Babbling

[Cepheus84]

I know many of you would be surprised to find out that I don't really listen to right-wing talk shows, I usually listen to NPR when I have radio turned on.  And I have to say the reason why is that they really do have some compelling shows.  The best show of them all is a little slice-of-life program called This American Life, which- astroundingly, incredibly- is available completely for free via their website, with archives going all the way back to 1995.  There are episodes of this series that will make you laugh or cry uncontrollably, will scare or amaze you beyond belief.  If I ever had to explain to an alien species what life was like in turn-of-the-century America, I don't think you could really do any better than send this show to them.

So, if you have any free time, search through their archives for something that may interest you and take a listen.  You won't regret it, I promise.

My own suggestions-

A janitor takes control of a public school in upstate New York and rules it with an iron fist.

A lawyer tries to clear a man of murder by getting a prosecution witness to play tic-tac-toe with a chicken.

The best explanation of the mortgage crisis I've ever seen or heard.

[westpark]

I listen to NPR when i listen to the radio sometimes. I like a lot of their classical music. i don't really know which radio programs they have by name but sometimes I tune in just to see what they're talking about. Considering the modern rock station I used to listen to was axed about a year ago & replaced with some crap channel it does make for some interesting listening.

BTW I just found that thing you linked about the toxic asset. They're only describing it half way. Yeah you do own '2000k mortgages' but that's only part of it. They cut the packaged mortgage block up into several hundred pieces. You actually own 'a piece of a block of mortgages.'

And they call that 'a complex credit instrument.'

Those of us who are novice to even professional ordinary investors call that an asset-backed junk bond not worth the ink the paper is printed on.

In another words -- a Bush real estate bond.

[Zaphod_209]

NPR does pretty good coverage of the news.  My only complaint is that it is presented in a boring and dry format.  Their droning voices can have a sedative effect.  If they weren't doing something like a Skype! interview with someone in Syria with shells and machine gun fire audible in the background, I probably would fall asleep.

I listened to moring edition every weekday durring breakfast.

[the_shotgun_rhetoric]

I like This American Life, their news coverage in general and some of the other programming they have (Car Talk and sometimes their music segments) but the rest I could take or leave. It doesn't help that the president of Northeast Public Radio is an egomaniac and raving ####, his appearances during fund drives have resulted in countless facepalms and the occasional punching of my car's radio.

[Icarus27k]

I found a church through NPR. Seriously. You could say this broadcast changed my life.

http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2000/dec/001225.cfoa.htm
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[lunarnoodle]

I'm definitely addicted. I even listen to CarTalk.

Also, I really do want Carl Castle on my voicemail.

[770312]

I enjoy NPR. It seems pretty unbiased and there's news on there that's not what you hear everywhere else. There are actually HAPPY stories. O_O



Also, I especially love the old radio dramas they play. REALLY LOVE them. >_> [i think that's npr]

[rotanalebor]

This American Life is probably the best show that NPR syndicates. You should check out Radiolab, too, if you haven't already. It's like This American Life except more science-y. Some people are annoyed by the hosts' patter, though, so YMMV.

[DoomsDayDevice]

NPR has pretty much turned into one of the only stations I listen to, and TAL is one of the programs I also love, followed by Fresh Air.

[lunarnoodle]

When I was in NY, Fresh Air came on at 2 pm, so I would listen to it at work. The local npr station had morning edition, democracy now, world cafe, and fresh air before all things considered.

Where I'm living now there is no democracy.now or world cafe at all and fresh air comes on at 7 when I am not typically listening. I miss it. Teri Gross does very good interviews. I guess I should start pod casting.

[covered_in_sponges]

I used to listen to NPR exclusively before I found the college station.

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

My parrot listens to NPR for the music.

I can't stand most talk radio...it's almost always politically charged sensationalist tripe.

[Nameraka_Hanzaisha]

Ira Glass is amazing. 

NPR is pretty much all that's worth listening to on the radio around here. 

[desantoos]

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Cepheus84 wrote:

I know many of you would be surprised to find out that I don't really listen to right-wing talk shows,

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Actually, your opinions are way too sophisticated to be of the right-wing talk shows. Anybody who thinks otherwise just hasn't been paying attention.

[Detroit_Red]

My fave show was News & Notes, then they cancelled it. Then I took a huge liking to Tell Me More. Guess what happened. I see a pattern I never expected from them. Is our listeners percentage that low or.... what?

[TheGreatUrameshi13]

I'm not a fan of NPR.  Simply because the only time I would be able to listen to it is when I'm driving.  I can't do that, though, because those quiet, dolcet tones put me to sleep.

Granted, the polar opposite of that would be Limbaugh, but then I'd have to shoot the radio.

[stevo1588]

This reminds me, I need to download this week's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me podcast.

[Pero8P]

the turkey story after the chicken one is funny. the chicken one is more of a cocktease.

[Rasputin0070]

Car Talk, Says You, Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me . . .

NPR probably built too much of my humor for me to leave it anytime soon.

Aside from my recent fixation with books on CD, my radio is always tuned to NPR. 

[Cepheus84]

Yeah, it's just an intro story. The turkey one really is hilarious. Anyone who writes for a living will appreciate how awesomely funny the opening line of that is.

[NaBraniel]

Good episode this week. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/459/what-k
ind-of-country 

[1938_Packard]

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Cepheus84 wrote:

A janitor takes control of a public school in upstate New York and rules it with an iron fist.

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Well, that wasn't my grandfather. He was working in a coal mine until he studied to be a boiler engineer.

As for NPR itself, if you're going to listen to that station get the right receiver for it. You don't want any crackling, overlap or fade-outs disrupting Car Talk.

[4-HBabe]

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770312 wrote:

Also, I especially love the old radio dramas they play. REALLY LOVE them. >_> [i think that's npr]

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You should watch A Prarie Home Companion.