I found out today that my favorite show on NPR is no longer broadcasting. The show "Odyssey" hosted by Gretchen Helfrich (intelligence is damn sexy) went off the air on September 30, 2005. Which is rather unfortunate. The format of the show was a round-table discussion of just about anything you can imagine. The show would usually feature 2 or 3 experts (usually college professors because they have nothing better to do anyway) and Ms. Helfrich. The first 30 - 45 minutes was a panel discussion on the topic. The last 15-30 minutes was a call-in period.
What I loved about the show was its topics and its discussion leader. Ms. Helfrich always asked really insightful questions that gave the speaker plenty of opportunity to talk. But she was also a good moderator, keeping the discussion centered on the topic and preventing the speakers from talking over each other. The topics were fascinating. For example, consider the last month they broadcast, hell just look at the last WEEK they broadcast: important movies, internal migration, curiosity, identity and the human face, "the social geography of death." Really, really interesting topics that take the subjects and put them within global, national, and local context. While the show is based out of Chicago, Ms. Helfrich keeps the show from being Chicago-centric.
Anyway. Congratulations on a fantastic 8 year run. Here's a link to their entire archives available online to listen for free. Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment