Since the 1970s, The Children’s Television Workshop—now called the Sesame Workshop—intended to help low-income children become better prepared for school by using television as a tool. The Sesame Workshop’s shows—including Sesame Street, The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact—ended up being much more far reaching, teaching and entertaining children from all backgrounds, internationally.

Jessica Harris speaks with television producer Joan Ganz Cooney about the early days of educational programming, and how she helped to revolutionize children’s television, from scratch.

Listen to the interview