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America Amplified Launches Live Talk Show On Our Shared COVID-19 Experience

Each Saturday two hosts from different parts of the country lead a discussion that is informed by active, ongoing engagement with local communities. The show will air from 2-4 p.m. CT.

Let’s talk, America. Life is changing. Communities are changing. Our future is changing.

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the daily realities of how we work, interact and function as a society, perhaps for years to come. In many ways, it feels like we’re farther apart than ever.

We want to capture this momentous shift in American perspectives, and bring together voices and experiences from across the country. 

That’s why we are launching “America Amplified: Life, Community, and COVID-19,” a live two-hour talk show airing Saturday afternoons from April 25 to May 30. The effort is being led by John Haas, Director of Radio and Television at WABE in Atlanta, an America Amplified partner.

We’ll explore local community perspectives and solutions to some of the most important issues raised by the pandemic. The program will be framed by the news, but we’ll go deeper to help Americans step back and share our diverse — yet collective — experiences toward charting a new future. 

Each Saturday we will have two hosts from different parts of the country lead a discussion that is informed by active, ongoing engagement with local communities. The show will air on IPR stations and will be available for streaming through our app and online at iowapublicradio.org from 2-4 p.m. CT. 

It’s an experiment in community engagement journalism — the heart of the America Amplified initiative — and one we hope you will help us improve over the next six weeks.

Here’s how you can participate:

Our first show will come from WABE in Atlanta and KQED in San Francisco. In one hour, we’ll be looking at how remote learning is exposing educational inequities in our communities. In the other hour — the effect on essential workers’ lives.
Future shows will come to you from Kansas City, Missouri (where America Amplified is based), New England, Iowa, Boise, Idaho, and Philadelphia, drawing on the reach of public media to capture what’s happening across the country.

We hope you’ll join us.

About CPB

America Amplified is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 as the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related online services. Since 2009, CPB has invested $35 million to develop regional journalism collaborations throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.cpb.org and follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook, LinkedIn, and subscribe for other updates.

About KCUR

KCUR 89.3 is the flagship NPR station in Kansas City, exploring thought-provoking ideas and stimulating conversations through its daily talk shows, in-depth reporting and entertainment programming. KCUR shares news, art, music and life in a way that inspires, challenges and connects people. A charter member of NPR, KCUR holds itself to the highest journalistic standards in service to the citizens of Kansas, Missouri, the broader Midwest, and the nation. The station also leads Harvest Public Media and the Kansas News Service, among other collaborations.

Lindsey Moon is IPR's Senior Digital Producer