State of the Re:Union was a nationally aired public radio show created and hosted by playwright and performance artist Al Letson. State of the Re:Union was distributed by the Public Radio Exchange and National Public Radio, airing five seasons and 56 episodes on its networks from 2010 to 2015. The show won the Peabody Award in 2014.^[1]

This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (January 2020)

State of the Re:Union was a concept created by Al Letson as an entry in the Public Radio Talent Quest, which started with more than 1,400 hopefuls. The contest aimed to identify a new generation of Public Radio on-air talent. After four rounds and voting from both a select panel of judges and the public at large, three winners were selected. For his pilot episode, Letson and team created "Welcome to D.C.". Two of the three winning shows were awarded with a year's worth of funding to produce new episodes, including State of the Re:Union.^{[citation needed]}

The stated mission of State of the Re:Union is to "show listeners how we are more alike than we are different and the many ways our differences are celebrated". The additional underlying premise is to show "how a particular city, town or area creates a community."^{[citation needed]} Each hour-long episode centers on a particular area and typically poses a question with which to explore the area. For example, the Jacksonville episode asks the question, "Is Jacksonville the Bold New City of the South?" as it is advertised. Typically, the show centers on three to four segments that feature stories that try to answer the proposed question. Letson narrates the program and conducts most of the interviews, but stories are also heard from first-person narratives. The main segments are accompanied by listener-written and read letters to the city, music, lighter fare and Letson's spoken word pieces.^[2]

Chosen topics are typically selected from current events, cultural happenings and out-of-the-ordinary business ventures. Due to such a wide range of features, the tone ranges from serious, investigatory and at times somber to happy, hopeful and humorous.^{[citation needed][peacock prose]}

Part of the show is the "Dear City Letters" section, where people who are making a difference are asked if they'd be willing and able to write a letter TO their city.^[3]

• Friedheim Travel Award: for the public radio broadcast of “Brooklyn - Change Happens”^[15]
• National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association Award for Excellence in Radio for the episode “Bayard Rustin: Who is This Man?”, 2011^[16]
• Peabody Award for State of the Re:Union, 2014^[1][17]
• Edward R. Murrow Award for the "As Black As We Wish to Be" episode, 2013^[18]
• Edward R. Murrow Award for "The Hospital Always Wins" episode, 2014^[18]
• Edward R. Murrow Award for the "Trans Families" episode, 2015^[18]
• Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) Kaleidoscope Award for the “Trans Families” episode, 2015^[19]