While I'm Picking On NPR Peronsalities...

Terry Gross had a great interview on Fresh Air the other day with scientist and devout atheist Richard Dawkins. I was interested to hear it as I had heard a bit about his new book ("The God Delusion") and heard him painted as being overly zealous in his anti-religion crusade. Hearing him talk though he really is pretty easy to swallow (though not necessarily to agree with).

But anyway....Terry, in asking him about evolution in relation to morality, noted all our horrible problems - "wars, violence, rape, and decapitations"! Man...not a day goes by that I don't have to kick one or more severed heads out of the way just to walk down the street. It really is an epidemic.

The show can be found here.

Podcast of the Week

This week's podcast highlight is NPR's "All Songs Considered". This podcast, which varies in length and content from week to week, usually leaves it to host Bob Boilen to sound old and nerdy as he discusses the latest in indie and alternative rock (and various other genres). For this week's podcast though he drags Robert Christgau, Meredith Ochs, and Will Hermes along to raise the geek factor considerably. These four could not sound anymore like they belong on NPR, and any less like they should be discussing Modest Mouse, Wilco, Arcade Fire, etc....It's like if your mom was all of a sudden into your favorite band.

The show's subject - Spring Music Preview. It is a great chance to hear yet to be released tracks from Wilco, Bright Eyes, Mavis Staples, Tori Amos, Kings of Leon and others.

The show's low point - the reviewers together singing a bit of Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" before playing a cover version by a country singer named Elizabeth Cook (from whom they also play a song called "Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman").

Also check out - "Guest DJ" episodes from some weeks back. There is one with Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) and one with Lily Allen. Unfortunately too often Bob just leads them into playing what he wants to hear rather than something they've chosen. I think it's Conor Oberst who tells Bob he was heavily influenced by a certain track on an album, but Bob decides he'd rather play a different track from that album.