Conversations on The Neighborhood: Fred Rogers' Lasting Legacy

Fred Rogers (1928-2003) became a pioneer in children’s educational television with his weekday nationally broadcast Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood that aired for over 50 years on the Public Broadcasting Service. Using The Neighborhood television program and other outlets, Rogers was able to bring awareness to the importance of early childhood learning to a mass audience. Through his Ask the Expert Quality Early Learning radio show and podcast, author John Pozza draws on his interviews with five of Fred Rogers’ closest associates to make you feel as if you’re actually listening to an interview with Fred Rogers himself. Partnering with radio co-host Joe Taylor, the two invite you to eavesdrop into their open and frank discussions with: William Isler, former president and chief executive officer of Fred Rogers Productions in Pittsburgh; Maxwell King, author of The Good Neighbor, the definitive and only biography on the life and work of Fred Rogers; Karen Struble Myers, former director of development and communications at the former Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media in Latrobe, Pa.; Margy Whitmer, one of the original producers of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood at WQED in Pittsburgh; and Dr. Dana Winters, executive director of the center’s now renamed Fred Rogers Institute. Through probing questions, the interviews help us learn more deeply how Rogers, working collaboratively with experts in child development, not only gave us the building blocks of self esteem, but taught us all about tolerance and acceptance, before we could even say the words.