A bestselling group biography of the four beloved women who fought sexism and covered decades of American news, and whose voices defined NPR.
In the years following the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women in the newsroom were often relegated to secretarial roles or the "women's pages." But when a pioneering nonprofit called National Public Radio launched in the 1970s, the door to serious journalism opened a crack—and four remarkable women pushed it wide open.
Susan, Linda, Nina, & Cokie is journalist Lisa Napoli's captivating account of these four icons, their enduring friendships, and the trail they blazed for generations to follow. They came from radically different backgrounds:
- Cokie Roberts, the daughter of a political dynasty, who roamed the halls of Congress as a child and became the definitive voice of the Capitol for generations of listeners.
- Susan Stamberg, the first woman to anchor a nightly news program, who humanized the airwaves with her warmth and brio.
- Linda Wertheimer, who fought her way from a small New Mexico town to a scholarship and a permanent spot on-air.
- Nina Totenberg, the legal affairs correspondent who invented a brand-new way to cover the Supreme Court.
Based on extensive interviews and the author's deep connections in public radio, this is the story of how these four women changed journalism, the public's perception of women, and—in the process—how women perceived themselves. Beguiling, sharp, and essential, it is a celebratory look at the "Founding Mothers" who used their microphones as magic wands against the silence.
A Washington Post Best Nonfiction Book of the Year
Praise
“Napoli narrates the origin stories of NPR’s female journalistic superheroes … a history filled with so many powerful moments and fascinating details about journalism, perseverance, and gender bias.”Kirkus Reviews
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The New York Times Book Review"[Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie] illuminates the terrifying, thrilling energy of NPR as start-up....The book is a lesson in how the fringe project of one generation becomes the mainstream of the next....Napoli portrays the network’s endearingly experimental, chaotic beginning."
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"Lisa Napoli's Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie is an intimate and beautifully told tale of the extraordinary coming together of four women who would help shape a network, the news business, and each other's lives. I feel immensely grateful to these women for all they have done for NPR and for women in journalism and also incredibly proud to work alongside them."Stacey Vanek Smith
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"NPR gave a voice to women in news before many other news outlets, and NPR's founding mothers used their powerful voices to tell the stories that explained and changed people's lives. Lisa Napoli impressively chronicles how these four pioneers paved the way for women journalists everywhere."author of The Good Girls Revolt, Lynn Povich
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“Histories, biographies, and behind-the-scenes narratives about the news biz typically idolize swaggering, chain-smoking, tough-talking dudes who tower over testimonies with testosterone-infused personalities. But with Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie, Napoli honors not the dog-eat-dog variety of journalist, but the fortitude of sisterhood, of women supporting each other.”Oprah Daily
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"Readers are left with inspiring insights into the pathbreaking work of these four women, but more importantly with a sense of how the status of some women and the role of the media have both changed in the last 50 years."Library Journal
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“Napoli chronicles not just the camaraderie of Stamberg, Wertheimer, Totenberg and Roberts, but their commitment to help the careers of younger women who aspired to follow them. The founding mothers, in word and deed, offer a powerful lesson on what can happen when we carry as we climb.”The Washington Post
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“Public radio fans will treasure this book.”Brian Stelter
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“Napoli has written an eye-opening, often funny, sometimes horrifying story that includes madcap escapades, thrilling scoops, and misogynistic misadventures.”AudioFile
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“Lisa Napoli’s can’t-miss account of four female journalistic titans who banded together in the nonprofit radio organization’s early days.”Harper's Bazaar
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