''The Connection'' was a public radio call-in program from
WBUR
WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. It is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM and produces several nationally distributed program ...
that ran from 1994 to 2005. Originally hosted by
Christopher Lydon
Christopher Lydon (born 1940 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American media personality and author. He was the original host of '' The Connection'', produced by WBUR and syndicated to other NPR stations, and created '' Open Source'', a weekly r ...
(1994–2001), and (after a series of short-term fill-in hosts) followed by Canadian
Dick Gordon (2001–2005), it was syndicated to as many as 66
public radio
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
stations in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
In March 2001, Lydon was dismissed after negotiations for renewal of his contract broke down. Lydon now hosts WBUR's ''
Open Source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
''.
Dick Gordon became the show's host just after the
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
. He eventually took the program to Baghdad for 10 days in April 2003.
''The Connection'' was abruptly canceled after the August 5, 2005 broadcast, and Gordon laid off. Gordon says that the circumstances surrounding his termination were not explained well, though it is believed that WBUR was presumably not able to continue carrying the show.
WBUR filled ''The Connection''
's 10 a.m. to noon timeslot with ''
On Point
''On Point'' is a radio show produced by WBUR-FM in Boston and syndicated by American Public Media (APM). The show addresses a wide range of issues from news, politics, arts and culture, health, technology, environmental, and business topics, t ...
'', a similar program previously aired in the 7-9 p.m. timeslot. Gordon now hosts ''
The Story with Dick Gordon
''The Story with Dick Gordon'' was a weekday interview program hosted by Dick Gordon, former host of WBUR's '' The Connection'' and, before that, fill-in host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's national radio program '' This Morning''. ...
'' at
North Carolina Public Radio
WUNC (91.5 MHz) is a listener-supported public radio station, serving the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. It is licensed to Chapel Hill and is operated by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. On weekdays, WUNC carries Nat ...
.
''The Connection''
's theme song was the jazz tune "
Cantaloupe Island" by
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
, performed by
Us3 in their rendition titled "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)".
References
External links
''The Connection'' website with streamable show archives from 2000 to 2005
American talk radio programs
NPR programs
{{US-radio-show-stub
1994 radio programme debuts
2005 radio programme endings