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View Full Version : How you know when you're an NPR Junkie



Casey Gooding
09-06-2008, 10:14 PM
I'll admit it, I listen to a lot of NPR. In fact, I listen to is almost exclusively. It may be turning into a problem. This evening, when leaving the grocery store I heard my three year old proudly state "This is All Things Considered, from NPR News".
Maybe I should find a support group.:D

Rafael Carias
09-06-2008, 11:19 PM
You got me there bro. I also listen to NPR almost exclusively. Some people are very surprised to learn I am an NPR listener though (maybe because I am a blue collar working john?)

John Schreiber
09-06-2008, 11:22 PM
Since I've discovered podcasts I'm not the NPR junky I once was. We've got an AM and an FM public station here associated with the U of Illinois. It's a treasure.

There's nothing like pledge week to make you realize just how good NPR is.

David G Baker
09-06-2008, 11:38 PM
I don't get good reception of the signal in the area of Mid Michigan where I live or I would have a NPR drip system set up.

Mitchell Andrus
09-07-2008, 9:47 AM
I got Sirius partly to get the NPR stuff on 2 channels. I listen to either about 75% of the day.

It takes a while to 'get it'.... but now, like you, I'm hooked.

I equate most of NPR's mid-day broadcast to browsing a stack of magazines. I pass by the article's that are so-so, I pay careful attention to one stuff that I didn't know before.

"Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" is worth the cost of admission, plus some.

Jim Becker
09-07-2008, 10:23 AM
Yes, very good programing. But I get torn because we support both the local NPR "talk" affiliate (WHYY.org) and the incredible public music station out of the UoPA (WXPN.org). I tend to the latter and in fact, listen to the streams on my computer here in my home office as well as the broadcast when I'm in the car. I don't drive enough anymore to listen to the wonderful talk programs, but have, on occasion, caught some of the pod-casts of certain programs when the topic was of interest.

David DeCristoforo
09-07-2008, 12:11 PM
"How you know when you're an NPR Junkie..."

The same way you know when you have become an "Antiques Roadshow" junkie. When you find yourself describing everything as "wonderful"....

Glenn Clabo
09-07-2008, 3:56 PM
Car Talk! We save up all the Car Talk pod-casts and listen to a Car Talk marathon when we go on road trips.

Greg Peterson
09-07-2008, 4:05 PM
You know you are an NPR junkie when you no longer miss the blaring "Monster Truck Extravaganza" or the "Everything must go" commercials. Or you appreciate the calm, evenly modulated voices. Or you don't miss "Breaking News" stories about a shop lifter at the local megastore.

NPR is an oasis of calm in a world of noise and hyperbole.

The breadth of programming is unlike any other radio station. NPR has something for everyone. Try to say that about any other radio station. Go ahead, I dare ya. I double dog dare ya!

Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, Fresh Air, All Things Considered, This American Life, Car Talk, What Do You Know...

Eric Larsen
09-07-2008, 5:59 PM
NPR is the only radio I listen to while driving alone. If my wife is with me, she prefers alternative rock.

What I like most is the news reports from areas of the planet we don't normally hear about. I like to hear what's going on in Malawi and Qatar.

One thing I *don't* like about NPR is anything they feature on contemporary music. If it sounds like someone is abusing a piano with an angle grinder, NPR is all over it saying how "groundbreaking" it is.

Casey Gooding
09-07-2008, 9:30 PM
Glad to know I'm not the only one. My wife listens to NPR almost as much as I do. On a recent road trip I realized we were dedicated listeners. When we couldn't locate an NPR station on the dial......we just turned the radio off.
Now, I'm not at all opposed to the music stations. I have a degree in music and it will always be my first love. Just most of the music on the radio these days is, well, I guess crap is the word I'm looking for.

Dylan Smith
09-08-2008, 1:02 AM
One thing I *don't* like about NPR is anything they feature on contemporary music. If it sounds like someone is abusing a piano with an angle grinder, NPR is all over it saying how "groundbreaking" it is.

You may have just given me an idea ... ; )

Belinda Barfield
09-08-2008, 9:37 AM
I'll admit it, I listen to a lot of NPR. In fact, I listen to is almost exclusively. It may be turning into a problem. This evening, when leaving the grocery store I heard my three year old proudly state "This is All Things Considered, from NPR News".
Maybe I should find a support group.:D

Sounds like a good thing to me. Your three year old (like, what 95% of "tweens") could be chanting "Hannah Montana" at the top of her lungs. I think it's great that she listens closely enough to be able to identify the show.

Pat Germain
09-08-2008, 3:29 PM
Count me in as another NPR fan. I can't listen to more than a few minutes of commercial radio without wanting to rip the deck from my dash or putting my foot through a speaker. The "You don't have to pay your credit card bills!" commercials are the worst.

My friends sometimes think I'm downright freaky for knowing some of the things I know. I get it from NPR. After all, that's where I learned dolphins close one eye at a time and sleep one half of their brains at a time. Who knew?

Lee Schierer
09-08-2008, 4:00 PM
You know you are an NPR junkie when you pull into a parking space and leave the car running so you can hear the tail end of the news bit you were listening to as you pulled in. When the story ends, you get out of the car hit the door lock and just as the door closes you hear the radio is on, the car is running and the keys are in the ignition. I had to deliver the spare keys to one such person who regularly cooks meals at my house. :D

Prashun Patel
09-08-2008, 4:07 PM
I try to schedule distance driving on Sat AM and Sun early PM, because that's when Car Talk/You bet Yr Garden and This American Life come on 'round me, respectively.

This American Life is some gooooood stuff.

The only thing I can't stand on NPR is Prarie Home Companion.

Pat Germain
09-08-2008, 5:09 PM
I used to enjoy "A Prairie Home Companion". Not so much anymore. I'm not sure why.

The one NPR show I just can't stomach is "Democracy Now".

Ira Glass (host of This American Life) was in my town recently. I thought it might be cool to see him. Then I found out tickets were really expensive. I changed my mind.

Recently I'm getting into "Radio Lab". It's a kind of far out science program. Then there's my uber-geek favorite "The Thomas Jefferson Hour".

You know you're an NPR fan when the first thing you do with your rental car is start scanning the FM dial between 88 and 92 knowing NPR is in there somewhere. :)

Jim Becker
09-08-2008, 5:22 PM
IYou know you're an NPR fan when the first thing you do with your rental car is start scanning the FM dial between 88 and 92 knowing NPR is in there somewhere.

Worse, yet, you have them memorized for all the places you regularly visit, even if it's months apart...errr...I resemble that remark! LOL

Pat Germain
09-08-2008, 5:40 PM
Worse, yet, you have them memorized for all the places you regularly visit, even if it's months apart...errr...I resemble that remark! LOL

Can you get NPR via satellite radio when in China?

Jim Becker
09-08-2008, 7:22 PM
Can you get NPR via satellite radio when in China?

I didn't try that one, Pat...especially 12 hours inverted. I actually don't know if Sirius or the other one (now the same one, as it were) cover outside of North America...I don't use either. But I could certainly listen to the WXPN.org streams as long as I was on high speed access... ;) ...which means you can pretty much get your favorite NPR station anywhere in the world via that method. I know during the fund drives there are a bunch of folks who contribute from a variety of other countries!

Kevin Arceneaux
09-08-2008, 8:34 PM
I don't have this problem. I try to avoid all radio and TV/Cable news. I am just plain old tired of the bias one way or another. At least when reading a news article, I can go back and reread it to weed out the BS. The Economist mag is one of the things I look forward to reading every week.

Pat Germain
09-08-2008, 9:14 PM
I recently subscribed to The Economist and I'm waiting for my first mailed issue. It is a very good magazine. FYI, it's not about Economics. Rather, it's a good overview of what's going on throughout the world; and how it affects us.