio, and real-time observations from DC reporters Nancy Marshall-Genzer and Kimberly Adams.

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APM Wins Academy of Podcasters Awards

Brains On!, Codebreaker and The Dinner Party Download won awards on July 6, 2016, in their respective categories at the Academy of Podcasters awards ceremony during the Podcast Movement conference. The Splendid Table was also nominated. Like the Oscars, these awards are given by an Academy made up of influential podcasters and Hall of Fame inductees.These awards are a true honor given by peers and reflect the awesome content produced. Congratulations to hosts Molly Bloom, Rico Gagliano, Ben Johnson, Brendan Francis Newnam, Marc Sanchez and Sanden Totten and to producers Larissa Anderson, Jackson Musker, Neena Pathak, Clare Toeniskoetter and Kristina Lopez!Check out the winners!Dinner Party Download: Best Food and Drink PodcastCodebreaker: Best Technology PodcastBrains On!: Best Parenting, Family & Kids Podcast

 

In Memoriam: Toni Randolph

This week we're mourning the sudden loss of our dear colleague, veteran journalist Toni Randolph.Toni's work impacted so many people... the outpouring of memorials offer us some insight into the depth of Toni's impact and the strength of her relationships.We're sharing just a few of them below.

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Excerpts from Toni's full obituary at mprnews.org:

"She was crucial in her work connecting us to new audiences around the state and training the next generation of young reporters," MPR News executive editor Nancy Cassutt wrote to staff on Sunday.

She had a special devotion to young journalists — and steered the stories and reporting of countless high school and college students through MPR News' Young Reporters Series and the University of St. Thomas' ThreeSixty Journalism high school program, whose board she joined in February. At the time of her death, she was in the midst of preparing for the fall season of Generation Next's [sic] young journalist classes. Her Young Reporters Series was honored with a 2015 Gracie Award by the Alliance for Women in Media.

"Just as Toni inspired countless young people, she has been one of the strongest voices for diversifying newsrooms — including our own," Cassutt said Sunday. "May we all follow Toni's example and build on her amazing legacy."

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Excerpt from Insight News:

“Toni embodied the true mission of NABJ by working to diversify public radio and by serving as a mentor to countless numbers of young NABJers,” said National Association of Black Journalists President Sarah Glover. “On behalf of the entire NABJ family, our heartfelt sympathies go out to those who loved her. Her memory will continue on through the lives that she has impacted.”

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Excerpt from We Know How This Ends: Living While Dying, written by MPR colleague Cathy Wurzer:

This morning, as I stood in front of Toni Randolph's desk, I noticed a small turtle, carved from a piece of pipestone, just above her computer keyboard.

The pipestone is sacred to Native Americans and the turtle spirit symbolic of health and longevity. It's hard shell signifying protection and perseverance. Ultimately Toni wasn't blessed with longevity nor protected from the ravages of cancer, but she leaves behind a bright legacy,  certainly in the body of work she created, but most importantly in the people she helped nurture and mentor.

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Finally, words from Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, via mprnews.org:

Lt. Governor Smith and I extend our deepest condolences to the family, many friends, and colleagues of Toni Randolph as they grieve their tragic loss. During her 13 years with Minnesota Public Radio, Ms. Randolph told the stories of our citizens and communities, which contributed greatly to the recognition of our shared values and aspirations. The many young journalists, whom she inspired and mentored, will continue her legacy through their own careers for many years to come.

Photo and words by Cathy Wurzer: This is Toni Randolph's desk in the Minnesota Public Radio newsroom. It is filled with notes, files and the other detritus accumulated by a news editor. It looks as if Toni will come back at any time, settling in behind the keyboard to edit newscasts and reporter's stories, especially the stories of the fledgling reporters she loved to work with. Toni was a valued mentor and a champion of including more ethnically diverse voices in our stories and in the newsroom.

Making Space for Real Lives at Work

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"We want employees to feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work."

This is the latest in a long line of inclusion phrases trending in the Diversity & Inclusion field. In plain language, it means something like "We don't discriminate. In fact, we actually accept people's differences. No, really!"

A lot of folks take issue with this sentiment. First of all, it assumes that bringing your whole self to work is a good idea. (I mean, there are parts of my self even I don't like! Why bring them to work?) Setting that debate aside, I suspect most people don't really want to bring their whole selves anywhere. We have different Selves for different situations, and that's okay, thank-you-very-much. It's why we're not all wearing pajamas right now.

Secondly, most of us don't get to choose who we work with. We're surrounded by people we don't know, or don't know well, or know but wish we didn't. And then there's the power dynamic. Naturally, work isn't always going to feel like a safe place to show one's Self - particularly one's vulnerabilities.

I can count the number of times I've cried at work on one hand. Only once have I not felt completely mortified.That moment was Tuesday afternoon, June 14, 2016, when our staff gathered to talk about the tragic shootings in Orlando and how they were personally affected. For me, this gathering brought the effects of Orlando's violence into sharper relief. It was painful, humbling and hopeful. I am grateful for the brave colleagues who shared their personal stories.

That day I was reminded that we can't *not* bring our whole selves to work. We can hide certain parts, but that's living a lie. If that's not compelling, just think of how much energy is wasted pretending! That's why it's important to work somewhere that gets it - or is at least trying. By the way, even though (and maybe because) I work in human resources, I'm the first to acknowledge that this organization doesn't always get it. But I think if your workplace says it values inclusion and wants you to "bring your whole self to work," that's a call to action for everyone. It's up to all of us to create that culture, one vulnerable moment at a time.

Thanks to MPR employee Annie Anderson for sharing her personal take on our employee gathering below. She also wrote about the Orlando shootings for MPR News.

I returned to work on the Monday after the Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando with a heavy heart. I wasn't sure how I was going to get through my workday. My manager, per usual, was outstanding and told me to do what I needed throughout the day to get through it - whether that meant leaving early or diving deep into my work.I knew I had colleagues feeling similarly and I was really hoping we could come together in some way. To do or say what, I didn't know, but to be together to honor the victims and hold space for ourselves.Late that afternoon I had an idea of how this could maybe happen, so I walked down to find the executive sponsor of our LGBTQ Employee Resource Group to pitch my idea. She was away from her desk and I was leaving in an hour. I popped into her colleague's office to see if we could get momentum going. My idea was to provide some sweet treat to employees as they walked into work the next day with a message of acknowledgement that some may have heavy hearts and that APM/MPR recognizes that. Simple really, but I felt it could be incredibly meaningful. But I also knew that if it didn't happen on Tuesday that it shouldn't happen at all.APM can move really fast on a good idea. Tuesday afternoon we had a gathering in our forum space for all employees to acknowledge the hate in Orlando by breaking bread with one another. The bread came from a wide variety of bakeries from around town, many of them representing breads from their home countries. Our COO had sent an email earlier in the day inviting everyone and simply holding space for people to feel what they were feeling. At the gathering, people were able to speak, eat, hug or listen. It was moving. It was cathartic. And it mattered that the organization I work for took this kind of care.

Marketplace Welcomes Andrea Seabrook as New Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief

Andrea Seabrook Joins Marketplace as its D.C. Bureau Chief

LOS ANGELES—June 21, 2016 — Today Marketplace is excited to welcome renowned journalist Andrea Seabrook as its new Washington, D.C. bureau chief. Seabrook is well-known to public radio listeners from her roles as NPR’s long-time Congressional Correspondent and as a host of its top shows, including All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, The Diane Rehm Show and Talk of the Nation.Seabrook also created the ground-breaking DecodeDC podcast in keen anticipation of the industry boom. The show covers politics beyond the familiar red and blue state construct, which happens to coincide with how Marketplace thinks through its coverage of financial and economic issues as they intersect with Washington and politics."I am thrilled to find a home among journalists who share her life-long goal: producing journalism that is accessible and conversational, while providing extraordinary depth and context," said Seabrook.

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MPR + MNTechDiversity

Minnesota Public Radio is proud to join forces with Minneapolis-based interactive firm Clockwork, led by Nancy Lyons, in its movement to address the under-representation of LGBTQ, women and people of color in tech professions. Nancy explains what it's all about in this one minute video.Like many of the companies who signed this pledge, we struggle to attract and retain talented tech pros. We have some ideas why, but we're likely missing the full picture. And while we've had inclusion & diversity goals in our strategic plan for years, we're not making enough progress. We know we need to do more.The problem is we don't know what we don't know.That's why we're joining in, because collective knowledge is powerful. By signing this pledge, we're adding to the collective momentum of a cultural shift that simply can't happen in isolated geographic, industry or professional pockets. We'll all be more effective as a whole.From mntechdiversity.com:

Clockwork is asking agencies, corporations, small businesses, and software companies to join us in changing the workforce to be more inclusive of underrepresented communities like women, people of color, and LGBTQ.

Perhaps Minnesota Public Radio doesn't strike you as a "tech company" but think about it: how is that audio reaching your ears? How many devices can you find us on? How do those live broadcasts sound so great - from all over the world?And really, how can we pull off an entire day of programming (and host a dance party that night) in honor of Prince, within 24 hours of his passing?We employ a lot of technical - and passionate - people. That's how!The public media industry, in general, lacks diversity. It's been widely and accurately criticized on this point for years. We're on a journey to address this within our own organization, but we can't do it alone. We're reaching out to partners, within and outside the industry, to gain momentum. That's why we're excited to join this initiative launched by Clockwork!Full disclosure: Clockwork's CEO Nancy Lyons is on MPR's Board of Directors. Does this have anything to do with our decision to sign the pledge? Not really. Within about an hour of this post on LinkedIn, employees were forwarding it to each other, their managers, HR, and our CEO with comments like "Cool! We need to DO this!" That's not politics, it's galvanization. Nancy's an influencer in her own right.What does this all mean? I'd like to think it means we're ready to be enlightened, vulnerable, and brave about admitting that we don't have all the answers. Today we launched an internal working group of leaders and employees working in Digital Services, Information Technology, CRM and Human Resources, and we'll be sharing updates here.Learn more about the MN Tech Diversity Pledge here.

Welfare as We Now Know It

New from Marketplace, The Uncertain Hour podcast is about making sense of “making it” in America with its first season focused on welfare reform 20 years later

LOS ANGELES—April 28, 2016 —“Welfare as we know it” ended twenty years ago. But what do we know about it now? Join Marketplace senior correspondent Krissy Clark as she explores the last twenty years of welfare reform in her new podcast, The Uncertain Hour. Debuting today, listeners will travel across America with Clark as she brings to life welfare reform’s impact through interviews with affected individuals and explanatory reporting of how reform has been implemented in various regions.“It’s striking that often issues we fight the most about are the issues we actually know the least about,” says Clark.  “The more I looked in to how the program we know as ‘welfare’ actually works today—the more blown away I was by how most of us really have no idea what it looks like or even does.”With sponsorship from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, season one of The Uncertain Hour will release six 20-40 minute episodes on a bi-weekly schedule. The show will mark this significant anniversary of welfare reform by bringing the past, present and future to light. From how it all began to the miracle that wasn’t; from the profiteers to the “welfare queens”.In late May, Marketplace will partner with Slate to present an interactive look at what welfare reform has accomplished and some of its surprising consequences.“We’re delighted to be collaborating with Marketplace to examine 20 years of welfare reform,” says Slate’s features editor Jessica Winter, who is overseeing the partnership. “From exploring some of the country’s most unlikely welfare recipients to testing readers’ assumptions about how welfare benefits really work, we’re excited to unpack this important topic in such a comprehensive, multimedia-oriented way.”Future seasons of The Uncertain Hour will explore one topic in depth, with an eye on the origin story. What is seen as ‘normal’ in the day-to-day of life didn’t just ‘happen’; it had a beginning. The show is an intimate portrait of life and those moments—the emotional, personal, and sometimes funny encounters individuals have with the economy. It’ll leave listeners thinking about their everyday in a whole new way.About The Uncertain HourThe Uncertain Hour is an immersive “docu-pod” that makes sense of making it in America. It takes a deep dive into one topic each season to paint intimate portraits of people trying to build a better life, and how abstract economic policies intersect with their day to day moments.About the Host Krissy ClarkKrissy Clark is the award-winning senior correspondent for Marketplace’s Wealth & Poverty Desk, where she brings her infectious curiosity, playfulness and empathy to help make sense of some of the most fundamental shifts happening in the U.S. economy today, including the widening gap between rich and poor and what it means for economic mobility and the American Dream.Krissy recently won a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media. She was a finalist for a James Beard Award and a Loeb Award in 2015. Her stories and documentaries have won honors from Scripps-Howard, PRNDI, NFCB, an Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal of Honor, and First Prize in Investigative Reporting from the National Awards for Education Reporting. She was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Journalists Under 35, and a Third Coast Award for Best News Feature.### 

American Public Media Prepares for Next Chapter of A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile as Host

St. Paul, Minn., April 12, 2016 – One of the most popular public radio programs will begin a new chapter this fall as musician Chris Thile takes over for Garrison Keillor as the new host of A Prairie Home Companion®, bringing a fresh approach to an audience favorite. Beginning on October 15, 2016, Thile will host a 30-week season, including live broadcasts, produced shows and repeats on public radio stations nationwide.The only live music and variety show aired nationwide today, A Prairie Home Companion is a Saturday night staple for radio audiences everywhere. The show features a unique blend of musical performances and comedy. For 42 years, the program has built a large and loyal audience, with nearly 3.5 million fans tuning in to enjoy the show each week.The show will continue to be broadcast live on Saturday nights from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, as well from venues across the country, including The Town Hall in New York, and will showcase unparalleled guests and new digital content. The next version of A Prairie Home Companion is expected to draw new, younger audiences while still engaging longtime fans. Each of the new live shows will feature a mix of well-known and up-and-coming musicians, humor with sketch comedy and spoken word, plus an original ‘Song of the Week’ composed by Thile.Initial response from the programs Thile has guest hosted have been overwhelmingly positive, with the show’s social media channels lighting up with praise for the new host. In fact, Thile’s Super Bowl-inspired original song during his last guest host appearance, “Omahallelujah,” became the most-watched clip on the show’s YouTube channel.“We’re making a bold investment to reinvent A Prairie Home Companion and create something that appeals to an even broader audience, while still staying true to the spirit of the show,” said Jon McTaggart, president and CEO of American Public Media Group. “Chris is an incredible talent who brings enthusiasm, creativity and the ability to connect with many different musical tastes. Both live and radio audiences are in for a treat.”Last summer, Keillor announced that Thile was his choice to take the reins as host. “He’s a brilliant musician,” Keillor said about Thile. “He’s just an amazing musician. The show will have a solid musical foundation. We started out as a music show and then other things were added to it. And this new incarnation will evolve in the same way.” He added in another interview that selecting Thile as host was “the best idea I’ve had since Powdermilk Biscuits.”For Thile, who has been a long-time guest on the program, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. “I was raised with (and to a certain extent, on) A Prairie Home Companion and I love it with all my heart,” Thile said. “The template Garrison created is infinite in its capacity to surprise, delight, and comfort, and is as malleable as it is sturdy. Being able to explore what can be done with it on a weekly basis is as thrilling a prospect as I can possibly imagine.”In addition to the new Thile-hosted shows, stations also will carry repeat A Prairie Home Companion shows, hosted by Keillor.

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Marketplace’s Lizzie O’Leary and Krissy Clark Named 2016 Gracies Award Winners

Los Angeles, March 21, 2016 – Marketplace Weekend host, Lizzie O’Leary, and Marketplace correspondent, Krissy Clark, were named as honorees of the 2016 Gracie Awards, presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation. The Gracies recognize exemplary programming created by women, for women and about women in all facets of media and entertainment, as well as individuals who have made contributions to the industry.O’Leary was recognized with The Gracie Award for her work as host of a national radio news program. She is the host of Marketplace Weekend – the Marketplace portfolio’s newest program, which O’Leary helped launch in 2014. As host, O’Leary combines her strong journalistic skills with her ability to bring the economy to life for audiences to better understand complex economic topics in an interesting and relatable way.Krissy Clark is the senior correspondent for Marketplace’s Wealth & Poverty Desk, where she helps make sense of some of the most fundamental shifts happening in the U.S. economy, including the growth of the low-wage service sector and the shrinking of middle-wage, middle-class jobs. Krissy tracks the widening gap between rich and poor in the U.S. and what it means for economic mobility in America. Clark won two awards – one highlighting her work as a reporter and correspondent for Marketplace’s daily radio program, and another for her in-depth reporting on gentrification, in a series called “York and Fig.”“It’s such an honor to see two of our incredible journalists recognized for their outstanding work,” said Deborah Clark, vice president and executive producer, Marketplace. “Both Lizzie and Krissy are compelling storytellers and help break down the macro economy by telling stories at the micro level – about the real people who make up our economy.”O’Leary and Clark will be honored at the 41^st Annual Gracie Awards Gala on May, 24, 2016 in Beverly Hills. The event benefits the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation, a charitable non-profit that creates educational programs, charitable activities and scholarship initiatives to benefit the public and women in the media.About MarketplaceMarketplace® is produced and distributed by American Public Media™ (APM), one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world with a portfolio reaching 19 million listeners via nearly 1,000 radio stations nationwide each week. Produced in association with the University of Southern California, Marketplace® programs (Marketplace, Marketplace Weekend, Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace Tech) are currently broadcast by nearly 800 public radio stations nationwide and heard by more than 12 million weekly listeners and Marketplace, the weekday evening program, is the largest business news program, on radio or TV, in the country. Marketplace programs are noted for their timely, relevant and accessible coverage of business, economic and personal finance focusing on the latest business news both nationally and internationally, the global economy and wider events linked to the financial markets. For more information on Marketplace visit marketplace.org. Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio and StreamGuys. Data are estimates only.  

Lynne Rossetto Kasper to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Award to be presented at International Association of Culinary Professionals conference in AprilSt. Paul, Minn., March 17, 2016— Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of The Splendid Table, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) conference in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 3.  The award recognizes a culinary professional who has made noteworthy and lasting contributions to the culinary industry and who has demonstrated a continuing commitment to the culinary arts as a lifetime career.  Rossetto Kasper joins an auspicious list of previous Lifetime Achievement Award winners: Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Marcela Hazan, Edna Lewis and Paul Prudhomme. The IACP is a worldwide forum for the development and exchange of information, knowledge, and inspiration within the professional food and beverage community.About Lynne Rossetto KasperLynne Rossetto Kasper has won numerous awards as host of The Splendid Table, including two James Beard Foundation Awards (1998, 2008) for Best National Radio Show on Food, five Clarion Awards (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014) from Women in Communication, and a Gracie Award in 2000 for Best Syndicated Talk Show. She is a respected authority on food, having published multiple bestselling books: The Splendid Table; The Italian Country Table; a series of quarterly e-books, Eating In with Lynne Rossetto Kasper, as well as the best-selling The Splendid Table's How To Eat Supper, How To Eat Weekends and A Summertime Grilling Guide, which were co-authored with founding producer Sally Swift.About The Splendid TableNow in its twentieth season, The Splendid Table is the show for life’s appetites. A culinary, culture and lifestyle program that celebrates the intersection of food and life, it can be heard on more than 400 public radio stations nationwide. The show is produced and distributed by American Public Media. Find The Splendid Table on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr.About American Public Media GroupAmerican Public Media Group is the largest station-based public radio organization in America, combining multi-regional station operations, national programming creation and distribution, and innovative digital, social and mobile services in one organization. 19 million listeners tune in weekly to APMG’s national programming and regional stations on nearly 1,000 radio stations nationwide. American Public Media (APM), the national production and distribution arm of the organization, is one of the largest in the world with a portfolio that includes A Prairie Home Companion®, BBC World Service, Marketplace®, and the leading classical music programming in the nation. Supported financially by contributions from individual donors, sponsors, philanthropic foundations and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), APMG’s regional operations include Minnesota Public Radio, a 45-station radio network serving nearly all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states and Southern California Public Radio, a four-station network serving Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County and the Inland Empire. Launched in 2014, the Infinite Guest podcast network includes diverse offerings from best-selling authors to the best food, culture and comedy shows featured on public radio. APM’s lifestyle classical music stream, YourClassical, packages classical music in an unconventional and innovative way with streams suited for life’s biggest moments and everyday situations.

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MARKETPLACE-EDISON RESEARCH POLL FINDS INDIVIDUAL ECONOMIC ANXIETY HASN’T IMPROVED DESPITE MORE THAN A MILLION JOBS ADDED SINCE FALL 2015

Marketplace Economic Anxiety Index Stays Steady asAmericans Worry about Their Finances

LOS ANGELES, March 14, 2016--- Americans are still feeling anxious about the economy despite the addition of more than a million jobs and other improvements since last fall, according to the latest Marketplace-Edison Research Poll. Notably new in the poll’s findings is that a large number of Americans don’t feel they have someone or a network they could turn to if they needed help paying an unexpected bill. The poll also found that people are using savings from lower gas prices to help keep them from falling behind on monthly expenses.New Findings• Over half of the poll respondents say they would have difficulty paying an unexpected $1,000 bill. African-American respondents are more likely to report it would be “very difficult” to deal with an unexpected expense, and they are less likely to have someone to turn to for help.• More than a quarter of respondents say the lower gas prices are helping their personal financial situations “a lot.”Updated Comparative FindingsCompared to the last Marketplace-Edison Research Poll published in October 2015, there was little change in respondents’ answers in terms of their financial security and current financial situations. Given that consistency, the Marketplace Economic Anxiety Index – a measure of the financial stress people are feeling – remained steady at 31 on a scale from 0 to 100. Parsing the score by different demographic groups:• Those identifying as African-American (39) or Hispanic (37) had higher-than-average scores on the Anxiety Index.• People ages 35 to 54 had higher anxiety scores than other age groups.• Democrats show more financial anxiety (33) than Republicans (28)Nowhere to turn. Several questions asked Americans how well they were positioned to withstand surprise bills. Over half said they would have difficulty paying an unexpected $1,000 expense. About half of those who said it would be very or somewhat difficult to cope with that expense also said they did not have a friend or family member they could turn to for help. Demographically, African-American respondents were more likely to say in our poll that it would be “very difficult” to deal with an unexpected bill, and they are less likely to have someone to turn to for help.Are lower gas prices having a big impact on people’s finances? More than a quarter of respondents said lower gas prices are helping their personal financial situations “a lot.” The money saved on gas is having the largest impact on those most in need, with those fearful of missing mortgage or rent payment more likely to say gas prices had helped “a lot.”Marketplace-Edison Research Poll MethodologyThe Marketplace Edison Research Survey is a national survey of Americans ages 18 years and older. A total of 1,012 respondents were interviewed with 501 interviews conducted by telephone and 512 interviews conducted online. Among the telephone interviews, 300 were conducted via a landline phone and 201 interviews conducted via a cell phone so that we could achieve the proper proportion of coverage of households in the United States that do not have a landline phone. The landline and cell phone sample of phone numbers and the email addresses for the online survey were provided by Survey Sampling International (SSI).The average length of the telephone interviews was fourteen minutes. The telephone interviews were conducted from February 8th to 17th, 2016.The data was weighted to match the most recent United States population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau for age, gender, race and region of the country.With a total sample size of 1,012 respondents, the calculated margin of error with a 95% confidence interval for results among the entire sample is +/- 3%. The calculated margins of error for results among smaller sub-groups are higher.The February wave of data is tracked with a previous wave, conducted September 8th to 18th, 2015, in which a total of 1,016 respondents were interviewed (501 conducted by telephone, 515 conducted online). The calculated margin of error for the September wave of data is also+/- 3% among the entire sample.About Edison ResearchEdison Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to a broad array of clients, including Activision, AMC Theatres, Disney, Dolby Laboratories, Google, Gulf News, the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau, Pandora, Samsung, Siemens, Sony, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Time Warner and Yahoo. Edison Research works with many of the largest American radio ownership groups, including Bonneville, Emmis, Entercom, CBS Radio and Radio One. Another specialty for Edison is its work for media companies throughout the world, conducting research in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Edison Research is the sole provider of election exit poll data for the National Election Pool comprised of ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC and the Associated Press. Edison is also the leading provider of consumer exit polling and has conducted face-to-face research in almost every imaginable venue. All of Edison Research’s industry studies can be found on the company’s website at www.edisonresearch.com and can be downloaded free of charge.About MarketplaceMarketplace® is produced and distributed by American Public Media™ (APM), one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world with a portfolio reaching 19 million listeners via nearly 1,000 radio stations nationwide each week. Produced in association with the University of Southern California, Marketplace® programs (Marketplace, Marketplace Weekend, Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace Tech) are currently broadcast by nearly 800 public radio stations nationwide and heard by more than 12 million weekly listeners and Marketplace, the weekday evening program, is the largest business news program, on radio or TV, in the country. Marketplace’s digital audience is also robust, with more than 5 million podcast downloads and stream requests every month, on apps like iTunes, Slacker and TuneIn. Marketplace programs are noted for their timely, relevant and accessible coverage of business, economic and personal finance focusing on the latest business news both nationally and internationally, the global economy and wider events linked to the financial markets. For more information on Marketplace visit marketplace.org. Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio and StreamGuys. Data are estimates only.###

Are You Serious About Getting Curious?

Kids Science Podcast Brains On! Launches its Kickstarter Campaign Saint Paul, Minn.—February 16, 2016— Brains On!, a science podcast for kids, says it’s time to nourish the neurons. Today, the podcast launches its 30- day Kickstarter campaign with a $48,000 goal. Developed out of passion for science and a realization that no science podcasts for children existed, public radio reporters and producers from Minnesota and Southern California created this engaging and educational audio experience for children.  Now, the show wants to expand its reach and create even more unique, science-minded fun for kids of all ages.With $48,000, Brains On! will be able to recruit more kids across the country to participate as “kid co-hosts”,  create original science-themed songs and produce a National Parks series that explores the coolest facets of some of the most important parks in the country.A typical Brains On! episode runs about 15-25 minutes, making it perfect educational entertainment. Listen to it on road trips or while shuttling kiddos to and from soccer practice. It's a great pre-dinner companion, reward for a job well-done or one last bedtime story. Each show answers a question submitted by listeners and invites a “kid co-host” to help find answers by interviewing an expert like a food scientist, a meteorologist or a veterinarian. There are also songs and stories, the "Mystery Sound," and the Brains Honoroll, where fans around the world get a special shout out. All these elements blend together in a highly produced audio experience that kids love (and their curious adults think it's pretty special too).Here's a sample of the enthusiasm listeners have for Brains On!:“My son, Eli (from Dunlap, IL) just LOVES Brains On! and sharing all the fun knowledge he learns from the show! He has a question for the show: "How did people keep food cold and fresh before refrigeration?" Thanks.” “A big High-5 from Zoe and Otto in Nottingham, England. Your podcasts have been helping us enjoy our car trips in the last few months!” “Jasper is a huge Brains On fan. We were so inspired by the baking podcast we decided to try our hand at making bread!” “It is the perfect mix of silly and kid friendly but it is also extremely informational! It is full of kid sized definitions of somewhat difficult scientific ideas with the occasional vocabulary word thrown in. It gets us to talk to each other about interesting and creative things.”Tune in and nourish your neurons and then help Brains On! nourish its neurons during the next thirty days. Like our Facebook page or seek us out on Twitter and Instagram (we're @Brains_On on both). Your support will help bring Brains On! to more kids and allow the show to continue creating fresh fun content that will enrich kids around the world.About Brains On!Brains On! is a partnership between Minnesota Public Radio News (MPR News) and Southern California Public Radio (SCPR). MPR producers Molly Bloom and Marc Sanchez and SCPR science reporter Sanden Totten co-created the show in 2012. They have produced nearly 40 episodes and can be found on iTunes, Stitcher and streamed at www.brainson.org.

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American Public Media Group Selected as Host for American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Public Fellows Program

St. Paul, Minn., February 4, 2016—American Public Media Group is pleased to announce its selection as a host organization for the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Public Fellows Program, a career-building fellowship initiative designed to expand the reach of doctoral education in the humanities. In 2016, the Public Fellows Program will place up to 21 recent PhDs from the humanities and humanistic social sciences in two-year staff positions at partnering organizations in government and the nonprofit sector. Fellows will participate in the substantive work of these organizations and will receive professional mentoring, an annual stipend of $65,000, and health insurance.At APMG, the fellow will help to implement a system to measure and track the racial, gender, age, religion and political persuasion of news sources throughout both broadcast and digital Minnesota Public Radio News content, and to grow, diversify, and use APM’s Public Insight Network (PIN) to drive more inclusive content and programming.“It’s an honor to host this position, which will help our news teams, editors and other leaders create and execute strategies for diversifying voices in our news and programming,” said Mike Edgerly, news director, Minnesota Public Radio News. “We’re also excited, through this work, to fuel a broader conversation that media and American Public Media in particular is having around inclusiveness and the need to connect sourcing, content, audience development, staffing and workplace culture.”The fellowship competition is accepting applications through March 24, 2016 (8 p.m. EDT). For more information, please visit http://www.acls.org/programs/publicfellowscomp/.ACLS Public Fellows is a fellowship program offered by the American Council of Learned Societies with generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.  Please direct all inquiries about the fellowship program to ACLS. 

The Splendid Table and America's Test Kitchen Announce Partnership

Molly Birnbaum of America’s Test Kitchen to join The Splendid Table as a monthly contributorSt. Paul, Minn., Feb. 4, 2016-  America’s Test Kitchen, the home cook’s essential resource for recipes that work, together with The Splendid Table, a nationally syndicated public radio program, today announced a strategic partnership to join forces on upcoming content that will expand the culinary conversation and explore the science of food. Molly Birnbaum, Executive Editor of Cook’s Science at America’s Test Kitchen, will contribute monthly segments focusing on food science.The first segment will air the weekend of February 5, 2016 and address techniques for handling a kitchen essential: onions and garlic. The second segment airing the weekend of March 18, 2016 takes a look at the “why’s” behind lamb’s distinctive flavor and how we as coo ks can control it.  Easy-to-follow recipes will be included with all segments. Birnbaum was the project editor of the New York Times-bestselling The Science of Good Cooking, as well as the forthcoming Cook’s Science cookbook (publishing October 2016).“The decision to work with America’s Test Kitchen was an easy one for us,” said Sally Swift, managing producer and co-creator of The Splendid Table. “For two decades we’ve been on a mission to get people to enjoy food and to understand that some sort of home cooking is essential.  Often, success in the kitchen is a matter of internalizing the common sense of cooking, which, when push-comes-to-shove, is often about science. Molly is excellent at breaking down the science into ideas and concepts that every cook, no matter what their level can understand.”In recent years, a number of media programs have joined forces to enhance content and create additional touchpoints with target audiences. As two highly regarded food media outlets, a partnership between America’s Test Kitchen and The Splendid Table is a natural fit.“We have always admired The Splendid Table for their unique content, engaging format and loyal fan base,” said David Nussbaum, CEO of America’s Test Kitchen. “It only made sense for us to work together to both strengthen our content and bring something new to The Splendid Table audience.”The collaboration will help open the door to a new and wider audience and give people a preview of what’s to come for America’s Test Kitchen and The Splendid Table.For more information visit – splendidtable.orgAbout America’s Test KitchenAmerica's Test Kitchen began with a single magazine title, Cook's Illustrated, which debuted in 1992. The America's Test Kitchen television show was launched in 2001, after which the company added Cook's Country magazine, a second television program, an online cooking school, three websites that offer recipes and online video, and a robust book program that publishes a dozen new titles a year, which regularly land on bestseller lists. Learn more at https://www.americastestkitchen.com/.Molly Birnbaum is Executive Editor of Cook’s Science at America’s Test Kitchen. She is project editor of the New York Times-bestselling The Science of Good Cooking (2012), as well as the forthcoming Cook’s Science cookbook (2016), and is a monthly contributor to The Splendid Table. An alum of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, Molly is also author of the memoir Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way, a personal inquiry into the science and psychology of the sense of smell, published by Ecco/HarperCollins and shortlisted for an IACP award in Literary Food Writing in 2011. She was the founding managing editor of Modern Farmer magazine, a print quarterly and daily website, which won a National Magazine award in its first year (2013). Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, ARTnews magazine, Fast Company, NPR's Cognoscenti, and O, The Oprah Magazine, among others.About The Splendid TableNow in its twentieth season, The Splendid Table is the show for life’s appetites. A culinary, culture and lifestyle program that celebrates the intersection of food and life, it can be heard on more than 400 public radio stations nationwide. The show is produced and distributed by American Public Media and has been listed on numerous “best of” podcast lists including a recent nod by the Huffington Post’s Food Editor as the top food podcast to listen to in 2016.Lynne Rossetto Kasper has won numerous awards as host of The Splendid Table, including two James Beard Foundation Awards (1998, 2008) for Best National Radio Show on Food, five Clarion Awards (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014) from Women in Communication, and a Gracie Allen Award in 2000 for Best Syndicated Talk Show. Lynne is a respected authority on food, having published multiple bestselling books: The Splendid Table; The Italian Country Table; a series of quarterly e-books, Eating In with Lynne Rossetto Kasper, as well as the best-selling The Splendid Table's How To Eat Supper, How To Eat Weekends and A Summertime Grilling Guide, which were co-authored with founding producer Sally Swift.Find The Splendid Table on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr.###

New Podcast “Unretirement” Inspires Reimagining the Second Half of Life

Host and economics journalist Chris Farrell presents stories of workers who daredto imagine a new kind of ‘retirement’

(November 16, 2015)—Saint Paul, Minn. --- Today, American Public Media launches Unretirement, a new podcast for adults reimagining the second half of life, hosted by journalist and author Chris Farrell. Unretirement will introduce listeners to people who are redefining the traditional retirement years. They are finding meaning and money by pursuing entrepreneurship, working flexible hours and at part-time jobs. Chris also interviews experts who offer practical advice on how others can take a similar path.“The word ‘unretirement’ represents a grassroots movement that is rethinking and reimaging the second half of life,” says Farrell. “It means figuring out how we as a society and as individuals can take advantage of more vigorous aging to make the world a better place for us and for future generations.”Over the inaugural season’s eight episodes, listeners will be introduced to people such as a Taiko drummer who left her stable music director job to form her own ensemble, grandparents who moved from California to Washington D.C. to create a multigenerational household and a recently retired Minnesota State Supreme Court Justice (and former professional football player) Alan Page working more deeply with his foundation that mentors students and provides scholarship opportunities.“The podcast isn’t only targeted at aging boomers.  Unretirement is part of alarger conversation about aging and work, purpose and a paycheck,” says Farrell. “Whether you’re a twentysomething recent college graduate or a sixtysomething worker, these unretirement stories should inspire you to reimagine work and aging.”Unretirement will be available each week on Tuesdays. Listeners can download it on iTunes. It can also be streamed at www.unretirement.fm About Chris FarrellChris Farrell is senior economics contributor at Marketplace, American Public Media’s nationally syndicated public radio business and economic programs. He is economics commentator for Minnesota Public Radio. An award-winning journalist, Chris is a columnist for Next Avenue and the Star Tribune. His latest book is Unretirement: How Baby Boomers are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community and the Good Life. (Bloomsbury Press, September 2014)About American Public Media GroupAmerican Public Media Group (APMG) is the largest station-based public radio organization in America, combining multi-regional station operations, national programming creation and distribution as well as innovative digital, social and mobile services in one organization. 19 million listeners tune in weekly to APMG’s national programming and regional stations on nearly 1,000 radio stations nationwide. American Public Media (APM), the national production and distribution arm of the organization, is one of the largest in the world with a portfolio that includes A Prairie Home Companion®, BBC World Service, Marketplace®, and the leading classical music programming in the nation. Supported financially by contributions from individual donors, sponsors, philanthropic foundations and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), APMG’s regional operations include Minnesota Public Radio, a 45-station radio network serving nearly all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states and Southern California Public Radio, a four-station network serving Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County and the Inland Empire. Launched in 2014, the Infinite Guest podcast network includes diverse offerings from best-selling authors to the best food, culture and comedy shows featured on public radio. APM’s lifestyle classical music stream, YourClassical, packages classical music in an unconventional and innovative way with streams suited for life’s biggest moments and everyday situations. Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio. Data are estimates only.

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“Is it Evil?” Asks the New Binge-able Podcast from Marketplace

Podcast offers options to unlock a code to immediately listen to the next episode

(November 11, 2015)—New York --- Marketplace, in partnership with Tech Insider, is launching its new podcast called Codebreaker, exploring themes at the intersection of technology, the Internet and culture. Unlike other podcasts, Codebreaker will be available for binge listening if listeners can unlock a code. Otherwise, it will come out weekly on Wednesdays.Hosted by Ben Brock Johnson of American Public Media’s Marketplace Tech, Codebreaker will explore the question of, “Is it evil?” in this premiere season. This question will be asked about a piece of technology or a facet of the internet in each episode. Through original reporting, interviews, stories and discussions with other tech enthusiasts, this sound-rich and tightly produced show will engage listeners to tune into the technology in  their lives and examine how it relates to them for good or evil or maybe both.“I’m excited to bring something new and different to the tech podcasting space. There are great options out there for those who want news or gadget reviews--including our daily show Marketplace Tech,” say Johnson. “Codebreaker is more focused on asking deeper questions about technology and doing longer reporting on how it's affecting us. We try to do that with a sense of awe, a sense of humor, and sometimes, yes, a sense of dread.”Just as people binge-watch television, starting today, on November 11^th, listeners will get to binge-listen to Codebreaker by becoming decoders themselves. Using clues provided throughout the episode, they can go to http://www.codebreaker.codes/ and unlock the code to start listening to the next episode. However, each new episode will still be available for download every Wednesday if listeners do not partake in codebreaking.“If we can binge-watch television while it is in its golden age, then why not binge-listen to podcasts?” adds Johnson. “The codebreaking or puzzle-solving aspect lets us connect with listeners in a fun way that we think is unique. We think anybody who loves doing the crossword, sudoku, or challenging their brain a little bit to get a prize will enjoy cracking the codes with us. If you get to the end, you just might find out what we've got in store for season two!"Codebreaker also draws on reporting from the newsroom at Tech Insider, a new site from Business Insider focusing on technology, science, culture and innovation."We're thrilled to work with the team at Marketplace and to try our hand at podcasts. Codebreaker will definitely change how a lot of people look at tech," said Gus Lubin, Editor-in-chief of Tech Insider.Tech Insider will complement each episode through multimedia stories, videos or features, in addition to editorial contributions to many episodes.About MarketplaceMarketplace® is produced and distributed by American Public Media™ (APM), one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world with a portfolio reaching 19 million listeners via nearly 1,000 radio stations nationwide each week. Produced in association with the University of Southern California, Marketplace® programs (Marketplace, Marketplace Weekend, Marketplace Morning Report and Marketplace Tech) are currently broadcast by nearly 800 public radio stations nationwide and heard by more than 12 million weekly listeners and Marketplace, the weekday evening program, is the largest business news program, on radio or TV, in the country. Marketplace’s digital audience is also robust, with more than 5 million podcast downloads and stream requests every month, on apps like iTunes, Slacker and TuneIn. Marketplace programs are noted for their timely, relevant and accessible coverage of business, economic and personal finance focusing on the latest business news both nationally and internationally, the global economy and wider events linked to the financial markets. For more information on Marketplace visit marketplace.org. Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio and StreamGuys. Data are estimates only.About Tech InsiderTech Insider is a cutting-edge digital property covering technology, science, culture, and innovation. Its mission is to capture how tech is changing the world we live in, with original reporting and perspective, photography, video, and podcasts. Tech Insider launched in August with a newsroom of nearly 40 journalists. Its audience has quickly grown to 11 million monthly uniques, nearly 200 million monthly video views, and nearly a million Facebook followers.

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MPR News and Next Generation Radio

Next Generation Radio is a series of one-week student radio training projects co-sponsored by NPR member stations and several journalist and media organizations. The projects are designed to give students who are interested in radio and journalism an opportunity to report and produce their own radio and multimedia stories. Our own Laura Yuen of MPR News participated as a mentor and shared her admiration on the students' work:"On Saturday, the students presented their audio stories at the annual convention for College Broadcasters, Inc. The final products made me incredibly proud, yes, but also won my admiration. I’ve lived in Minnesota for more than a decade and was surprised to learn so much about my own community. These non-narrated pieces focused on individuals doing extraordinary things: a Minneapolis woman reclaiming lacrosse for the indigenous people who invented it, a Hmong community member sharing his personal tale of exodus and rebuilding, a blind woman who’s learning literally to find her way, a Native American kid who’s attending a magnet school that’s trying to close the achievement gap, and more."Explore the Next Generation Radio stories online.