National Public Radio

I really enjoy the Saturday morning line of our local National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/ station, KTTZ http://www.kttz.org/about-us. They broadcast three shows I expecially enjoy:  Car Talk, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, and From the Top.

I first heard Car Talk http://www.cartalk.com/ about 10 years ago. This show is hilarious. The premise is the Tappet brothers anwer questions about automobiles.  The questions are not limited to repair information, but include questions about driving styles, makes and models of cars and of course, a there is a weekly puzzler. Even the introduction and credits are funny, especially if you like puns.  And it helps that the show originates in Boston.  While I do not have, and never did have a strong Boston accent, I like to listen to the Tappet brothers talk.

I do not know when KTTZ started airing Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/, but it obviously has been around a long time. It is a news quiz show that,too, is very funny. It has done what it is supposed to do for me, it has made me start to pay closer attention to the news, especially some of the odd stories. It makes followiong the news much more enjoyable.

From the Top http://www.fromthetop.org/ has been around a long time, too.  It is an excellent show that features young musical performers from around the world. Some become eligible for a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation  http://www.jkcf.org/ scholarship or a New England Conservatory http://www.necmusic.edu/ scholarship. Some return to the show as older teenagers or young adults for special encores.

I regret that when From the Top has taped in Lubbock, I have not gone.  I believe if they ever come back, I will make a concerted effort to attend the performance.

I really like NPR for another reason.  When Mack was alive and we traveled, he liked listening to the radio, and to NPR especially.  And if the station became staticky, he would nose the car radio and snuffle, to get it to play better, I guess. The was my clue that it was time to look for another radio station.

I support National Public Radio, and well as the Public Broadcasting Service http://www.pbs.org/.  Both of these are aired in connection with Texas Tech, and mostly recently adopted the same call letters:  KTTZ. http://www.kttz.org/.  The sad part about KTTZ-TV is that although they have a few good series throughout the year, their best programming occurs only during their fundraisers.  I understand the economics of that, but it is still sad.