I've always worried that my English professor licence would be yanked if I admitted that I do not listen to NPR. On my long drives to and from work, I like to crank up the local alternative station and rock out. (I'm positive my students would never believe this, and many of my colleagues no doubt expect that I'm either a classical-music type or an NPRer, like them. I know a fair amount about classical, and I used to listen to it more, but no, it's not my driving-drug of choice.)
But that station is changing formats. I'm going to have to figure out something else to do about music. I don't want to listen to books on tape. Tried that. For me, it's tiring to be read to; besides, there's not a lot available that I actually want to hear, and sometimes I take against a reader. I listened to a lot of Teaching Co's lectures, but there's a limit to how much of that I can take, as well. Basically, I'd rather have my time in the car be down time, not an effort to learn or keep up with something serious.
Because, you know, I'm lazy. I like radio because it's right there, no need to download anything, and because it's a good way to find out about music I wouldn't necessarily pick for myself. So I'm bummed.
Even if it means there's one less way in which I might be revealed as a fraud.
6 comments:
Satellite radio? I've got one. Love it.
Oh thank god I'm not alone - another PhD Philistine who does not listen to NPR.
Don't tell anyone who I am!!
Renaissance Girl: thanks, I'll check it out. I was hoping someone would have a useful suggestion.
aepva: your secret's safe with me (though I've just blown mine!), & I knew we had a lot in common.
Well, I'm leaving the professoriate, so I'm not sure I still get to be secretly proud about NEVER listening to NPR....
I generally found that any story they did, people would tell me about it if it was something I should know.
I also dislike NPR. Especially the NPR voice, which causes me to remember all sorts of interesting but useless stories I hear on NPR about men chasing down antelope and the like (my family members and friends do not share my dislike).
I wouldn't say I dislike NPR. In fact, I admire much of their reporting. It's just not what I want to listen to in the car. I've never got over an incident that happened when I was in grad school, and woke up to a clock radio set to NPR. They were reporting on a bombing in Northern Ireland, with actuality from a man whose daughter had died in his arms. I burst into tears and cried on and off all day long. It was a terrible way to wake up. I don't want to be subjected, all unwitting, to something similar when I'm on my way to teach, although I have vivid memories of tuning to NPR for live coverage of 9/11 when I was driving to school that day.
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