2865

Good to know.

I’d ask the next time it comes up but that means I’d have to sit through another long drawn out conspiracy theory these guys hear. There is no shortage from whatever these shows are.

2866

This is the kind of show you typically find on NPR:

2867

One thing to remember is that NPR is a bunch of publicly funded affiliates, not one single coherent broadcast network. Depending on your station, more than likely you’re getting content made elsewhere but selected to be broadcast by your affiliate. If you’re in a large enough metro area, you might be getting content made by and for your local market as well.

2868

NPR is a rare example of actual depth in journalism. Even their daily news shows spend more time on a subject than standard TV news. They actually do more than surface level.

Their non daily news shows also do quite a bit of investigative journalism. And shows like This American Life do cover topics in depth. It is also a show by WBEZ out of Chicago, which I appreciate.

2869

They also have a free news app for iPhone. Nice to have when you need a shot of sanity.

2870

“Oh little elf! Little elf!”

2871

Man their app on Android is not giving much love, and there are two of them.

2872

Sorry. I’m not in that garden. :)

2873
2874

2875

I worked at the NPR station in Athens, GA in the early '90s as part of a work-study program. That was a cool job. Mostly I just soldered together busted mics. But I’ll always remember the fixed ashtrays between each urinal in the men’s bathroom and how they were almost always full.

2876

I figure the truckers are saying “public radio” when talking about AM radio because they think of it as the voice of the people - sports talk, news talk, and Art Bell out there talk, plus country or Christian music - while NPR is elitist.

2877

Art Bell died like 3 years ago!

2878

That’s what he wants you to think.

2879

From a prescription drug cocktail…the kind of cocktails the AM radio hosts like Limbaugh love.

The coroner’s office stated that Bell died of an accidental overdose from a cocktail of prescription drugs. The coroner’s office determined he had four prescription medications in his system: the opioids oxycodone or Roxicet and hydrocodone or Vicodan, diazepam or Valium, and carisoprodol or Soma, a muscle-relaxant

2880

He did but it was easier to say “Art Bell out there talk” then remember the name of his show, the new host, and the vague thoughts that there was at least one other similar show on late at night.

2881

No one ever remembers the name “Coast to Coast AM” because it’s so dang generic. It just sounds like some easy-listening morning drive show.

2882

NPR is an interesting construct: as nearly as I can tell, there is no “official” national programming, but there is some pretty much defacto national programming. All Things Considered and Morning Edition, for example. Then there are a number of programs that are offered for syndication and are almost national, such as Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me. Car Talk was one. I think the People’s Pharmacy was another in its time (I miss that show as well as Car Talk). The Splendid Table is another I’ve heard around the country. As noted, WBEZ offers stuff, as do WAMC, WBUR and some other stations. Is Vox Pop carried lots of places?

Beyond that, there appears to be a pool of programming that stations can pick and choose from. A lot of stations just do classical music, or sometimes jazz/blues (Eastern Michigan University’s station does a lot of nice music). Some stations pick stuff from American Public Media, or other sources. And some rely heavily on local programming. There are short bits, like The Academic Minute, The Slowdown, Pulse of the Planet, etc. And nothing is fixed in a specific time slot: All Things Considered is offered at 4:30 PM every day, it appears, but stations can stagger it for later in the day if they choose. Fresh Air I think airs originally on Sunday afternoon, but you can catch it at a variety of other times depending on where you are.

So each station is unique to a great extent. But it is almost all programming in the public interest.

2883

Yeah most shows are offered through their P(ublic) R(adio) (e)X(change) and the most prolific stations in my experience are WBEZ Chicago, WNYC New York, and WGBH Boston.

Radiolab, which did Serial as well as More Perfect, tends to do deeper stuff on legal issues.

2884

Yeah - honestly I wouldn’t mind paying like $5 /month for these shows if they would stop doing all the fundraising drives. Drives me up the wall at times.