Monday, December 1, 2008

National Public Radio


Where would we be without National Public Radio?

Some people watch television while eating breakfast. We turn on the radio the moment we come downstairs, continue listening to NPR in the car, and then tune in again while cooking our dinner. NPR is simply superb, an American BBC Radio 4, a fresh, bold and blissfully advertising-free haven of non-partisan reporting, solid, interesting journalism and offbeat humour.

The similarity with Radio 4 is not coincidental. Many reports and shows are produced together with the BBC World Service. The station even airs News Hour every day. But there are plenty of great homegrown classics too, including Car Talk, hosted by the hilarious "Don't drive like my brother" Click and Clack brothers, Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion series, Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me! (a news quiz) and Fresh Air, to name but a few.

Another major advantage for the mobile, Web 2.0, iPod generation is that many of the shows can be downloaded as podcasts and listened to whenever you get the time.

In the country that brought you Fox News and commercials every 7 minutes and even before the closing credits on TV programmes, NPR is a refreshing and uplifting experience whenever you listen.

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