Arthur the aardvark turns 30 — the glasses-wearing hero who taught kindness

Thirty years ago, a bespectacled 8-year-old aardvark debuted on PBS — and quietly changed children's television. Across 25 seasons, Arthur Read modeled something radical: apologizing, sharing, and being a good friend. When the first episode aired, blind children wrote in saying they finally felt seen in a glasses-wearing hero — so the show created Marina, a blind character. NPR's look back is pure warm nostalgia, zero snark.