ICYMI: Here is the full (ad-free) version of today’s podcast.
On today’s “To the Contrary” Podcast, I sit down with Paula Kerger, the longest-serving president and CEO of PBS, to discuss the unprecedented defunding of public broadcasting. Kerger explains how the loss of federal support threatens hundreds of local stations, particularly in rural communities, and why this moment is a critical test for the future of public media. We also discuss the stakes for children’s programming, emergency alerts, and cultural projects as PBS seeks to survive on viewer and foundation support.
Subscribers can listen to an ad-free version right here… or you can watch on YouTube / Listen (and subscribe) on Apple/ Spotify / iHeart / RSS Feed.
From this morning:
Trump Loves the Smell of Brutality in the Morning
As I was saying (in yesterday’s newsletter), the guy who promised to end “endless wars” is itching for a war of his own. And not just with Venezuela.
Some highlights of our conversation
Kerger admits that she was surprised by the congressional vote to defund public broadcasting, and discusses how it happened.
Ken Burns’ series on the American Revolution is coming this Fall.
Nota Bene
I have to admit that I did not have a “woke” Rand Paul on my 2025 bingo card:
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Ezra Klein: “Stop Funding Trump’s Takeover” - The New York Times (GIFT LINK):
We are no longer in the muzzle velocity stage of this presidency. We are in the authoritarian consolidation stage of this presidency.
I want to be very clear about what I am saying here. Donald Trump is corrupting the government — he is using it to hound his enemies, to line his pockets and to entrench his own power. He is corrupting it the way the Mafia would corrupt the industries it controlled. You could still, under Mafia rule, get the trash picked up or buy construction materials. But the point of those industries had become the preservation and expansion of the Mafia’s power and wealth. This is what Trump is doing to the government. This is what Democrats cannot fund. This is what they have to try to stop.
Weekend dog
Because he’s so huge, Eli can seem like a big scary dog. But the reality is that he’s a gentle soul, who wants to cuddle.
