Encore: 50 years ago, 'The Electric Company' used comedy to help kids' reading skills

By Elizabeth Blair

Published November 25, 2021 at 4:19 PM EST

50 years ago, The Electric Company premiered its first broadcast. The public broadcasting show aimed to use sketch comedy and animated shorts to teach kids to read.

Elizabeth Blair

Elizabeth Blair is a Peabody Award-winning senior producer/reporter on the Arts Desk of NPR News.

See stories by Elizabeth Blair

Support nonprofit, fact-based public service journalism

WEKU depends on support from those who view and listen to our content. There's no paywall here. Please support WEKU with your donation.

Contribute now

Related Content

NPR News

A'ja Wilson snags a record fourth WNBA MVP

Russell Lewis

Wilson, a 6-foot-4 center for the Las Vegas Aces, has dominated this year. In her eighth season, she finished in the top five in points, rebounds, blocks and steals.
Sci-fi, romance, and... Stranger Things: What to watch this fall

Linda Holmes

We look at the best of this fall's movies and TV – including some standouts from the Toronto International Film Festival.
What Ancient Rome and Greece can teach us about comedians and free speech

Chloe Veltman

As president Donald Trump celebrates the cancelation of comedians Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert and says he hopes the same fate will befall others who have been similarly critical, a look at the comedians in the ancient world who faced serious penalties for making jokes about the powers that be and what lessons we can learn from their stories about the fate of free speech in this country.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill banning law enforcement and ICE from wearing masks

Ayesha Rascoe

Federal immigration agents and other law enforcement officials will be banned from covering their faces under a new bill in California.
In Sudan, a paramilitary group is on the verge of taking over a major city

Emmanuel Akinwotu

A Sudanese paramilitary group at war with the army is on the verge of taking control of a historic city in Western Darfur. This is happening as the humanitarian crisis worsens in the country.