Public media organization PRX says Studio 360, hosted by author and Omaha native Kurt Andersen, is wrapping up production and broadcast distribution.
The final broadcast episode of Studio 360 is set to air by the end of February 2020 and will be succeeded by Oregon Public Radio's variety show Live Wire with Luke Burbank.
KIOS Program Director Todd Hatton said, "We hate to see a program like this, with a voice and sensibility so uniquely midwestern, head off into the sunset. However, I think I speak for a lot of us when I say that we're grateful for all of the stories, perspectives, and insight Kurt brought us, and that we wish him and his team all of best. They've more than earned it."
“When we started Studio 360 back at the turn of the century, in the pre-podcast era, there really were no national radio shows devoted to art and pop culture,” said Andersen. "I was told that public radio had tried and failed to do that, and this would be one last try. Our idea was to be smart as well as fun, to cover the brand new and the great old, the high and low and in between, with stories and conversations with artists and makers about the ideas behind work and the nuts and bolts of making it. I had zero experience making radio or hosting anything, so it was a huge leap of faith on everyone’s part. It was never easy fitting Studio 360 in among all the other stuff I do — writing books in particular but also TV and theater and digital media projects — but I’m so glad I did.”
Broadcast on more than 200 public radio stations across the country, Studio 360 has received a substantial number of awards, including two George Foster Peabody Awards and Edward R. Murrow Awards, and recognitions from the New York State Associated Press, the Asian American Journalists Association, and the Alliance for Women in Media.
The author most recently of the New York Times best-seller Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, Andersen is also the author of acclaimed novels including True Believers, Heyday, and Turn of the Century, and has written for film, television, and stage. Andersen has previously served as editor-in-chief of New York magazine, as co-founder and editor of Spy, and regularly appears as a commentator on networks including MSNBC.