NPR, a prologue

I admit it. I listen to NPR. I also admit that I don't agree with everything on NPR. I think too often they take take political correctness to the absurd. It's almost as if they think, "We represent the left. So, we're going to be as left as we can."

That's why I really love listening to Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal. He just oozes intelligence. And, yes, he does lean left-ish, with a dash of "what the hell are we doing people?" And he sounds sexy. (And he is!) But more importantly, you don't don't have to be a business person to enjoy his show or to learn something. He breaks things down into layman's terms.

His interviews, pieces, etc. are interesting because they are long form-ish and his staff goes out and finds stories that I never would find anywhere else. This was one story that I found particularly interesting (and sort of bounced around in my head when I was thinking of this blog).

Billboards seen as a potential revenue stream

Read this article. It will take you 3 minutes.

What caught my attention was that Ky led the story (on air) with a line mentioning Chicago facing a $654 million budget gap. The fact that NPR would allow anyone of it's contributors to even say anything remotely untoward about Chicago was heartening to me. Let's not beat around the bush. When you read anything about "Chicago politics" it's said with a laugh. But this is serious business. Fall in line or lose your job. And now it's led to a $654 million shortfall. Hmm.

My other praise of Kai Ryssdal? A couple of years ago he judged a contest on Good.is. It was a contest to "Make sense of the financial mess." Now I am sure that this infographic is somewhat simplified, but it is honestly the best explanation of what happened 2 years ago that I have seen... to this day.

Winner of Good.is contest Part 1

Winner of Good.is contest Part 2

Unfortunately, Marketplace is just one half of one hour on NPR. So, what else is on NPR? Coming up next: NPR, Radio West.

*Credit for editing goes to Jared Rabner. Rockstar. He available for hire.