Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR - Paperback

by Lisa Napoli (Author)

A bestselling group biography of the four beloved women who fought sexism and covered decades of American news, and whose voices defined NPR.

In the years following the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women in the newsroom were often relegated to secretarial roles or the "women's pages." But when a pioneering nonprofit called National Public Radio launched in the 1970s, the door to serious journalism opened a crack--and four remarkable women pushed it wide open.

Susan, Linda, Nina, & Cokie is journalist Lisa Napoli's captivating account of these four icons, their enduring friendships, and the trail they blazed for generations to follow. They came from radically different backgrounds:

• Cokie Roberts, the daughter of a political dynasty, who roamed the halls of Congress as a child and became the definitive voice of the Capitol for generations of listeners.
• Susan Stamberg, the first woman to anchor a nightly news program, who humanized the airwaves with her warmth and brio.
• Linda Wertheimer, who fought her way from a small New Mexico town to a scholarship and a permanent spot on-air.
• Nina Totenberg, the legal affairs correspondent who invented a brand-new way to cover the Supreme Court.

Based on extensive interviews and the author's deep connections in public radio, this is the story of how these four women changed journalism, the public's perception of women, and--in the process--how women perceived themselves. Beguiling, sharp, and essential, it is a celebratory look at the "Founding Mothers" who used their microphones as magic wands against the silence.

A Washington Post Best Nonfiction Book of the Year

Author Biography

Lisa Napoli is a journalist, broadcaster, and biographer whose work explores the people and cultural forces that shape modern media. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she began her career in television and radio and went on to report for outlets including The New York Times, MSNBC, and the public radio program Marketplace, as well as KCRW.

She is the author of several nonfiction books, including Radio Shangri-La, a memoir about helping launch a radio station in Bhutan; Ray & Joan, a biography of McDonald's figure Joan Kroc; Up All Night, a history of the early days of CNN; and Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie, which chronicles the pioneering women who helped build NPR.

Across her work, Napoli focuses on biography and narrative history, often examining the intersection of media, politics, and social change. She has covered a wide range of subjects throughout her career, from presidential campaigns to the emergence of the internet as a mass medium.