Colleagues and friends at the Annenberg Public Policy Center are mourning the loss of Margot Adler, the journalist who was the voice of “Justice Talking,” the award-winning NPR radio show that was produced by APPC. Ms. Adler was 68 and had been battling cancer for several years.
Ms. Adler, a longtime reporter for National Public Radio, hosted “Justice Talking,” a one-hour radio show that ran from 1999 to 2008 on NPR and other stations. The show, produced by APPC, explored essential issues in American law and society, with Ms. Adler moderating conversations between expert advocates. Over 350 shows, the topics ranged from smoking bans to legalizing prostitution, golf and gender discrimination to the United States’ battle with the International Criminal Court at the Hague. In 2002, for instance, in the wake of 9/11, Ms. Adler moderated a discussion over government surveillance and individual privacy between Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, and lawyer David B. Rivkin Jr., who had served in the Reagan and Bush administrations advising on legal issues.
“We’re saddened by the passing of Margot Adler,” said APPC director Kathleen Hall Jamieson. “Over 10 years, she was able to make sense out of the most contentious of claims in an engaging, insightful, and always civil fashion.”
“Justice Talking” received a variety of awards, including recognition by the National Press Club, the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Education Writers Association and the Sidney Hillman Foundation, among others. The shows may be downloaded from an online archive here. One of the final shows looking back over “Talking Justice” is here and the final show is here.
