Image via WikipediaThe beautiful part is that you can take it for granted whenever you need and it will be there for you. I have sent in very little money over the years, because I don't make much and really never have made much. I did donate time for a couple of campaigns, manning the phones on a couple of their telethons. And I definitely try to sell the value of NPR to friends and family when I can.
I am not a devoted listener at the moment, but I've had long stretches where it was all I listened to. And I think that in the morning, it is the best free news out there. Just about anywhere in the country at 7:50am you can sneak a little taste of Marketplace or a little Robert Reich rant (I had the pleasure of hearing him speak about the future of the American Labor Force about 4 or 5 years ago and it was a great experience--his books are great and his vision is one of the best and most important out there).
My two favorite programs (among a handful) are:
Marketplace It is almost worth staying at work until 6:30pm so I can hop into my care hear my favorite little 1/2 hour peek into the world of business. They give you all of the relevant stats, and always feature at least one unique aspect of a business development that you won't hear anywhere else. It flows so quick and smooth, that it is a joy to listen to them give you stock market updates and tell you which boring government reports are coming out when, and why you would care (how they will affect things). Great host, excellent reporting and it is all in a slick, sleek package served up for free across your local npr stations and the web everyday.
Kai Ryssdal is the man!
Fresh Air with Terry Gross--the show went national in the mid 80s, so by the time I became a fan it was already almost 15 years old--but she does a great job; she comes off so innocuous it disarms her subjects. I don't know if it is her reputation, or merely her tone and attitude, but she seems to get great interviews from authors, actors, and just about anyone in the labor force spectrum. The interview she gets is always well framed and she comes across knowing everything about the subject that is publicly known, and often seems to have a few 'off the beaten path' tidbits as well.
Bill O'Reilly walked out on his interview with her because he is a jerk-off and loves to make it seem like there is this major war between the right and left to make himself feel like some kind of freedom-fighter--so he always phrases everything in terms of that war. 'Terry, I know what this is. This is a hatchet job!'...IDIOT
If you get a chance you should listen to it, although if you're still reading this you probably already realize what an asshole 'nospin' O'Reilly is. He was mostly pissed that Al Franken had been on Fresh Air recently and he kept saying 'Were you as tough on Franken as you're being on me?'..And her response was basically 'Bill, Al Franken is a satirist and you are taking things seriously so I am asking about your work more seriously'.
Hey Bill O'Reilly if you ever land on this post on the wide world web, I hope you realize that only the very old and out-of-touch actually watch your pitiful show--and most of the ratings come from faceless convenience store TVs. Everyone knows FOX pays an assload of money to MOBIL and BP to keep their terrible network on screen in their stores.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment