If you have ever spent time in a car with a JYA roughly between the hours of 5pm and 6pm, you have undoubtedly spent a few moments listening to your local affiliate of National Public Radio. Now, if you are not a JYA then you have probably thought to yourself “What the hell is this crap?” On the other hand, if you are a JYA then you have thought to yourself either “I totally love Brian Lehrer” or “I totally scrolled through the contents of today’s show online three hours ago”.
Yes, JYAs of today are crazy for their National Public Radio, from All Things Considered to Marketplace to Prairie Home Companion. Not only does NPR feed in to their progressive liberal elitism, it also creates a stronger sense of their progressive liberal elitism. NPR and JYAs are in a symbiotic relationship of general equilibrium and Pareto optimality! NPR needs JYAs as much as JYAs need NPR.
Now, JYAs don’t necessarily donate to NPR, but their parents donate, so it’s totally OK. It is also a safe assumption that a disproportionally large amount of JYAs constitute the listeners of NPR as compared to the non-JYA national average. In addition, once a JYA gets exposed to NPR, (usually as a toddler from their JYA-with-child parents), they are hooked for life. Meaning that, when a Jewish Young Adult becomes a Jewish Well-to-do Retiree they will continue to listen to NPR, except they complain that NPR is too progressive, liberal, and elite.
My husband and I listen to NPR all the time, even when cooking for Shabbos. We are proud to embody the JYA stereotype.
I <3 Leonard Lopate!
I love public radio, but I totally do not GET Prairie Home Companion. Some of the music’s OK, but those bits about ketchup and Norwegian bachelor farmers are absolutely INFURIATING. It’s all so weirdly sincere, sentimental and cloying, and it makes me want to scream (and not in a good way). Give me that smartass Peter Feldman or the drolly urbane Ira Glass any day. Now those guys are worth the dollar-a-day membership! I just wish our local station wouldn’t air all the good shows on Shabbos so I wouldn’t have to listen to them later online. Oh well.
The only problem with NPR is that it can be pretty solidly anti-Israel, like today when they had on a documentary filmmaker talking about her Palestinian rap movie. Israel does this, Israel does that…and the host didn’t say “well…” or “but…” or “hold on…”
Just nods, “hmm, I see,” and agreement.
NPR is fun when they stay away from choosing sides, otherwise us young Jews shouldn’t bother ourselves with that negative anti-us stuff!!!
YJA here that WORKS for an NPR station. Can you believe it. First I want to say that NPR is NOT anti-Israel. Yes, they do air pieces that represent a Palestinian point of view. Most of the time I disagree with these stories, but nevertheless they are important perspectives to be presented. In terms of pieces that support Israel, there was a great piece on this morning (on Morning Edition) that basically called Jimmy Carter an ass for meeting with Abbas. There have also been great stories recently on Sderot and what the people living there have to deal with on a daily basis.
Second, many YJAs do support NPR financially. I encourage you all to do so during your next pledge drive, which you may find is the shortest in the history of public radio. Stay tuned for more details.