The Alpenglow Public Radio Awards!
National non-news, domestic (non-CBC/BBC) public radio programs ranked from best to worst:
1. Radio Lab. What is time? Where does morality come from? Why do we sleep? Each week this show asks a simple question and makes fascinating radio out of it. Part science show, part avant-garde documentary. Totally brilliant.
2. This American Life. So, it's, like, the classic radio show of our generation, right? The show that when you first heard it made you think: I didn't know radio could be this good.
3. Car Talk. The funniest show on radio. Plus, it has given jrstraus national notoriety, which must count for something.
4. Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! A funny and clever take on the news.
5. A Prairie Home Companion. Somehow it seems like I should be thirty years older to enjoy this show but I do anyway. It's radio comfort food.
6. On The Media. A meta-program about news reporting. A refreshing skeptical take on the news media, sort of a serious version of the MSM-skewering part of The Daily Show.
7. Travel with Rick Steves. Rick is a local travel writer who is frequently a guest on Seattle's KUOW, hosts an equally good PBS documentary show and now has a national call-in/interview radio program. I like his happy-go-lucky, independent, meet-the-locals approach to travel. And he's somehow relentlessly cheerful.
8. American Routes. Nick Spitzer connects the dots through American musical history and geography. Intruiging and enjoyable.
9. The Splendid Table. This is about as good as food shows get on radio... but then again, this is the only one. If there were a radio version of Alton Brown's Good Eats it would knock this one out of the park.
10. Alternative Radio. Because everyone needs a good leftist rant from time to time!
11. Says You! A reasonably fun linguistic quiz show. Sometimes a little bit too impressed with itself.
12. Studio 360. Kind of a blend of American Routes and This American Life, maybe? Not bad, but I'm sort of meh on it.
13. New Dimensions. Dopey new-age stuff. Occasionally interesting, usually nonsensical. But it's still better than...
WORST. Whad'Ya Know. Michael Feldman, I'm sorry, I'm sure you're a nice guy, but you are not funny and your show is lame. Half the time you don't even make your own audience laugh. I'd rather listen to static. Please go off the air.
1. Radio Lab. What is time? Where does morality come from? Why do we sleep? Each week this show asks a simple question and makes fascinating radio out of it. Part science show, part avant-garde documentary. Totally brilliant.
2. This American Life. So, it's, like, the classic radio show of our generation, right? The show that when you first heard it made you think: I didn't know radio could be this good.
3. Car Talk. The funniest show on radio. Plus, it has given jrstraus national notoriety, which must count for something.
4. Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! A funny and clever take on the news.
5. A Prairie Home Companion. Somehow it seems like I should be thirty years older to enjoy this show but I do anyway. It's radio comfort food.
6. On The Media. A meta-program about news reporting. A refreshing skeptical take on the news media, sort of a serious version of the MSM-skewering part of The Daily Show.
7. Travel with Rick Steves. Rick is a local travel writer who is frequently a guest on Seattle's KUOW, hosts an equally good PBS documentary show and now has a national call-in/interview radio program. I like his happy-go-lucky, independent, meet-the-locals approach to travel. And he's somehow relentlessly cheerful.
8. American Routes. Nick Spitzer connects the dots through American musical history and geography. Intruiging and enjoyable.
9. The Splendid Table. This is about as good as food shows get on radio... but then again, this is the only one. If there were a radio version of Alton Brown's Good Eats it would knock this one out of the park.
10. Alternative Radio. Because everyone needs a good leftist rant from time to time!
11. Says You! A reasonably fun linguistic quiz show. Sometimes a little bit too impressed with itself.
12. Studio 360. Kind of a blend of American Routes and This American Life, maybe? Not bad, but I'm sort of meh on it.
13. New Dimensions. Dopey new-age stuff. Occasionally interesting, usually nonsensical. But it's still better than...
WORST. Whad'Ya Know. Michael Feldman, I'm sorry, I'm sure you're a nice guy, but you are not funny and your show is lame. Half the time you don't even make your own audience laugh. I'd rather listen to static. Please go off the air.