Uniting
Research and Policy

Steve Edwards is vice president and chief content officer at WBEZ Chicago Public Media, Chicago’s NPR News station and the birthplace of such celebrated programs as This American Life, Serial and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me. Previously, he spent nearly 20 years as an award-winning journalist, producer and program host. His work has appeared on the BBC, Bloomberg News, PBS and numerous public radio stations around the United States. 

During his tenure at WBEZ, he served as the host of two acclaimed daily news and culture programs, “The Afternoon Shift” and “Eight Forty-Eight.” He also led the station’s digital and multimedia content efforts, hosted a weekly political show and was the correspondent for a BBC World Service documentary on the culture of political corruption in Chicago.

From 2012 to 2017, Edwards served as Executive Director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, where he oversaw all programming and operational duties, including its acclaimed public event series, professional fellowships, career and civic engagement programs, and the “The Axe Files” podcast in partnership with former presidential advisor David Axelrod and CNN.

Edwards earned his B.A. in political science from Amherst College and was a Knight-Wallace
Fellow at the University of Michigan.