Searching for: "Npr"

  • Npr

    David Sedaris contributes his now classic “Santaland Diaries,” his account of his experiences playing Santa's little helper at Macy's in New York.Susan Stamberg sneaks her mother-in-law's recipe for cranberry relish onto the air-again. Storyteller Kevin Kling finds an invitation to participate in a production of The Nutcracker too tempting to resist. Ghanian-born commentator Meri Danquah shares her thoughts on Kwanzaa. Cowboy poet Baxter Black describes a Christmas cookie with “the denseness of an anvil and the half-life of a radial tire.”Robert Siegel goes in search of the correct spelling for December's Jewish holiday. The Thanksgiving tables are turned on unsuspecting Bostonians...read more

  • NPR

    Looking for an alternative to the seriously reliable, soothing yet informative sound of NPR? Try NPR! Prepare to be surprised by this collection of interviews with some of the funniest personalities on the planet, and by the memorable, unbelievable news that delights NPR listeners on the 1st of April each year.  Interviews include: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Groucho Marx, Ernie Kovacs, Stepin Fetchit, Sid Caesar, Lucille Ball, Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart, Marlo Thomas, Bob and Ray, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, Kristen Wiig, Louis C.K., Jim Gaffigan, Aisha Tyler, Sarah Silverman, Gabriel Iglesias, Eddie Izzard, Mike Birbiglia and...read more

  • NPR

    This extended session of Laughter Therapy explores the history of all things funny, presenting a cornucopia of comedy from the pioneers of vaudeville and the silent film era, to the wildly creative innovators that transformed television in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, to the modern practitioners that continue to bend the boundaries of comedy today. Chronically serious? Prepare to be cured by this collection of revealing profiles and interviews with some of the funniest personalities ever.FeaturingCharlie ChaplinBuster KeatonGroucho MarxSid CaesarErnie KovacsBob and RayImogene CocaMel BrooksCarl ReinerBob NewhartJonathan WintersBill CosbyPhyllis DillerJoan RiversJerry SeinfeldConan O'BrienAmy...read more

  • NPR

    Most NPR listeners have experienced at least one “driveway moment”: You’re so captivated by a story, interview, or essay you’re hearing on the radio that you sit in your driveway, motor running, to hear it all the way through. Even if the ice cream is melting in the trunk.  The latest collection of this best-selling series features memorable tales, bits, and commentary from NPR favorites, regulars, and guests. Smartly chosen, sincerely hilarious, this collection will leave you in...read more

  • NPR

    With frequent stops at pop culture meccas, and unforgettable encounters with humans of singular interest, the NPR Road Trips series introduces you not only to far-off locations and unusual destinations, but to the people who inhabit them-and seek them out. Each story focuses on real locations, real people, and real history in the thought-provoking, imaginative and entertaining way you've come to expect from NPR. Includes five unique collections assembled especially for the family drive to Yellowstone-and for armchair travelers as well: Family Vacations Roadside Attractions Postcards from Around the Globe National Park Adventures Fairs and...read more

  • NPR

    Step right up as the gates swing open at fairgrounds across the USA. This delightful collection explores the unique joys of the public gatherings that take place in cities and small towns, when people of all stripes and sizes meet to gawk at cows, ponder seed art, get hypnotized, compete in husband-calling contests, and eat virtually anything on a stick. Farming, food, politics, parades, shilling, glad-handing, people-watching, and silliness are celebrated here. If you’ve been to a fair or festival, you’ll love this collection. If you haven’t, here’s what you’ve been...read more

  • NPR

    With generous splashes of popular culture and human interest, the NPR Road Trips series introduces you not only to far-off locations and unusual destinations, but to the people who inhabit them-and seek them out. Each story focuses on real locations, real people, and real history in the thought-provoking, imaginative and entertaining way you've come to expect from NPR.We all have memories of family vacations-some successful, some less so, and some gone terribly awry. When it comes to reporting colorful, compelling tales of family vacations, no one does it better than National Public Radio. Originally heard on All Things Considered and Morning Edition, the stories gathered here are...read more

  • Npr

    Grand Canyon National Park is one of the planet's Seven Natural Wonders, with 4.4 million visitors each year. Who keeps them safe, fed, and happy? When the wind blows at White Sands National Monument, legend says the centuries-old ghost of a Mexican maiden appears in the shifting sands. In Yosemite National Park, there's a guy who tracks road kill with a clipboard and a shovel to pry flattened victims from the blacktop. This colorful collection goes behind the scenery at America's most popular national parks. It also visits lesser-known parks with thought-provoking tales to...read more

  • Npr

    Meet Colin Angus and Julie Wafael, who spent two years circumnavigating the globe using their hands and feet. Turn on the radio in Katmandu and hear music from the 70s. Learn how robot jockeys are solving a human rights problem in Dubai. (It has to do with camel races.) Get ready for carnival in Rio. And walk through old Beijing before it's demolished for high-rise development. NPR has correspondents all over the world. As listeners learn, most meet with friendliness and hospitality, even in the most out-of-the-way...read more

  • Npr

    Prairie Dog Town in western Kansas. The Elvis Is Alive Museum in Wright City, Missouri. The Velvet Museum (“Velveteria”) in Portland, Oregon. A 13-foot Styrofoam scale model of Stonehenge. The Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas . . . or is it in Darwin, Minnesota? Roadside attractions are the staples of the American road trip. Many are slowly disappearing from our highways and byways. Are they culture or kitsch? Are their creators artists or innovators? Listeners are invited along for the ride to decide for...read more

  • NPR

    Experience a refreshing adrenaline rush on this NPR guided tour of the ultimate in outdoor fun: Whether whitewater rafting on the Hudson River, mountain climbing in the Himalayas, kayaking in Alaska, airboarding in Oregon's Cascade mountains, or bungee jumping in Australia, each story is an amazing sound adventure-and a great escape.The NPR Sound Treks series features outstanding audio documentaries, stories, and commentary from the NPR archives. Each volume features sounds from nature, insights from experts and others who love the outdoor experience (naturalists, zoologists, biologists, adventurers, even a cowgirl), and vivid storytelling that captures the excitement of the...read more

  • NPR

    From rainforests to deserts, mountains to plains, the sea to the sky, animals raise their voices in an eclectic and thrilling chorus. This collection celebrates the unique calls of the keel-billed toucan, Guatemalan coatimundi, hammerhead bat, Central African elephant, urban katydid, and many more intriguing creatures whose sounds we seldom hear.The NPR Sound Treks series features outstanding audio documentaries, stories, and commentary from the NPR archives. Each volume features sounds from nature, insights from experts and others who love the outdoor experience (naturalists, zoologists, biologists, adventurers, even a cowgirl), and vivid storytelling that captures the excitement of the...read more

  • NPR

    Are birds monogamous? Why do kookaburras laugh? Is the ivory-billed woodpecker really extinct? These fascinating stories feature the delightful and exotic sounds of birds, plus astute and informative commentary from bird lovers, bird experts, and sometimes birds themselves.Learn how naturalist F. Schuyler Matthews translated bird song into musical notes. Discover how the city of Chicago has drawn purple martins back to Lake Michigan, their historic habitat. Find out everything you want to know about the lyrebird's glorious tail. If you're a bird lover, this is for you.The NPR Sound Treks series features outstanding audio documentaries, stories, and commentary from the NPR archives. Each...read more

  • NPR

    An energetic, fun-filled round table from NPR exploring the many ways entertainment intersects with day-to-day life. NPR's popular podcast features spirited roundtable discussions covering a wild and unpredictable landscape of pop culture subject matter, from the phenomenon of the fiasco (the result of ambition that exceeds competency) to “Pop Culture Carbon Dating” (why some cultural markers age well and others not at all). Hosts Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon are joined by a parade of insightful commentators, each lending hilarious perspective and pop culture expertise to conversations that will deepen your appreciation for the modern cultural landscape-and...read more

  • NPR

    NPR was created in 1970, three years after Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act and established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Signing the act into law, President Lyndon B. Johnson said, “We in America have an appetite for excellence . . . we want most of all to enrich man's spirit.” Today NPR produces and distributes programming that reaches more than 26 million listeners weekly. More than 900 stations nationwide broadcast NPR programming. From the turmoil of the Vietnam era to a delightful visit with the riotously funny Dame Edna Everage, join hosts Susan Stamberg (1970s), Noah Adams (1980s), Renee Montagne (1990s), and Guy Raz (2000s) for an unforgettable journey...read more

  • Npr

    Nationally known NPR on-air personalities-including Melissa Block, David Greene, Rachel Martin, Guy Raz, Scott Simon, Susan Stamberg and many more-share the lasting impressions made during interviews with a wide variety of exceptional individuals. Each story is introduced by the NPR host and offers a candid account of how the encounter was particularly meaningful to them.These are thought-provoking and emotionally resonant interviews with both the famous and the nearly anonymous, who reveal themselves over the course of a conversation in delightful, moving, and surprising...read more

  • NPR

    Ho ho ho! Here's what to listen to while driving to the mall, wrapping gifts, entertaining friends, or relaxing in front of a crackling holiday fire. In Scott Simon's modern version of the Christmas story, Jesus is born in an abandoned factory near Cleveland and the Three Wise Persons bring Chipotle gift cards. Claudia Sanchez gives a Latin accent to “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Barbara Bradley Hagerty explores what Christmas means for the boy choristers of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. (Hint: Handel.) In a treasured 1974 recording, humorist, author, radio personality, and blacklisting victim John Henry Faulk tells of “the wonderfulest Christmas in the United States of...read more

  • Npr

    Each week, more than three million listeners tune into Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! to test their knowledge of the week’s news. In the popular “Not My Job” segment, a celebrity guest must answer three questions on a topic totally outside his or her area of expertise. The topic seems random but is thoughtfully skewed. Because Henry Winkler played Fonzie on Happy Days, host Peter Sagal asks him about Ponzi schemes. For indie rock singer Neko Case, the questions are about Necco Wafers. Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. holds the record for most consecutive games played; the Wait Wait team pitches him stumpers about sports’ real streakers-those without...read more

  • NPR

    Celebrity guests are put on the spot in the popular “Not My Job” segment of the Peabody award-winning NPR radio show.Each week, two million listeners tune into Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me! to test their knowledge of the week's dumbest news against some of the best and brightest-panelists including author and humorist Roy Blount Jr., author and radio anomaly Tom Bodett, syndicated advice columnist Amy Dickinson (“Ask Amy”), Atlantic Monthly journalist P.J. O'Rourke, Washington Post columnist Roxanne Roberts, and other know-it-alls.Always a high point of the show, “Not My Job” features a celebrity guest who must answer questions on a topic totally outside his or her...read more

  • NPR

    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is NPR’s weekly hour-long quiz program. Each week on the radio listeners test their knowledge against a panel of the best and brightest in the news and entertainment world: Adam Felber; Roy Blount, Jr.; Paula Poundstone; Mo Rocca; Roxanne Roberts; Charlie Pierce; and others. This two-disk set features highlights from the popular “Not My Job” segment of the show, during which celebrity guest contestants answer questions on topics unrelated to their particular area of expertise and compete for the ultimate prize: NPR veteran announcer Carl Kasell’s voice on a lucky listener’s answering...read more