Is it just me, or has The Diane Rehm Show on NPR gotten infinitely more insufferable in the last year or so? I used to listen to it every day during my 10-minute commute to work, but now I can’t stand it. They seem to have traded in the smart people they used to interview for political hacks, blindly repeating talking points from both sides. Even the callers seem to have gotten stupider.

Then again, maybe it’s a reflection of the fact I am getting to work a little earlier these days and, instead of catching the start of the book-centric 10 o’clock hour, I’m hearing the 9 o’clock hour run out of steam.

Comments

22 March | 14:17 | Leah

Ah, you heard this morning's wonk-a-thon on Diane Rehm, too? I've noticed a change in tone since, say, Thanksgiving of last year. The new guest-invite formula seems to be obnoxious conservative from D.C. think tank, whiney liberal from Midwest think tank, and a professor from American or Georgetown to act as a buffer.

22 March | 23:36 | sparkler

I know I'm late for work if Diane Rehm comes on the radio during my commute. Diane Rehm is my punishment for lateness.

And yes, the show has been much worse in the last few months.

26 March | 7:00 | cindy

It's not just you. I love NPR but jeez. I also wish they could cover something other than insurgents in Iraq. I actually wrote to them about it a year ago. It's still just as bad today.

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Joshua Benton

Joshua Benton is the director of the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University, among other things. Before that, he was a staff writer and columnist for The Dallas Morning News. (More.)

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