The FCC has launched a podcast, More Than Seven Dirty Words, to try and familiarize the public with just what it is the FCC does beyond the hot-button topics--indecency, net neutrality--that land it in the general public spotlight.
The title refers to the George Carlin comedy routine about the words you could not say on the radio, which were aired on the radio and led to the Supreme Court decision (Pacifica) buttressing the FCC's authority to regulate "indecency."
The first installment featured an introduction from host and FCC policy advisor Evan Swarztrauber and FCC chair Ajit Pai, and then an episode on the FCC response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico.
"Whether it's a YouTube video or FaceTime or whatnot, there are a lot of ways of getting the message out, and I think podcast is an interesting one that we are finally adopting," said Pai. Both Pai and Swarztrauber tried adopted a "banter" approach in the intro, with Swarztrauber introducing Pai by saying he had "a very long list of dirty words to share with you."
The podcast was a serious conversation with Roberto Mussenden, an attorney in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, who was born in Puerto Rico.
The podcast will feature interviews with FCC officials and staffers and others sharing stories and issues and trying to make telecom policy interesting.
