Helene's Deadly Warning from NPR's Up First

Helene's Deadly Warning from NPR's Up First

From Radiotopia Presents: We're Doing the Wiz by Radiotopia

September 23, 2025 · 26 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of funding cuts on public media and features NPR's reporting on storm recovery and resilience.

Welcome to September. Public media has had a rough summer. On July 18th, Congress passed the Rescissions Act of 2025, which eliminated $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Then on August 1st, CPB announced they would be winding down operations. When folks talk about these cuts, they usually talk about the vital public services public media provides, such as emergency alerts. But we'd be remiss if we didn't also talk about how NPR is an audio storytelling powerhouse. Throughout the month, we've partnered with our friends at NPR to present four pieces that represent the breadth and depth of their incredible reporting. We hope you enjoy. **************************** Part 1: This weekend on The Sunday Story, NPR's Laura Sullivan examines how the nation is failing to rebuild after major storms in a way that will protect them from the next one. As climate-related storms become more frequent and severe, NPR and PBS FRONTLINE investigate the forces keeping communities from building resiliently, and the special interests that profit when communities don't. Despite billions in federal aid, outdated policies, weak building codes, and political resistance are…

Topics covered

  • public media
  • NPR
  • climate change
  • storm recovery

Keywords

  • public broadcasting
  • funding cuts
  • emergency alerts
  • audio storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Sunday Story

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