The American School of the Air was a half-hour educational radio program presented by CBS as a public affairs teaching supplement over an 18-year period during the 1930s and 1940s.

The series began February 4, 1930,[1] broadcast on weekdays at 2:30 p.m.[citation needed] The initial episode (about Columbus' discovery of America) had an audience estimated at 1,500,000 students in 20,000 schools.

During the 1931–1932 season, more than one-third of the program's fan mail came from adults who were not directly involved with formal education, including housewives, business executives, "old people", shut-ins, and immigrants.

With support from Nelson A. Rockefeller's Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (1940–46), CBS had its educational programs translated into Spanish and Portuguese and broadcast over its Pan-American network of stations, the Cadena de las Americas.

When the United States entered the war, it became ”the official channel through which the Office of War Information will convey news, information and instructions for civilian activities to children and young people, teachers and parents of America.”[8] In 1945, the program moved to a late afternoon timeslot, 5:00 p.m.[citation needed] Different topics were featured throughout the week under the umbrella title.

Actors who appeared on this program included Orson Welles, Ray Collins, Walter Tetley and Parker Fennelly.