The Connection

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This article is about the public radio program. For other uses, see The Connection (disambiguation).

The Connection was a public radio call-in program from WBUR that ran from 1994 to 2005. Originally hosted by Christopher Lydon (1994–2001), and (after a series of short-term fill-in hosts) followed by Dick Gordon (2001–2005), it was syndicated to as many as 66 public radio stations in the United States.

In March 2001, Lydon was mysteriously dismissed after negotiations for renewal of his contract broke down. WBUR had offered a huge salary, but Lydon wanted part-ownership of the program, since he felt that he and producer Mary McGrath had grown the show from nothing to being widely syndicated. He was abruptly locked out of the offices after management decided it couldn't or wouldn't give them part-ownership. According to Lydon, salary was not the issue.^{[citation needed]} Lydon now hosts the WGBH radio show Open Source.

Dick Gordon became the show's host just after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He eventually took the program to Baghdad for 10 days in April 2003.^[1]

The Connection was abruptly canceled after the August 5, 2005 broadcast, and Gordon laid off. Gordon says that the circumstances surrounding his termination were not explained well, though it is believed that WBUR was presumably not able to continue carrying the show. ^[2]

WBUR filled The Connection's 10 a.m. to noon timeslot with On Point, a similar program previously aired in the 7-9 p.m. timeslot. Gordon now hosts The Story with Dick Gordon at North Carolina Public Radio.

The Connection's theme song was the jazz tune Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Hancock.