Republican majorities in the House and the Senate passed a rescissions bill that would cancel over 9 billion dollars in previously approved federal spending. Included in the cuts was financing that helped the Corporation for Public Broadcasting fund both PBS and NPR. And while this government funding is not the sole source of support for PBS or NPR, eradicating that support could cripple both operations.

But lost in the media coverage over this fight is the fact that the Trump administration also intends on dismantling the US Agency for Global Media, which includes programs such as the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. These programs may not survive the chopping block, and the result will have greater ramifications than what amounts to a cut in the funding for PBS and NPR. In this episode, we are going to look at the history behind the Voice of America and other associated US government programs – relics of the Cold War against Soviet communist expansion – and what the possible consequences might be if they disappear from the global playing field.

Music by: Andrii Poradovskyi (lNPLUSMUSIC – Pixabay)

Sources:

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“China Gets More Airtime Around the World as Voice of America Signs Off.” Wall Street Journal, July 2025.

Cull, Nicholas J. The Cold War and the United States Information Agency: American Propaganda and Public Diplomacy, 1945–1989. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

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