Do you listen to NPR?

[Scarlett]

Simple question. I guess for simplicity sake let's add at least once a week. Poll to follow.

[redsquirrel]

I stream it through Apple radio on my phone most of the day.  It's free through Apple radio, but nothing else is.  It used to be on pandora, but I think it's not any longer.

[FaithManor]

Yes and the classical station out of the university as well. It makes me a bit of a weirdo around here.

[Guest]

I listen to a fair bit of radio commentary on podcast but not NPR. I got more than my fill of it working at a yarn shop to know the reporting and analysis are not my thing. I listen to maybe 1-3 hours a day of various other religious and political news commentary though, and read voraciously.

Edited September 3, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[TrixieB]

.

Edited September 3, 2016 by TrixieB

[8circles]

Yes. I love npr. I'm not sure I ever heard a program on npr that I haven't found really interesting & either educational or entertaining.

[Farrar]

Oh yes. So much. If I'm just going a short distance in the car, I usually put it on - just a snippet of ATC or Morning Edition or Kojo or whatever. I like when I can catch Science Friday. The kids love Ask Me Another and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. We all like Invisibilia and This American Life and The TED Radio Hour.

 

The one thing I'll turn off is Diane Rehm. I find her so insufferable. She seems quite bright about cultural and arts interviews, especially literature stuff, but whenever she has someone talking about technology or science she is so out of her depth that she seems really dumb. And I don't find her political stuff informative at all. I think she's retiring soon though. 

[jjeepa]

Yep!  I've been a NPR fan for years and years.  

[Farrar]

Obviously some people just love talk radio of all kinds and some people hate talk radio of all kinds or find NPR's general storytelling style grating... but I wish we could ask how it breaks down on political lines. I mean, NPR has the reputation of being on one side of the spectrum. 

 

However, studies have found that NPR listeners tend to the be the best informed about news in general.

[Farrar]

Same. 

 

Some programs play on my local radio station, but others I listen to by streaming. It's really good radio.

 

Do they? That's interesting. What programs? Our NPR station airs BBC News and a couple of Canadian public radio things, like Day One, as well as a couple of European produced things on the weekends, but nothing Australian as far as I know. 

[Guest]

No. I barely listen to any radio. I have nothing against NPR, though.

[Spryte]

Yes. And, ummm, sometimes I go there and see it all in person. :) They have a really cool new building. For anyone visiting, if you're interested - you can get a tour.

[Farrar]

Yes. And, ummm, sometimes I go there and see it all in person. :) They have a really cool new building. For anyone visiting, if you're interested - you can get a tour.

 

Oh we went ages ago in the old building. We should go again.

[Guest]

Obviously some people just love talk radio of all kinds and some people hate talk radio of all kinds or find NPR's general storytelling style grating... but I wish we could ask how it breaks down on political lines. I mean, NPR has the reputation of being on one side of the spectrum.

 

However, studies have found that NPR listeners tend to the be the best informed about news in general.

There is some interesting demographics research on talk radio in general, including this most recent survey:

http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/audio-intro/talk-radio/

 

I find people who read nonfiction widely and listen informatively, compared to watching their information/media, are better informed in general. This is regardless of religion or politics.

[Spy Car]

Yes. NPR is a national treasure.

 

Bill

[shukriyya]

Pretty much daily. 

[Spryte]

Oh we went ages ago in the old building. We should go again.

The new building is better. :) I love the green roof, with the honeybees.

 

You can get a public tour most weekdays, which I'm sure you know. If you're interested in a private tour, pm me - we can set up a group with the best of the tour guides (one is better than the others, in my book).

 

There's also RFA (Radio Free Asia) which doesn't have public tours to my knowledge, but I do think we could get one, if we generated enough interest.

[Farrar]

There is some interesting demographics research on talk radio in general, including this most recent survey:

http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/audio-intro/talk-radio/

 

I find people who read nonfiction widely and listen informatively, compared to watching their information/media, are better informed in general. This is regardless of religion or politics.

 

That appears to only address commercial talk radio? Not NPR though.

 

I also find that people who read widely and take news from different sources are best informed. But, hey, personal sampling bias. The study I was referring to is referenced here: 

http://www.poynter.org/2012/survey-nprs-listeners-best-informed-fox-news-viewers-worst-informed/174826/

 

It could be that NPR listeners are more likely to additionally be well read. But using NPR as a primary source of news is apparently better than a lot of other sources for passing a basic news test.

 

I think it's hard to pick apart the political leanings question with that. I do know a number of conservative leaning friends who really like NPR though (and are well informed!).

Edited September 3, 2016 by Farrar

[Spy Car]

NPR isn't "talk radio."

 

Bill

[Guest]

That study was narrower than the rolling Pew survey and had a smaller sampling, but there is a ton of good information there :). NPR's commentary style and bias both grate on me personally but I do think a lot of this is just personality more than something ideological - I know people across the spectrum who like NPR as well.

[luuknam]

Only if I'm stuck in the car with my wife at least once a week, and even then, often try to turn off the radio and, you know, have a conversation instead.

[catz]

I listen to NPR all the time.  Minnesota Public Radio is fantastic and we have plenty of great local coverage too.  It is my go to in the kitchen or the car. 

[lllll]

nm

Edited November 7, 2016 by cathey

[fairfarmhand]

I do not agree with the NPR political slant.

 

That said, I love npr. It's not JUST politics there, as many other talk radio stations are. It's art, literature, sports, music, movies, television, even food and science.

 

Such cool, multifacted programming. Because I am NOT just art, literature, sports, music, movies, television, even food and science. I have lots of interests and npr reflects that.

[8circles]

AND my kids love it as well.

[lexi]

Not often. I can't focus well listening to talk radio. And I zone out during podcasts too.

However I was on NPR last weekend. â˜ºï¸ So I listened to that episode. It was about the Epipen story.

[regentrude]

I listen, mostly in the car.

I enjoy a variety of programs: Morning Edition and All Things Considered for news and commentary, occasionally a portion of Diane Rehm (if I happen to catch it in the car), classical music, and one of my favorites: From the Top.

 

I do not have a TV. Besides BBC, there is no radio station that offers comparable news coverage and no obnoxious commercials.

Edited September 3, 2016 by regentrude

[regentrude]

No.  I absolutely cannot stand talk radio of any kind.  To me it's a sensory thing, like fingernails on a chalkboard.

 

NPR is not "talk radio". They have fantastic music programs.

[Crimson Wife]

Back when we only had 1 car, we used to listen to Morning Edition on the ride in to drop DH off at work (60-90 minutes at the time, depending on traffic). I haven't listened since we stopped doing that.

[Scarlett]

I am politically neutral. But I like to be informed. I have listened to NPR for years and I agree it is not talk radio although I do think it leans a certain way politically. Beyond politics the topics are so interesting. I love it.

 

My dss15 has come to live with us. The other day, as we drove to his guitar lesson 30 minutes each way, we listened to a 2005 interview with Gene Wilder. So interesting. At one point as GW recounted his life he told about a play he was in and the angst of the playwrite over a certain scene. In the telling of that playwriting story, GW used the N word. It was not bleeped by NPR.

 

Dss15 and I looked at each other. I said wow. Dss15 compared it to Paula Dean getting canned over her use of the word.....Dss's explanation?

 

 

No one listens to NPR, so no one will report it.

 

I laughed and laughed.

 

As Dh says.....no one that dss15 has ever know listens to NPR. Except for me.

[Noreen Claire]

Husband and I listen all the time. I prefer the programs on WGBH in Boston before 3pm, and then switch to WBUR for their later-afternoon programs.

 

One thing though - I absolutely LOATHE call-in shows, so I can only listen to Diane Rehm and/or On Point for so long, up until they start taking phone calls. Then, I'm on to the NPR classical sister station, WCRB.

 

FWIW, my husband also listens to the local Catholic channel and often listens to the Howie Carr show, but that guy makes me :banghead:  :cursing: :banghead:  :cursing: :banghead:  :cursing: :banghead:  :cursing: , so he doesn't make me listen when we are together.

[Outdoorsy Type]

I voted yes, but I'm not sure that it's once a week. I read their news every day and often listen to interesting podcasts from the website.

Edited September 3, 2016 by Outdoorsy Type

[eternalsummer]

I listen to NPR as long as it is not cultural or political or something else which has been given a cultural or political slant (which limits the available programming). I listen to some conservative talk radio but a lot of it is as limited in worldview as NPR, and only somewhat more palatable.

 

I really like John Bachelor, though - late Sunday nights here, and he sometimes does political stuff but more often it is some random historical thing.

 

I had a car for a few years that only got AM radio, so I went from Radio Disney to conservative talk radio to the KC Royals, and eventually settled on the Royals. :)  They have a great radio announcer.

[LucyStoner]

Is the Pope Catholic?

 

Unless I have a mood for music or to flip to a local public music and arts station that's not NPR affiliated, NPR is usually on. It's all but the soundtrack of our lives.

[ScoutTN]

NPR here is ALL talk. They started a second station for music. I listen to the music station often. And to the college station which is all classical.

 

All of my radio listening is in the car. We usually have music or audiobooks. My kids don't care for talk radio. When I drive alone I often prefer quiet.

[scholastica]

I've been listening to NPR for almost my whole life. My parents started listening when it started and I haven't stopped. On the other hand, I listen almost equally to Catholic radio. Might explain my rather schizophrenic socio-political ideas.

Edited September 3, 2016 by scholastica

[LucyStoner]

Remember NPR is a content provider for its affiliated stations. So your local affiliate likely has a mix of NPR, local and other purchased content. Some popular shows people associate with NPR are either produced or co-produced by other organizations/stations.

Edited September 3, 2016 by LucyStoner

[AmandaVT]

I love NPR - listen to it often in the car. One of my favorite parts is our local weather - I'm a weather geek and VPR's "eye on the sky" forecasts are incredibly dorky and detailed. I look forward to them. 

 

I've heard so many interesting TED talks and interviews while listening. It's great.

[raptor_dad]

Obviously some people just love talk radio of all kinds and some people hate talk radio of all kinds or find NPR's general storytelling style grating... but I wish we could ask how it breaks down on political lines. I mean, NPR has the reputation of being on one side of the spectrum. 

 

However, studies have found that NPR listeners tend to the be the best informed about news in general.

 

I stopped listen to NPR around a decade ago due to declining quality. I think they were politically and journalistically compromised after the 1994 republican sweep. I feel like they brought in more conservative producers and became overly sensitive to both the beltway "both sides do it" false equivalency and the neutral horse race style of reporting. I also feel like they became much more compliant to sponsors due to threats of defunding. I thought this was glaringly obvious if you look at the difference in NPR and Pacifica coverage of the 1997 UPS strike. I think NPR was biased by the fact the Annie E Cassey Foundation was funded entirely by illiquid UPS stock before the '99 IPO... though maybe this was NPR moving to a more uncritical neoliberal stance in general. Juan Williams, yes that Juan Williams, daily "Talk of the Nation" coverage of the Florida recount in 2000 was offensively bad and biased. Their coverage of the iraq war protests was laughable etc etc. I feel like at that point NPR was no better than any other radio/tv outlet. That probably isn't fair. Since I don't watch tv, I probably underestimate how bad the rest had gotten. Some time in 2004, I decided listening to NPR wasn't making me any better informed; it was just making me mad and not in a productive way.

 

Since then I get all my news from print sources... The Economist on paper, NYT and The Guardian online, various blogs. I spend less time on news, am better informed, and don't have a simmering source of stress in the background. I don't consume any commercial radio/tv. If I'm in the car I listen to non-commercial, public alt-rock stations like KEXP in Seattle or The Current in Minneapolis.

 

I guess this makes me the one person in America who stopped listening to NPR because it was too conservative and mainstream ;)

 

ETA: Despite the above, I'm not really pushy about it. DW still listens to NPR most of the time when she's driving places... it just doesn't work for *me*

Edited September 3, 2016 by raptor_dad

[MercyA]

Yes, it's the only talk radio preset on my car radio. I love NPR, overall.

 

I would be considered radically conservative on at least one issue and very liberal on others, and I find NPR to relatively even-handed if slightly left-leaning in their coverage. I like that their stories tend to be more in-depth, and their topics are often very interesting. I think I've learned a lot by listening. I'm not very interested in politics, though, so I've been listening less lately. 

 

A previous poster mentioned talk radio being a sensory trigger for them. I feel the same way about some of the more grating conservative radio, but I find NPR to be quite soothing (except for The Diane Rehm Show and Prairie Home Companion, the latter of which I just don't understand the appeal of, at all.)

Edited September 3, 2016 by MercyA

[ktgrok]

I'd say I listen every day, at least a bit. It's always on in the car. I adore the Diane Rehm show, I think she does a fantastic job of moderating. I'm going to miss her horribly. And there are even parts of Prarie Home Companion I enjoy but not much. The overbearing mother skits are hysterical. Oh, and I really like On Point, and heck, all of it. I would have to list all their shows, lol. 

 

Good stuff. 

[umsami]

I love Science Friday. :)

 

I love most of the programs, actually.  Terry Gross is a favorite.  "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" is my weekend treat.  Radiolab is usually on when I'm in the car most days, too.   I didn't used to like Diane Rehm, but she's grown on me.  I found the story about her vocal condition and such fascinating.  I always assumed it was an age thing. 

[Lady Florida.]

I listen often. Usually I listen when in the car, even if I'm just running short errands, but I also listen to different programs from the app on my phone.

[Scarlett]

I love Science Friday. :)

 

I love most of the programs, actually. Terry Gross is a favorite. "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" is my weekend treat. Radiolab is usually on when I'm in the car most days, too. I didn't used to like Diane Rehm, but she's grown on me. I found the story about her vocal condition and such fascinating. I always assumed it was an age thing.

What is that story?

[umsami]

What is that story?

 

She has a disease called spasmodic dysphonia. 

[Scarlett]

Thank you. Very informative.

[KarenNC]

I listen every time I'm in the car, so not quite as much as when I was doing more regular running around taking my daughter places, but still almost daily at minimum. I have been known to sit in the car once I get home until a particularly interesting bit is finished. The exception is on Sat/Sun. The local affiliate plays Prairie Home Companion (which I have come to find annoying), so that knocks out a chunk of Saturday evening and early Sunday afternoon when they repeat it. They play "Echoes" from 8pm to midnight on Sunday, and I cannot listen to that in the car if I want to stay awake. Not my kind of music anyway. I really miss Splendid Table and America's Test Kitchen, which recently got bumped from our local line-up. I'll listen to anything else on there, 

 

Once in a while I will listen in the house, but not often, and once in a while I will let my daughter switch to music. I find that as I've gotten older I am less able to tolerate the constant pressure of unremitting sound from music stations, while NPR isn't a distraction. I have theorized it's because you get regular micropauses in speech that give a bit of respite. 

[Tap]

Yes, most of the year.  I like to listen to podcasts while watching my daughter cheer. I am not into the sports, so it gives me something to do while I sit for a couple of hours every Friday night in fall.  I was also listening to it on my phone, with earbuds, while the dental hygienist worked on my teeth yesterday.  I do not like my new hygienist, but she seems to do a decent job, so I just block her out and let her do her best on my teeth.  

[poppy]

I have an Amazon Echo and I request the Fresh Air podcast (NPR interviews by Terry Gross) almost every day. She's fantastic.

 

I listen to the news sometimes.  There is not any alternative for consistent, straightforward national news, that I am aware of, on the radio.

[LucyStoner]

When I started enjoying the Prairie Home Companion, I joked that I must have aged 15 years.

 

I wish my local station would take Car Talk off. I used to enjoy it but I think it's time to go. One of them is dead and I've been listening to Saturday morning NPR for more than two decades so I literally have Deja vu when I happen to hear it. Put a show with new content on. Please. For the love of all the things.

 

My favorites are American Roots, This American Life (I felt it had jumped the shark a bit but like it again now ok), Wait Wait, The Splendid Table, Tavis Smiliey and Marketplace. There's another show that comes on after This American Life Here that is intriguing, I need to look it up. There are midday news and weekly wrap up shows here that are local which I like ok. I really do hate any local call in shows and that's often when I feel the need to catch up on following new music, lol. I used to adore Radio Lab but now it's hit and miss for me.

 

My husband and I used to curl up in bed every single Friday Night with The Plays the Thing but we haven't in so long I don't know if it is still a thing.

 

The basic news blocks from NPR like All Things Considered are just an easy way for me to keep up with the basic headline type news. Some of the segments they do within those shows are intriguing and some of the correspondents are clearly well informed and do a good job breaking down technical things about complicated court or international news.

 

Diane Rehm grew on me. I wish her a good retirement. She's an impressive lady. Here she used to be on in the middle of the night so she's kind of linked in my mind with middle of the night nursing sessions, lol.

 

I really dislike the Vinyl Cafe and will turn it off whenever I hear it. It's his voice. I have an irrational STFU reaction to it.

Edited September 3, 2016 by LucyStoner