After 24 years hosting The Kathleen Dunn Show on The Ideas Network of Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), Kathleen Dunn has announced plans to retire. Her final broadcast will be August 10.
“Kathleen’s voice has been part of the very fabric of WPR and The Ideas Network,” said WPR Director Mike Crane. “Her colleagues and her audience will really miss her, and as a member of both categories, so will I.”
Kathleen joined The Ideas Network in 1993, just three years after it was launched. Among her many honors, she was inducted into the Milwaukee Media Hall of Fame in 2014 and was named a distinguished broadcaster by UW-Extension in 2010. Over her 44-year career at WPR, WTMJ, and stations around the country, she has conducted more than 10,000 interviews. Her many notable guests included Maya Angelou, Ken Burns and Studs Terkel.
Read her full letter to listeners below:
My Dear Radio Neighbors,
The time has come for me to leave my career in radio which started 44 years ago. The best 24 years have been with Wisconsin Public Radio. My last broadcast will be August 10.
You have been participating partners in this journey. Together we have spoken with thousands of people; presidents, authors, scientists, teachers, truck drivers, historians, community leaders, artists and entertainers, experts in every imaginable field. What do they all say? "Your listeners ask the best questions."
Among my memories are Studs Terkel doing the last interview of his life with us, Judy Collins singing "Amazing Grace" live in our studio, a remote broadcast with students and teachers from Rufus King High School shortly after 9/11 and another from Dubuque, Iowa for the 2008 Presidential caucuses (where you brought a room full of chocolate cakes), interviews with prominent biographers who gave us deep knowledge of Lincoln, Washington, FDR, Eisenhower, Garfield, Teddy Roosevelt, Jefferson, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Nixon, Obama, Clinton, Truman, Einstein, Martin Luther King, Francis Perkins, Abigail Adams, Dylan, Aretha, The Beatles and so many others. Each day I would eagerly head for "class" and learn from great teachers. Through the radio, I've received a world class education. Brain and heart have been nourished.
You made a connection with our guests. After listening to Maya Angelou remember her grandmother, a young listener who had just lost her dear grandmother, spoke through tears about her upcoming wedding. How she would miss her Grandma. Maya sent her a wedding present. Senator Bob Dole received a call from a listener from Dole's hometown of Russell, Kansas. He shared memories of the senator's father. WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam veterans spoke to each other about their service. One WWII vet was asked to write a book following his radio appearance, which he did.
You, the listeners, have always been a large part of the essence of each show. We all did our homework. You gave the show intelligence, compassion, a variety of viewpoints and spontaneity. You give me hope that the world will become a better place. I will miss you.
I thank many producers who read widely, came to work each day in good spirits and worked so hard with creative minds to find people who would enlighten us. Their work is so incredibly important. Many have become dear friends.
Those of you who have listened regularly understand that among my abiding interests in life are these two - Abraham Lincoln and dogs. Unfortunately A. Lincoln is no longer with us, but dogs are. I will be devoting much of my time to raising and training a therapy dog. Finn has been born and will join our family in mid-August. I hope he and I can bring comfort and happiness to many.
Thank you WPR for giving me so many years of a life with daily meaning. Who could ask for anything more?
- Kathleen
Click here to read WPR's announcement on the new program schedule after Kathleen's retirement.
We encourage you to leave notes of appreciation for Kathleen in the comments section below. If you have additional comments or concerns, including questions about programs, please contact WPR's Audience Services toll-free at 800-747-7444 or email listener@wpr.org.