How PBS is navigating an especially hostile political era.

By many standards, PBS has had a pretty great 2010s. Downton Abbey was its biggest hit since The Civil War (which aired way back in 1990), Mitt Romney lost the 2012 election (and thus could never follow through on his threats against the broadcaster), and the network has gone from the 15th most watched to the 6th. But all of that fails to account for a budget released by the Trump administration that would cut the federal funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting completely. The budget hasn't become the law of the land yet -- and even if it seems like it might, PBS has plenty of friends in Congress -- but it's still the most embattled the network has been in many, many years. That's why Todd was so happy to have PBS's president and CEO, Paula Kerger, on the program to talk about what happens if the government stops funding PBS, how the network tries to serve everybody from digital streamers to rural antenna users, and just what it's like working with the famously prolific Ken Burns. Warning: This episode was recorded in a hotel and has some minor background noise in a few places. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices