On Air: The Triumph and Tumult of NPR is a landmark work of media history by award-winning journalist Steve Oney, published by Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster on March 11, 2025. Fourteen years in the making, this 576-page hardcover chronicles the full, dramatic story of NPR — America's most powerful broadcast news network — from its founding in 1970 through its turbulent rise to cultural dominance and its imperiled future in the digital age.

Oney traces the careers of NPR's legendary on-air talents — Bob Edwards, Susan Stamberg, Ira Glass, Cokie Roberts, and many others — alongside the brilliant and sometimes venal executives who shaped the network. The book reveals the inside story behind landmark controversies, including the controversial firing of Juan Williams, the sloppy dismissal of Bob Edwards, and Joan B. Kroc's staggering $235 million bequest (the widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc). It also chronicles NPR's bold early embrace of podcasting formats and its transformation into a formidable digital media empire.

Named a Best Nonfiction Book of 2025 by Publishers Weekly (starred review), the book has earned widespread critical acclaim: "Engrossing and entertaining — a major work of media history" (New York Times Book Review), "A lively and engaging new history" (Washington Post), and "Oney's fleet-footed storytelling and immersive prose bring to life the network's colorful personalities" (Publishers Weekly). Steve Oney is also the author of And the Dead Shall Rise, winner of the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award and the National Jewish Book Award. He was educated at the University of Georgia and Harvard, where he was a Nieman Fellow.