What Happens When NPR and People Magazine Go Binge Drinking

Who won the Superbowl? I profess that while 99% of Americans were facedown in a plate of nachos watching the annual match up, Bill and I were watching the season premier of Lost. It was so good and they better make a flow chart to explain since I'm sure I will be in stupid tired-sleep deprived mode come the May finale. One of the many reasons we are married to each other is that neither of us watch/follow any sport or team. I'll be in the bathroom while that category is up for trivia, ok.

So the major highlight of my weekend and so far this year has been seeing Ira Glass of This American Life fame Sat night. LauraC and I had 2nd row seats directly in front of him. Like we were so close if either of us had wanted to rush the stage (bets were on her in her much more fit condition) we could have before Security could catch us. This American Life is kinda like all those touchy-feely human interest stories in People Magazine that you skip because you really want to look at the worst dressed at the Oscars mets up with PBS Frontline's wish you would turn off American Idol on Tuesday nights to learn something educational and empowering.

I loved that he started it in the dark, talking about what radio conveys. I probably could have listened to the whole show in the dark, but then we WERE on the freakin' 2nd row. For a large chunk of the performance he talked about how the show is put together, how stories are selected, and how you never know how the theme is going to get carried out just given the few words in a title. This last aspect is what keeps me coming back.

Growing up in SC, NPR was as foreign as Catholics. To this day once I drive past Charlotte getting any reception is often difficult as the only station in the area is fighting for channel space among the many country stations and not surprisingly the tons of local gospel and religious stations. Let's face it folks since there are only 8 liberals in the whole state, they might as well give the farm report a more powerful wattage.

Attending school in Alabama it was the same song again just add Bama football radio on multiple stations. The only exceptions in this non-iPod world was that at the start of the hour the local classical station would carry 10 mins of NPR news.

When we moved to the Triangle area I temped for UNC hospitial in the Pediatric Genetics Dept where NPR seems to always be on with the knob ripped off. The 6 months I was there and then the next 18 months of Grad school NPR became my friend on my commute. Add to it that once teaching became ground zero for lots of work each weekend I added favorite shows to help pass the hours of prep work. I now use it as my "stay out of the kitchen, I'm cooking freeze ahead stuff" every Sat from noon-2pm and if I miss a show I almost always go back and listen to it during the week.

I loved Laura's suggestion of going back to the beginning to listen to some of the older shows that I missed. Sounds like a plan on housebound baby days to keep me connected to the outside world and yes I an getting the new iphone app for traveling.

Back to the show, it reminded me how much this little part of my week is something I really look forward to. Hearing how and why it evolved as well as that Ira Glass came off exactly as he does weekly as able to ask you any mundane story about your life but somehow be able to fit it into some bigger life story we are all playing out was exactly why I tune in week after week. Personally the fall '09 episode How to Rest in Peace was stop in my tracks (for me stop cooking and sit and listen) it was that good. I would say the same of the 2nd season of the TV show version on Showtime called Escape. As well as older episode from 2004 Two Steps Back that totally caputures how I feel about teaching.

I also really appreciate that while most weeks feature topics that reflect average daily stories, that the show has also attempted to educate. When I used the Giant Pool of Money show in class with AP Gov, the Planet Money team helped make the boring and complicated story of how credit default swaps were the catalyst for the economic meltdown. Further after months of beating the regulatory function of Federal Gov into them, this story helped them put it together.

What a great evening to not only catch up on trips, kids, and life with my friend but also to see an amazing show on the 2nd row!