{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1451656092?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1451656092","authors":["Steve Oney"],"book_id":"9781451656091","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781451656091","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781451656091.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","description":"An “engrossing and entertaining…major work of media history” ( The New York Times Book Review ) that reveals the unlikely story of one of America’s most celebrated but least understood media empires. Founded in 1970, NPR is America’s most powerful broadcast news network. Despite being overshadowed by the larger and more glamorous PBS, public radio has long been home to shows such as All Things Considered , Morning Edition , and This American Life that captivate millions of listeners in homes, cars, and workplaces across the nation. NPR and its hosts are a cultural powerhouse and a trusted voice, and they have created a mode of journalism and storytelling that helps Americans understand the world in which we live. In On Air , a book fourteen years in the making, journalist Steve Oney tells the dramatic history of this institution, tracing the comings and goings of legendary on-air talents (Bob Edwards, Susan Stamberg, Ira Glass, Cokie Roberts, and many others) and the rise and fall and occasional rise again of brilliant and sometimes venal executives. It depicts how NPR created a medium for extraordinary journalism—in which reporters and producers use microphones as paintbrushes and the voices of people around the world as the soundtrack of stories both global and local. Featuring details on the controversial firing of Juan Williams, the sloppy dismissal of Bob Edwards, and a $235 million bequest by Joan B. Kroc, widow of the founder of McDonald’s, On Air also chronicles NPR’s daring shift into the digital world and its early embrace of podcasting formats, establishing the network as a formidable media empire. Fascinating, revelatory, and irresistibly dishy, this is a riveting account of NPR’s chaotic ascent, cultural triumph, and imperiled future.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781451656091","publication_date":"20250311","publisher":"Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster","slug":"on-air","subtitle":"The Triumph and Tumult of NPR","title":"On Air"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"BUS074000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Running a Nonprofit","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS000000","confidence_band":"high","label":"History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LAN008000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Journalism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"BUS074000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Running a Nonprofit","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS000000","confidence_band":"high","label":"History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LAN008000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Journalism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Running a Nonprofit","score":1,"slug":"running-a-nonprofit"},{"label":"History","score":1,"slug":"history"},{"label":"Journalism","score":1,"slug":"journalism"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Running a Nonprofit","Good for readers who enjoy Running a Nonprofit and History.","Strong fit for readers who prefer grounded, real-world context."],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Jason Hickel"],"book_id":"9781785152498","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781785152498.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.5632,"title":"Less Is More","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781785152498"},{"authors":["Martha Hodes"],"book_id":"9780393330298","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393330298.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.2561,"title":"Sea Captains Wife","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393330298"},{"authors":["Tom Standage"],"book_id":"9780802716040","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780802716040.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.235,"title":"Victorian Internet,the","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780802716040"},{"authors":["Will Durant"],"book_id":"9781451647624","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781451647624.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.1562,"title":"The Renaissance","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781451647624"},{"authors":["Beat Kümin","Beat Kumin"],"book_id":"9780415628631","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780415628631.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.0716,"title":"The European World 1500¿1800","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780415628631"},{"authors":["Beat Kümin"],"book_id":"9780415628648","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780415628648.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.0233,"title":"The European World 1500¿1800","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780415628648"},{"authors":["Holter Graham","Richard Rhodes","Simon & Schuster Audio"],"book_id":"9781451677614","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781451677614.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":9.4452,"title":"The Making of the Atomic Bomb","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781451677614"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:npr history"],"label":"History","score":0.9238,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:digital world"],"label":"World","score":0.2022,"slug":"world"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:books about journalism"],"label":"About","score":0.1285,"slug":"about"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:pop culture"],"label":"Culture","score":0.0808,"slug":"culture"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:planet money"],"label":"Money","score":0.0481,"slug":"money"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: History, Culture, Money.","Reading lane: Running a Nonprofit and History.","Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":53,"goodreads_ratings_count":405,"goodreads_reviews_count":64,"quality_score":0.9074}}