I was having a discussion at work the other day with one of the database developers. We’re a decent group of people ranging from late 20’s to a guy who has been there for 26 years (I’d guess he’s in his 50’s/60’s). We got into a discussion about the signs of getting older. You know, things like ‘Kids today don’t even know what a spindle is for a 45 record’, ‘Yeah, I’m sure they don’t even know what a B-Side is’. My contribution?

“You know when you were younger and you’d be driving along in your car with the windows down? You were free, on the road, windows rolled down and you were invincible. To top it all off, you let the world hear the soundtrack to your joy ride by blasting whatever music you were listening to REALLY LOUD. Southern rock, old-school rap, metal, New Jack Swing, techno/industrial. Yeah. You felt so fucking cool. These days, I find myself coming to a stop at a light, looking at the person in the car next to me and realizing that I have on NPR’s “All Things Considered”. And I have it turned up because, well, I think I’m hard of hearing.”

Yep. That’s right. NPR. National Public Radio. News, a few hours of the BBC news, current events and various other programming. I never thought I liked listening to NPR until I moved to North Carolina. Up here in Northern Virginia/Washington, DC, most of the NPR stations are chock full of classical music. Only one, WAMU, has a talk radio format.

Funny. The only thing I miss from North Carolina is the NPR programming.

Whereas DC has mostly classical music, WUNC (http://wunc.org/) had really great programming that kept me tuned to it whenever possible. Plus, if you read any of my other posts about the radio stations down there you could imagine my relief that it wasn’t named after an animal. Dick Gordon’s “The Story” is often filled with intriguing analysis and interviews and it encompasses a wide range of topics.

There are two shows that I miss most, though, from the NC broadcasts. I became addicted to Ira Glass’ “This American Life” and the NPR Quiz show, “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!”.  “This American Life” has even been made into a television show airing on Showtime.  It is pretty thought provoking. Like the radio show, they pick a theme and then base their broadcast on that theme.  The power of the radio, though, seems more powerful than watching what transpires on television. I mean, how can you not like teasers like this for the April 26th broadcast:

Three stories of consequences that follow from human beings’ doing what we do best: poking our noses everywhere, fixing things that may or may not be broken, and opening our big mouths. A hot dog stand in Chicago unleashes dark forces in the human soul; and scientists try, unsuccessfully, to create perfect pigs.

I remember I got totally hooked when I listened to the show on my way to Northern VA from NC.  I was searching for something to listen to on my ride home and I stumbled upon the show. The story telling was hilarious. It was a rebroadcast of the April 25, 1997 episode titled “Fiasco!”.  The segment that had me rolling was Act 2:

Act Two. What We Were Trying to Do.

A medieval village, a 1900-pound brass kettle, marauding visigoths, and a plan to drench invaders with boiling oil that goes awry. From Ron Carlson’s book Hotel Eden, read by Chicago actor Jeff Dorchen. (9 minutes)

I busted out laughing during my drive because of how it was written and acted out.

“Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” on the other hand, is filled with questions from news of the past week. Ever wonder what happened to Paula Poundstone? Well, she is often a contestant on this show. It sounds goofy but it is a riot to listen to because the quick wit of the host, Peter Sagal, and jovial poking of NPR voice Carl Kassell is endearing. All in all, it is a rollicking good time and it will keep you hooked for quite a while.

If you get the chance, listen to both of those shows. They have archives available online. I normally get my fix by grabbing the broadcasts via RSS feeds.

Angela thought I was an old fart listening to NPR in Carolina. I would run down a list of other shows I enjoyed “Weekend Edition”, “BBC Radio Hour”, “All Things Considered”, “Marketplace”, “A Prairie Home Companion”. Still, she thought I was a goof for listening to it.  And then it happened. We were driving around one Sunday and I had the radio tuned to NPR. We were listening to “A Prairie Home Companion” and I didn’t think that Angela was paying attention to it at all.  When we finally got to where we were going, she sort of lingered a bit. My sweet, adoring wife was caught up in a story about the residents of Lake Wobegone and their preparations for Christmas.

HAHAHAHA! TAKE THAT, EVIL WIFE PERSON!

May 26th there will be a live broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion” at Wolftrap. I don’t think Angela will come with me kicking and screaming. I mean, I like the show and everything but it isn’t like I’m about to throw my underwear on stage at Garrison Keillor.