Friday, July 27, 2007

NPR - it's not just for flaming liberals anymore...

...okay, maybe it still is.

Nevertheless, my appreciation of public radio has been growing over the past several years. It started in high school when Lorraine introduced me to Garrison Keillor during our frosty morning commute. We would navigate the dark streets in Lorraine’s red Subaru heading to school (for me) and work (for her), and listen to the reedy whisper-performance of GK as he told us about Lake Woebegone and the residents of that wintry Minnesotan town.

It wasn’t until years later that I learned that the Lake Woebegone stories were only a small part of Keillor’s weekly radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. The show is on every Saturday and features musical guests, sketches, stories, and even a sound-effect guy. It’s pretty great.

After becoming a PHC fan, I found my radio tuned to NPR throughout the week. There I was able to listen to programs like All Things Considered, Fresh Air, and Calling all Pets. I really like them all, although I have to say that my favorite is Marketplace.

I have a baby crush on Kai Ryssdal.

Anyway, to the point! This week I found a new program that is absolutely great. It’s called Radio Lab and it’s a science show meets This American Life meets CSI. It’s great. If you have an iPod, download a couple of podcasts. You'll see what I mean. The best ones that I’ve heard so far feature sleep and (my favorite topic) the placebo effect.

3 comments:

The Bird Nest said...

Ah, a fellow NPR fan. Whenever I mention NPR to my family, they usually respond with a promise to pray for my soul. I first got hooked listening to Car Talk with Click and Clack (thank you Scott) but my new fav is Wait Wait Don't Tell Me...the NPR News Quiz. Funny. I also really love the radio lab but am rarely listening when it comes on. But it taught me why Chinese are more likely to have perfect pitch. Happy listening! I'm turning my radio on now...

jessi said...

Oh, I forgot about Wait, Wait! That's one of my favorites, too!

Anonymous said...

I knew I liked you for some reason, Jess! Just this morning, I booked a ticket for a dream about to come true--a live show of the Prairie Home in MN! I will be in row 7, seat 9. (Sure, I had a conference there, but how fun is that?!) How about "What do you know?" Michael Feldman has written a book with my favorite title of all times: Inuendo and Out the Other. How can you not like that?