Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why did you cancel Talk of the Nation?
As you may know, NPR discontinued its production of Talk of the Nation as of June 27, 2013. Some time ago, NPR and WBUR in Boston joined forces to expand and re-launch WBUR’s daily show Here & Now as a two-hour national news program for audiences in the middle of the day.
With this new opportunity, NPR made the difficult decision to wind down production of Talk of the Nation. Over its 21-year run, Talk of the Nation made a powerful contribution to public radio and set the standard for high quality call-in talk programming. The show also created a model that spurred many stations to launch their own call-in shows.
As the reach and impact of those shows expanded, NPR concluded that it can best serve public radio by concentrating its resources on produced news programming with reported stories and hosted interviews that have greater appeal to listeners on radio and emerging digital platforms.
Additionally, after 35 years at NPR, (11 of them at Talk of the Nation) Neal Conan has decided to step away from the grueling world of daily journalism. He plans to write a book and spend more time at his home in Wyoming. Neal is one of NPR’s most distinguished journalists and brings extraordinary depth and insight to every story he touches. He will leave a legacy of excellence, having skillfully carried NPR, Capital Public Radio, and the nation through some of the most important news of the last decade.
2. Why did you change the rest of your program line up?
The changes made by NPR have allowed us to add some compelling new programs to better reflect our evolving listener preferences.
3. Will you still carry Science Friday?
Yes, Science Friday will remain in its usual time slot each Friday at 11 AM.
4. Why did you select Here & Now?
Here & Now is a smart, well-produced program that enables us to meet the growing demand for news and information programming in the hours between Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
Here & Now also provides an opportunity to explore a new kind of working relationship with NPR and member stations like Capital Public Radio. You’ll hear that collaboration in Here & Now’s daily line up, which will include reporter pieces from around the country. The showhas a dedicated producer at NPR headquarters the will help with this expansion – they have been reaching out to Member stations, like Capital Public Radio, for contributions from our reporters for the show.
5. Why did you get rid of BBC?
BBC is not gone. It can still be heard Monday – Thursday evenings starting at 10 PM and Friday, Saturday and Sundays starting at midnight. The World – a co-production of BBC, Public Radio International and WGBH in Boston will continue to be heard in its usual time slot, Monday – Friday at 2 PM.
This program is also available on the CapRadio mobile app which can be downloaded to your smart phone or tablet.
6. Why did you get rid of Fresh Air?
Fresh Air is not gone, it moved to 1 PM. We think you’ll like this new time better so that we can bring you Fresh Air five days per week instead of four.
7. When can I hear my shows now?
Only the line-up between 9 AM and 2 PM has changed. Insight with Beth Ruyak will move to 9 AM to stay on the big stories from Morning Edition and keep you up to date with the news of the day from around our region. At 10 AM, we’ll broadcast public radio’s newest daily news magazine Here & Now, hosted by Robin Young and Jeremy Hobson. At noon, we’ll have a rotation of programs including TED Radio Hour on Monday, America’s Test Kitchen on Tuesday, RADIOLAB on Wednesday and This American Life on Thursday. Science Friday will continue to be heard every Friday at 11 AM. Finally, Fresh Air moves to 1 PM Monday through Friday. All other scheduling remains the same.
To see the daily line-up, go to www.capradio.org/newshows. To see a description of the new programs go to www.capradio.org/newshows.
All of our programs are also available on the CapRadio mobile app which can be downloaded to your smart phone or tablet.
8. What changes did you make on the Music Station?
There have been no changes made on our Music Station.