National Public Radio

Cookie Monster In Character with Elizabeth Blair (YouTube)

National Public Radio (NPR) is a semi-independent, privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to public radio stations in the United States. Its President and CEO from 2011 to 2013 was Gary Knell, formerly of Sesame Workshop.

NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, which established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and also led to the creation of the Public Broadcasting Service.

Its two flagship programs on weekdays are Morning Edition and its afternoon equivalent, All Things Considered, both of which have had Muppets as guests, as has Tell Me More.

Appearances

• All Things Considered

• Guests have included Abby Cadabby, Joey Mazzarino, Cookie Monster, and Carol-Lynn Parente.

• Ask Me Another

• Guests have included Sonia Manzano, Emilio Delgado, Stacey Gordon, and Mo Willems.

• The Diane Rehm Show

• January 6, 2009 — Michael Davis appeared to promote Street Gang. [1]

• Fresh Air

• Guests have included Frank Oz, Chris Cerf, Jeff Moss, Jason Segel and Nick Stoller.

• In Character

• February 10, 2008 — Cookie Monster appeared in studio and on camera with Elizabeth Blair. [2]

• Morning Edition

• Guests include Kevin Clash, Elmo, Kermit the Frog, Rosita, Caroll Spinney, Rosemarie Truglio. Pre-recorded segments featured Jerry Juhl, Jerry Nelson, Steve Whitmire, and Dave Goelz.

• Talk of the Nation

• April 3, 2006 — Rosemarie Truglio discusses Sesame Beginnings. [3]

• Tell Me More

• Guests have included Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, Kevin Clash, Elmo, Gary Knell, H. Melvin Ming, Roscoe Orman, and Rosita.

• Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

• Kevin Clash and Frank Oz have appeared, and the show has made a number of Muppet references.

• Tiny Desk Concerts

• The Sesame Street Muppets performed in 2019.

• Life Kit

• Cookie Monster appeared in a 2019 video.

• General NPR appearances

• In addition to the Tiny Desk Concerts appearance, a web video was filmed featuring the Sesame Street Muppets as NPR interns, released on August 15, 2019. The Muppets are spread out to different departments; Bob Boilen brings Elmo over to the Tiny Desk, Big Bird ambles his way through the NPR studio, Ernie and Bert have a miscommunication about the next program, and Cookie Monster is sent to NPR Investigations. (YouTube)

References

• In the premiere episode of The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley & Friends, Oscar the Grouch mentions that Grouches only listen to This American Trash (a play on NPR's This American Life).