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MPR News Staff

The First Family of Radio: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's Historic Broadcasts

FDR chat
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addresses the nation over a national radio hookup, while Eleanor Roosevelt and the president's mother, Sarah, sit watching on the other side of the fireplace.
Keystone / Getty Images

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Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were the "first couple" of American radio. This APM Reports documentary, "The First Family of Radio: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's Historic Broadcasts," features rarely heard archival audio and explores how the Roosevelts revolutionized political communication in America.

From the 1920s through Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth term, the president and first lady used this extraordinarily powerful new medium to win elections, combat the Great Depression and rally the nation to fight fascism.

May 8, 2020 is the 75th anniversary V-E Day, the end of WWII in Europe.

This American Public Media documentary was produced by Stephen Smith and Kate Ellis.