Michigan Radio and Wallace House will welcome NPR’s daily talk show, 1A, to Ann Arbor for a live broadcast and a special event featuring host Joshua Johnson this February.
The special event, which is free and open to the public, is entitled “Speak Freely: Debating the First Amendment in a Changing America.” Host Joshua Johnson and a panel of guests will examine the first amendment, free speech and what it means in a divided America. The topic is particularly timely as the University of Michigan and other universities debate allowing white supremacist Richard Spencer to speak on their campuses. The “Speak Freely” discussion will be held on Thursday, Feb. 15 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm at the Rackham Auditorium on the University of Michigan campus.
In addition to this event, 1A will originate the national broadcast of their show from Michigan Radio’s Ann Arbor studios on Thursday and Friday, Feb 15 and 16. The program is a production of WAMU and normally broadcasts from studios in Washington, DC. As part of their efforts to reflect conversations taking place across America, 1A travels to member stations across the country several times per year.
With a name inspired by the First Amendment, 1A explores important issues such as policy, politics, technology, and what connects us across the fissures that divide the country. The program airs on more than 200 NPR stations across the country and can be heard on Michigan Radio every Monday-Friday from 10 am-12 noon.
Joshua Johnson has hosted 1A since the show premiered in January, 2017. Every day, Johnson convenes a conversation about the most important issues of our time. Before joining WAMU, he co-created and hosted the provocative nationwide public radio series, Truth Be Told, which explored race in America. Johnson began his public radio career helping launch a unique regional news partnership between Miami’s NPR station, WLRN, and The Miami Herald. Then he served for over five years as morning news host for KQED in San Francisco.
