The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) announced Thursday the winners of the 2025 national Edward R. Murrow Awards. These awards honor the highest caliber journalism being produced by radio, television and online news organizations around the world.
Boise State Public Radio's Heath Druzin and James Dawson won best podcast for small market radio for the second season of Extremely American, which gives listeners an inside look at Christian nationalism.
Extremely American: Onward Christian Soldiers launched in partnership with NPR on June 26, 2025 and focuses on the rise of Christian nationalism, a conservative religious movement with a rapidly expanding epicenter in a surprising place: the college town of Moscow, Idaho.
Across eight episodes, host Heath Druzin and reporter James Dawson zero in on Christ Church, a member of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches based in Moscow. Christ Church’s slick marketing campaigns and casually shot internet videos belie a deeply conservative worldview that would have women submit to their husbands, and have the Bible decide the law of the land — and its influence is spreading.
"Podcasts allow us to go deeper than headlines, and that's exactly what Heath and Jimmy have done with this season," said Lacey Daley, digital strategy manager at Boise State Public Radio. "Extremely American expands our audience reach so that anyone, anywhere, can understand what's happening in Moscow – and why it matters to the entire country."
RTDNA has been honoring achievements in journalism since 1971. Award recipients are said to demonstrate "the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession of broadcast and digital journalism."
In May, RTDNA recognized winners of the Regional Murrow Awards, which automatically advanced to the national competition.
The award will be presented at the Edward R. Murrow Awards Gala on Oct. 13 at Gotham Hall in New York City.
