NPR

National Public Radio.  After decades of listening to basically two types of music (country/classic country and rock/classic rock) on my drives to and from work, I've switched to National Public Radio or NPR as it's affectionately known in the acronym world.  Apparently I am getting old because, for some reason, the constant barrage of songs was bothering my head.  Not to mention the oft-repeated commercials and silly, often times sexually-innuendoed conversations were wearing thin.  So I turned the dial.

This was not done without some thought.  Most people I know that listen to NPR are older, left-leaning Democrats.  My interpretation of NPR was long news stories on topics including: living without deodorant, growing your own organic veggies, saving the whales, ragging on the Republicans and hugging trees while listening to Beethoven.  What I've found are interesting stories about: people losing their livelyhood to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; musicians from Lena Horne to The Rolling Stones to Elizabeth Cook; candies in Japan with flavors like ginger ale and soy sauce; a series of stories from Pakistan along the Grand Trunk Road; American universities opening in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and yes, political stories such as the one on how some Latinos support the Arizona Immigration Law and several discussing the Obama health care plan.  A few times I've sat in the car shaking my head because a particular guest or story didn't agree with my political views, but that does not happen frequently enough to get me to turn the dial the other direction.

I enjoy the company of the elevator-music-toned voices of the morning and afternoon program hosts exploring the news of the day without dirty little jokes and the latest 24 month interest free commercials.  However, this is also a double edged sword.  While listening to these stories on NPR have probably broadened my knowledge, or at least made me more aware of what's going on around the world, it has also made me more aware of what's going on around the world. 

You can listen to Kansas Public Radio/NPR here.