[Track M] This course examines the history, influence, and unique broadcast culture of public radio, from its grass routes beginnings in the 1940s, to the creation of the hugely influential news programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered to the environment that has shaped and impelled to celebrity such figures as Garrison Keillor, Terry Gross, and Ira Glass. The broad spectrum of program and genres in the system will be examined, as will its place in the larger broadcasting culture, and its internal challenges and dilemmas. At once a voice for independent news and cultural coverage, with increasing weight in the national landscape, it has been plagued by internal dissension and an increasing reliance on corporate sponsorship and commercial models that may comprise the very values that set it apart. Attentive listening, critical readings in media history, and essays--audio or written, are among the assignments and obligations of participating students. [Track M]