How do you listen to NPR?

October 14, 2008 3:15 PM

Help me download/stream (generally listen to) the best NPR programming.

So the NPR.org website, as I see it, is generally a bit lacking. I love listening to NPR on the real radio (ahh!) when I'm in the car, but this isn't very often. But catching up on segments that air when I'm not driving is harder than it should be, or I'm just missing something.

How do you stream/download NPR? Ideally, I'd love a website that has a list of all available NPR programming, organized by show or by date, with short descriptions of each clip, available for streaming or downloading. Is this somewhere on the NPR website and I just haven't found it? Does it exist on a third-party site? Or a third-party program (iTunes, etc)? Having to navigate through each "show" and digging within those individual pages for interesting segments is tedious.

How do you listen to NPR?

posted by jckll to media & arts (18 answers total)

iTunes has most NPR programs as podcasts. Search the iTunes store for "NPR"
posted by meta_eli at 3:16 PM on October 14, 2008

Like meta_eli I listen to at least 5 different NPR programs via iTunes podcasts. Which are free. Generally.
posted by heavenstobetsy at 3:21 PM on October 14, 2008

I feel your pain. The iTunes solution works pretty well, but I really wish they gave us a way to easily get Morning Edition on our mp3 players (if I recall correctly there isn't an RSS feed or download link for it). God my life sucks!
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 3:25 PM on October 14, 2008

iTunes. I get ME, TOTN, ATC, CarTalk, Science Friday, Driveway moments, and Wait Wait don't tell me there.

All I need is Whose Line is It Anyway to be available somewhere online (GA! I don't ALWAYS get to the radio on Sunday afternoons at 4:00, can't it be rebroadcast somewhere??)
posted by arnicae at 3:29 PM on October 14, 2008

Streaming live public radio stations is easy at http://www.publicradiofan.com/

There they have listings for hundreds of English-language public radio stations here and around the world. You can see what's on right now.

So the question is, do you have a favorite NPR program? Do you like news (Morning Edition, Day to Day, All Things Considered) or entertainment (Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me, Car Talk) or is your favorite program even broadcast by NPR? Some favorites such as This American Life (PRI) and A Prairie Home Companion (American Public Media) are not even broadcast by NPR but on NPR stations. Maybe someone could help if you narrowed down the great wide world of public radio.

arnicae: Whose Line is it Anyway? is not a radio program (any more at least). Do you mean Wait Wait Don't Tell Me or Whad'Ya Know perhaps?
posted by ALongDecember at 3:33 PM on October 14, 2008 [6 favorites]

This is the reason why I learned what a podcast was, even. Turns out that it's just a compressed audio file. (Or a serialized collection of compressed audio files arranged to be downloaded automatically on a regular schedule, whatever).
posted by mr_roboto at 3:34 PM on October 14, 2008

Ideally, I'd love a website that has a list of all available NPR programming, organized by show or by date, with short descriptions of each clip, available for streaming or downloading. Is this somewhere on the NPR website and I just haven't found it?

I don't mean to sound snarky, but isn't this, via their own streaming player, what is on the NPR site? For example, Morning Edition. You can either listen to the whole show or if you click on a story, it will have a link to play that segment.

I'm just trying to figure out if I'm understanding your question or if there is something about those features that won't work for you. It is true that it takes them awhile to post the show after it has aired.
posted by stefnet at 3:34 PM on October 14, 2008

Oh and I usually listen to the podcasts via iTunes as well.
posted by stefnet at 3:35 PM on October 14, 2008

If you just want "interesting segments", you might like their Most Emailed Stories podcast. It's the 6 stories from each day that other listeners determined were most interesting- as determined by how often they were emailed to others.
posted by Steve3 at 3:36 PM on October 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

The best thing about living in South Florida was WLRN, which I still stream on my work computer every day.
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 3:37 PM on October 14, 2008

I once read that NPR doesn't allow free podcasting of Morning Edition and All Things Considered because they're flagship shows that draw more listeners to member stations than any other program. The member stations want the shows to be available exclusively over the public airwaves or directly through the NPR website (which has advertising).
posted by HotPatatta at 3:37 PM on October 14, 2008

Facebook also has an (unofficial?) NPR app that makes listening easy.. to the few shows it supports =P (Car Talk, Wait Wait, and a few others).
posted by Quarter Pincher at 4:02 PM on October 14, 2008

You can get a variety of NPR podcasts over any cellphone as Foneshows, as soon as they're available, without waiting to sync an iPod. (Disclosure: I'm a partner in Foneshow and wrote most of the software.)
posted by nicwolff at 4:05 PM on October 14, 2008

Michigan Radio also has live streaming links for their programming. I copied the "Listen" link after selecting the mp3 stream and I open it with Windows media player or Foobar2000.
posted by glycolized at 4:16 PM on October 14, 2008

Check out the website Public Radio Fan, they have everything from public radio around the world. Fantastic site.
posted by Waitwhat at 4:36 PM on October 14, 2008

arnicae: Whose Line is it Anyway? is not a radio program (any more at least). Do you mean Wait Wait Don't Tell Me or Whad'Ya Know perhaps?

oops i meant 'Says You!' The witty word trivia game from member station WGBH in Boston.
posted by arnicae at 5:29 PM on October 14, 2008

seconding PublicRadioFan.com.

I actually maintain the publicradiofan.com plugin for use on squeezebox players-- if you have one of those that's a great option for NPR listening.
posted by mcstayinskool at 5:31 PM on October 14, 2008

If you like NPR you should check out ABC (Australia) and BBC stuff. No doubt the Canadian CBC also has some really good English language stuff.

In particular have a look at In Our Time on the BBC, it is simply, brilliant. The ABC has great stuff available at ABC Radio National podcasts
posted by sien at 7:21 PM on October 14, 2008