A note to listeners from Interim Program Director Nathan Vandiver:
As announced earlier by NPR, Talk of the Nation leaves the air as of Thursday, June 27 and though it will be missed, its departure gives KUAR the opportunity to bring the voice and perspective of a new show to the central Arkansas airwaves.
Beginning Monday, July 1, KUAR will air a new, expanded version of Here and Now in the 1-3 pm Monday-Thursday time slot formerly occupied by Talk of the Nation. Science Friday will continue at its current time from 1-3 pm Fridays.
To fill the noon hour vacated by Here and Now, KUAR will begin airing The Takeaway with John Hockenberry July 1 from 12-1 pm.
We are excited to add The Takeaway to our list of programs. We think it will give our listeners a different perspective on current events from our morning and afternoon NPR news magazines. In searching for a replacement for the noon hour, we were impressed by The Takeaway's efforts to reach out to different locations throughout the US for perspectives on national stories and events. Its daily news focus also makes it a good fit for the noon hour when many of our listeners are coming and going.
NPR is putting its resources behind a partnership with WBUR in Boston to aid the expansion of Here and Now to a two hour midday news magazine. Jeremy Hobson, formerly of the Marketplace Morning Report, joins Robin Young as co-host, and NPR will be making its reporters available to the show to expand both domestic and international news coverage.
The news that NPR would discontinue its successful national call-in talk show, Talk of The Nation, was a disappointment to us and to many of our listeners. In its absence, KUAR is confident that The Takeaway, Here and Now and Science Friday will be able to in their own ways take up where Talk of the Nation left off, keeping our listeners up to date on the unfolding national and international daily conversation. Now if we could just figure out a way to get The Political Junkie back!
