Fareed Zakaria GPS: Interpretation and Commentary on Iran and The GPS Primetime Special: Restoring the American Dream—Fixing Education

Since 2008, Fareed Zakaria GPS has explored, examined and analyzed the “Global Public Square.” Zakaria has interviewed an astounding array of influential public figures: authors, political leaders, journalists and academics. With wide-ranging background knowledge and a keen sense of the immediately important, he engages these guests in a manner that provides viewers with rich and nuanced perspectives. In 2011, two instances exemplified the most effective application of these strategies. In a series of commentaries and interviews, including one with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad, Zakaria offered an in-depth look at Iran, its relations with the rest of the world and the political and cultural life within the country. Taking on a very different task, he turned attention to the American educational system. Again, the focus expanded to a “global” perspective as he compared American educational practices to those in Japan and Finland. Those countries apply very different practices from one another, yet achieve results significantly higher than the United States. Zakaria’s key question “What can America learn?” remains to some degree unanswered, but raising the question is an important first step. For covering global issues in a manner that shows their true importance for viewers throughout the world, a Peabody Award is presented to Fareed Zakaria GPS: Interpretation and Commentary on Iran and The GPS Primetime Special: Restoring the American Dream—Fixing Education.