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Hi, it's Terry Gross. Before we start today's show, I want to say a few words about

public media. It's been in the news a lot lately because federal funding for it was eliminated

earlier this year. But it's the fact that NPR is public media that enables fresh air and all of

NPR's podcasts to be unique and to be there for you.

The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 said that local public media stations should be responsive

to their communities. To this day, that's what NPR member stations are doing in so many

towns and regions where newspapers have stopped publishing.

We're providing news and information to everyone.

Even as digital paywalls rise elsewhere, we offer these services for free, regardless of anyone's ability to pay.

At NPR, we still believe in these core commitments,

but the loss of federal funding is creating major challenges for NPR and all public radio stations.

As we move into this uncharted future together, we know that you will not let the service

that has been here for you all these years falter.

We rely on your support to bring you fresh air now more than ever.

This year we've continued to bring you interviews with investigative journalists

who have uncovered important stories that otherwise may have never been revealed about our government and the

state of our democracy, as well as interviews with authors, actors, directors, scientists, health

experts, religion scholars, and more. Who knows what surprises await us in 2026? Thank you if you

already go the extra mile as an NPR Plus supporter.

If not, you can join the Plus community, get a bunch of perks like bonus episodes and more

from across NPR's podcasts, including fresh airs, and support public media by signing up for

...