Yesterday was the last day if NPR’s Talk of the Nation. I only found that out indirectly. Which is shocking given how much I used to listen to public radio. Once upon I time, I had radios set in strategic areas of the house, set up so I could move around and do things and not miss anything. I would schedule my non-work life around certain public radio shows. Those were my golden days of radio. But since then, something has changed and I don’t find myself listening as much as I used to.
I honestly miss those days when I was a public radio junkie. I enjoyed knowing what was going on in the world. I also loved listening to what I will call the This American Life genre of stories. Stories that were not inherently newsworthy, but very interesting nonetheless. I discovered some of my favorite authors through interviews on Fresh Air, for which I will be eternally grateful. So what changed? How did I miss that I show I used to listen to daily was going off the air after 21 years?
I could blame it on technology and the illusion that I can listen to my favorite shows whenever it is convenient to me. My tablet and iPod are filled with backlogged podcasts of public radio shows. The problem isn’t gathering the shows, it is finding time to listen to them. Part of the problem may be that I work from home. I have no commute during which I need to entertain myself. But, I worked from home when I was still a public radio junkie, so clearly that isn’t it.
I don’t cook as much as I used to. I used to love cooking and baking to while listening to public radio. The obscene hours I put in at CubeSpace threw off my cooking routine and I haven’t fully picked it back up. Yet. That is one routine that I would like to add back into my life. But, I digress.
A large part of the change in my radio listening behavior came from the news itself. There is only so much vitriol a girl can take. And I hit my limit several years ago. But that doesn’t explain why my weekends no longer revolve around the other shows I love. Ultimately, I don’t know exactly what has caused the behavioral change.
The one upside to all this? I have rediscovered my music collection and have been listening to a lot more of it recently. But, I would like to find a balance between music and news. I might just have to add that to my to-do list for this year.