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Kentucky Author Forum Goes National on Public Radio: Louisville Public Media and New York Public Radio Bring The Author Forum to Stations Across the Country

1 day ago
3 min read

Press Release: Kentucky Author Forum


An eight-episode series, offered through WNYC Distribution, will be available to more than 350 public media stations. The first three episodes open to stations Sept. 17.


Ahead of its 30th season of bringing the world's most consequential authors and interviewers to a Louisville stage, the Kentucky Author Forum is going national on public radio.


The Author Forum, a broadcast series produced by Louisville Public Media (LPM) from the Kentucky Author Forum's live onstage conversations, is now being offered to public media stations nationwide through WNYC Distribution, the arm of New York Public Radio that also brings stations Radiolab, On the Media and The New Yorker Radio Hour


"For nearly three decades, the Kentucky Author Forum has been putting illuminating conversations on a Louisville stage that the rest of the country should hear," said Kenya Young, President and CEO of Louisville Public Media. 


"New York Public Radio is one of the best distributors in public media. I'm proud that a Louisville institution now sits in that catalog alongside the shows people know by name," Young said. Young came to Louisville Public Media from New York Public Radio, where she oversaw its national radio programs and podcasts as Senior Vice President. 


The Kentucky Author Forum is a nationally-relevant literary event featuring a diverse and fascinating array of authors and interviewers in candid conversations before a live audience at The Kentucky Center in Louisville. These intimate exchanges explore current ideas in politics, economics, science, art, history, journalism, and creative writing.


“Wendell Berry, Kentucky’s beloved writer and philosopher, understood what language does to the mind and the body. When we started the Kentucky Author Forum, the intent was to bring exchanges like that to the University of Louisville and to the surrounding community,” said Mary Moss Greenebaum, Founding Producer of Kentucky Author Forum. “It is deeply rewarding to know they will now be shared with audiences across the country.” 


Robert Siegel, the longtime host of NPR's All Things Considered, opens and closes each episode, giving the series a single, familiar voice. Every public radio station will have the option to pick up the series and air it. 



The series

The first three episodes, drawn from the Forum's recently-completed season, become available to stations on Sept. 17, 2026:


  • The Author Forum: Jim Clyburn and John Yarmuth. U.S. Rep. and former Majority Whip James E. Clyburn joins retired Congressman John Yarmuth to discuss his book The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation.

  • The Author Forum: Maureen Dowd and Todd Purdum. Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd discusses Notorious: Portraits of Stars from Hollywood, Culture, Fashion and Tech with journalist and author Todd S. Purdum.

  • The Author Forum: Hampton Sides and Beto O'Rourke. New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides discusses The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook with former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke.


Five more episodes follow from the Forum's 30th anniversary season, released to stations roughly two weeks after each live event:


  • John Grisham and Stacey Abrams on Grisham's newest title, The French Illusion. Live Oct. 1; available to stations Oct. 22.

  • Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Maureen Dowd on the governor's first book, Go and Do Likewise. Live Oct. 6; available Oct. 29.

  • Timothy Snyder and Anne Applebaum on On Freedom and how to design a government that allows all to flourish. Live Nov. 2; available Nov. 19.

  • Kara Swisher and Scott Turow on Burn Book and an inside look at Silicon Valley as a new set of powerful AI tools is poised to change publishing, and the world, again. Live Dec. 8; available Dec. 31.

  • Erik Larson and Nathaniel Philbrick on the origins of the Civil War, through The Demon of Unrest and The Rush. Live Jan. 27, 2027; available Feb. 18, 2027.


Each Forum is also filmed and distributed nationally to PBS member stations as the series Great Conversations, and is available online and on all major podcast apps as Great Podversations.


1 Comment


Abbey Lee
6 minutes ago

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