Did you read it? dental insurance and good morning everyone. This is midday on Minnesota Public Radio are special end of the membership Drive edition of midday. This is the last day of your last chance to call and get your membership pledge in take advantage of the special. Thank you gifts. We've been offering all week most important Melanie summer or people's last opportunity to cast their vote for good-quality news and information programming Wartrace Juarez. Of course, the host of Talk of the Nation will be joining us from Washington. Just a couple of minutes Ray is going to be on the other side of the microphone for a change. So people can Grill him and far to a great a great discussion with Gary I-10 and Ray Suarez and you Participation as well. Hope that you'll call in and ask your questions of Ray and talk a little bit about talk radio. And also think about calling in to make a pledge of support for talk radio for Talk of the Nation for mid day every single day brought to you by Minnesota Public Radio. This is your last shot. This is your last chance to make a pledge to midday and Minnesota Public Radio because this is the last day of our drive or counting down our goal. We got less than $200,000 to go and we can do it. If you will call if you will call 227-2811 and make a pledge of support for Minnesota Public Radio recallers on the line right now $192,199 to go 800,000 or bust by 8 tonight. So we're going to need all of you if you've been holding back just a little bit. Maybe you haven't had a chance to call in yet. Maybe you put it off. Well, this is the last day and we sure hope to hear from you everybody who calls in what do you call in a new? Membership pledge. What do you call in to renew your membership? Whether you're all paid up you called in an additional contribution. Even if you just call in. We will enter your name in the big Costa Rican giveaway preferred Adventures Unlimited American Airlines in lapa Rios offering an opportunity to spend for glorious nights down in Costa Rica where it's about 80° right now and sunny the great thing to think about on a day like today. We got blizzard warnings in the Red River Valley today. We've got snowflakes falling in the Twin Cities area. Which is not over yet. So if you want to think about a nice warm place, so I can hear those tropical birds chirping. I can hear I can hear the rain forest in the background sounds like a wonderful wonderful vacation, and you can get your name involved into that drawing for that Costa Rican Vacation by calling to to 72811. We hope you'll make a pledge when you make the call. You don't have to but we want you to call 227-2811. And make a pledge of support for Minnesota Public Radio and four. Midday Gary. We've got another one of those special offer to try to get you to make that call. Give it a try for a year. Here's the here's the thing. We will send out to you subscription to Atlantic Monthly on the great magazines in this country. You will get the special Talk of the Nation coffee mug, which I'm holding up in honor of Ray Suarez will be joining us in about 5 minutes here plus you get to what is it a half pound half a pound of apples watermelon Peace Coffee to put in that Talk of the Nation mug. Oh, yes organic dark roast coffee. So all of this all of this available what package the whole thing up and send it out to you $99 pledge. All you have to do is give us a call. Now if you call us tomorrow will be glad to take your membership pledge. No question about it if you call this month. Hey, we are always thankful for membership Legends. But we can't offer you any of these special premiums. They're only available during our membership week. We got a whole room full of volunteers waiting to take calls. This is the least expensive time to take in membership. 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How about that demigods my company here and I want to see if you are as if you enjoy midday. If you enjoy Talk of the Nation if you want to hear a little bit more about these guys, if you want to hear a little bit more from Ray Suarez participate in that discussion call and make a pledge at 22728 11th. And Gary. I just have to say Gary has generously contributed to this is the deal anybody who called between now and 1 during the day pledges $1,000 will get lunch with Gary ican. Gary will take you out to lunch and talk about whatever you want to Talk about I think they'll be a lot of people who might want to take advantage of that or they can pledge of thousand dollars and I won't bother them. 28112 to 72811 make your pledge to mid-day to Talk of the Nation to Minnesota Public Radio and help us to reach our goal by the end of this membership $15 16 callers on the line. And this is the this is the rate at which we're going to have to keep rolling along here. If we're going to possibly get to our goal $800,000 by 8 tonight now, we're about $191,000 shy but it's doable listeners to this station have come through in the past. I know a lot of you are already paid up your cheering your fellow listeners on here and you'll have an opportunity to help out here in a more direct way over the noon hour. But right now everybody was listening. If you've not yet called give us a call get in on the the drawer. If for no other reason give us a call get your name in the barrel. We hope you'll take advantage of that opportunity make a membership pledge of got a heck of a deal. That were offering this hour of the Atlantic Monthly monthly subscription Talk of the Nation mug the coffee that you've got something you can drink out of that mug at the Minnesota monthly of all this reading material and hopefully another year of good radio. It's just what this is all about on right now. 7:17 call is right now talking to Volunteers in our phone room making their pledges to Minnesota Public Radio, but there's lots of room for you. If you have been listening to this all week long even thinking, you know, I really should call I really should support Minnesota Public Radio. I listen to these programs every day. I like what I hear. They're really enjoyable while now the time for you to call 227-2811 and I think Gary before the end of this program we're going to have at least a couple of those thousand-dollar pledges a couple of those thousand-dollar pleasure to have lunch with Gary. I don't want to take advantage. I think about the the fascinating lunch conversation you can have with Gary. Only $1,000 pledged. Big Macs are great. But all of you to pitch in on this thing. So many of you have been good strong supporting numbers over the years and you know, so often we get all fired up during these membership drives and we forget to thank you. That was have you been with us right along you are the folks who make the programming possible and if you're new to public radio the idea maybe a little strange but as you know, there are commercials here instead real people just like you call in and make real membership pledges $66 a hundred and $20 a lot of people joining at The $99 level of take advantage of a heck of a deal $240 you pay these things on a monthly basis 20 bucks a month for example, and it's it's a pretty good deal. It's tax deductible. Why do people join at the $360 level it's not so important really what level you join at its that you make a call step forward show your support for good non-commercial public radio broadcasting. And this is the last day of our drive. We really need everybody to pitch in here. We've got a big mountain to climb but it can be done. No question about it to 27208 11227 2811 outside the Twin Cities one 802-2728 11:11 making their pledges to Minnesota Public Radio getting a hold of that heck of a deal and $99 pledged for the Talk of the Nation mug a half a pound of coffee the Atlantic monthly subscription the Minnesota monthly subscription and another year of great radio. I want to to 72811 for your pledge to mid-day to Minnesota Public Radio and also the opportunity to get in on this Costa Rican vacations the people who started this Echo tourism Resort in Costa Rica are from Minnesota, you know, they just sold a few years ago decided to Chuck it all and move to Costa Rica and start this eco-tourism Resort this bed and breakfast John and Karen Lewis. So thanks to them for participating in this in contributing this trip to our cause here and I think everybody here has just been so excited about this Costa Rican give away. Do you have to call 227-2811 by the end of the day today to get your name in for that drawing for that vacations listening to us all week. And we got some great offers so far this way they all go away at the end of the day and as I said earlier will be glad to take your membership pledge because you're a every single membership dollar that's pledge makes a difference in terms of the quality of Programming here and no question about it, but you might as well call us now during our membership Drive. Don't wait till Monday. Give us a call right now while we can enter you in the drawing for the Costa Rican giveaway while we can offer you these special attractive deals that the midday heck of a deal on the premiums go away at the end of today. So give us a call here as we count down to $800,000 that buys friends a lot of good radio, and we really do need your support to to 72811 or one 800-227-2811. I'm going we've still got about 20 people on the line continuing to support Minnesota Public Radio continuing to help us reach our goal feel about $190,000 left to go we can do this. If you're listening if you haven't made a pledge yet. It's that simple call right now to 27208 11 and take that extra step of becoming a member of Minnesota Public Radio. Not just a listener. We're glad you listened. But if you listen, we also hope you'll support this service to to 72811 every call counts right now every member counts, and we would like to hear from you. So give us a call and make that pledge to to 71811 Ray Suarez coming along in just a couple of minutes. All the wires are being connected now and we should be able to get started any moment as we March along here 911 people have joined already today and you know friends it would be great if we could get over the hundred member Mark by noon today, wouldn't it? Great. I guess we're already past a hundred aren't. Phase me for my man smell. See that we love you for things other than your map to 27 2011 is the telephone number to call remember? We got that heck of a deal going on. You got the Talk of the Nation mug. We've got a half a pound of coffee. We got the Atlantic monthly subscription and the Minnesota monthly subscription all of which comes to you for $8.25 a month not to mention great radio great programming that you listen to everyday and rely on $13 on the line right now. We had a nice surge of calls about $20 at a time and we need to keep that rolling along if you're just joining us. This is the very last day of our membership drive your last chance to really to get in on all the special offers to show your membership support for the midday broadcast for all the other fine programs at you here on this station Ray Suarez, the host of national public radio's Talk of the The alarm shortly right now One Last One Last Time Around the Horn here. If you're out there if you're listening if you have not yet called us to to 72811 Orwin 800-227-2811 wonderful opportunity thousand-dollar pledged to Minnesota Public Radio. And one of the great advantages of that is that you'll have an opportunity to have lunch with our own Gary. Eichten. You don't have to don't let that scare you off. Think about that for a second. I think I think there might be somebody out there who want to have lunch with the gear maybe I don't know. I don't know anywhere else. You're listening outside Twin Cities call 800-227-2811 any pledge that you can make any level of support that you can afford is all that. We ask just think a little bit about how much you enjoy this program in particular NPR in general. And if you appreciate it, if you get some value out of it then put a little price tag on it for yourself. Think about what you can afford and then call us and make that pledge to to 72811 those phones ringing course. If you're a regular listener to Minnesota Public Radio Our Guest today as they used to say in Show Business really needs no introduction Ray Suarez. I was smashed public radio Talk of the Nation has moved to the other side of the Mike today and he joins us from Washington to talk about his program and radio and public radio in the media would really whatever you'd like to talk with Ray about So we invite you to give us a call now on a regular call in numbers. If you have a question or comment for Ray Suarez here is the number to call. It is 2276 thousand in the Twin City area to 276 thousand outside the Twin Cities one 800-242-2828. And by the way, which know that Ray is going to be in the Twin Cities tomorrow weather permitting heck yes prep for a conference on interviewing and you'll be delivering the lunch in a dress at a conference sponsored by the Minnesota journalism Center, but Ray understand tickets already sold out. You're a you're a big name out here. No pressures. I guess now I'm going to have to actually say something intelligible tomorrow. Well, you always do. Are you still haven't you been up to at the Talk of the Nation Helm therefore what about five years. Now. Are you still had fun with her next month? Unbelievably incredibly five years next month and you're still at the job the job never get stale because When you think about what's in the job it would be impossible to get stale. You're always doing different things. I never think to myself is the mic is opening up. The theme song is playing old. Here we go. Again. That's how I'm lucky. I guess the big media story lately and the coverage of the clinton-lewinsky business. How would you assess the media's performance in that story? Oh pretty embarrassing. I have to say not so much for what is being covered and why because it is a story and it has to be covered and has to be talked about it is the the playing fast and loose with sourcing with cross sourcing with what you can report and who you can hang it on. I think that's been the the worst part of this whole thing. What's going on why why has the media have the media gotten so far off track in your opinion part of it is if you had to create a situation where bad reporting would thrive in effect to create a pet read a petri dish where the mold of lousy journalism was going to flourish this kind of story. Is it because all of this focus is on grand jury proceedings, which we cannot really know that much about the testimony is sealed it the details of it are all hearsay. And when you are put in that position you end up with talkin talkin to people who have a particular reason to tell you what they're telling you. So you get it from them you hang it on them or not. We'll just you know, just saying anonymous source or someone who asked not to be identified and then you basically deliver their Spin and when one news organization does that all the others can follow in their Trail feeling that they can then hang the attribution on the 1 news organization that's gone ahead of the pack. So if the Dallas Morning News says that there is a secret service agent who was willing to say that he saw Monica Lewinsky and the president together in the Oval Office. We don't need to know who this agent is weather. In fact, he exists what his name is what he's going to say. All we have to know is that the Dallas Morning News says that he exists so we can Oh, very dignified Lee Lee doll out new stories and and say oh well, of course we had attribution and we had a source will we reported that the Dallas Morning News was reporting it nevermind that that's a really irresponsible way to proceed at this point where we're playing a very high-stakes game right now and to just go with something because somebody else said it's true and they haven't spoken to the secret service agent either and they don't know his name and they don't know what he's going to say the semen stain dress this semen stain dresses been reported everywhere. It's the non-existent dressing round-the-world if anybody has it, who are they? What is it? What's on it? Where is it? What kind of tests have been done on it? But in fact you don't have to know any of these things to report on this dress, it's really been a very bad hour for journalism. What do what do you say your job is being are you you see yourself as a journalist is a conversationalist is a train conductor of how would you describe your well? I still think I'm a reporter but What's different about the job that I'm doing in the product that that I'm working with? Is that unlike a report of who first goes out and talks to a hundred people then sits down and writes a story then someone Prince the story and then you read it. In fact the audience gets to hear the reporting being done. It's like we're printing the newspaper as we're doing asking the questions. So the creation of the product of our work is being done as we're generating the information. So it's as if my notepad goes into the newspaper instead of a secondary product where you sit down and and sift through it. I'm still a reporter. I'm asking questions. I'm trying to create piles of aggregated material information things to chew on things to think about questions that you thought you wanted answered but had never heard ask before and The story is the program. The reporting is the program. So I'm still a reporter. How can you possibly be so well-prepared on such a wide variety of subjects cheap, like, you know everything. Well, I don't what if you think so, I guess I'm I'm doing it. Well I have to do a lot of prep partially its life is prep your reading things that you aren't necessarily interested in that you wouldn't necessarily read in other circumstances because you know that it's going to be important at sometime down the road. I'll be reading a book sometimes not so much because I want to read the book. I'm not so much that this is a topic that makes my socks roll up and down but it's because I know that eventually we're going to do a show on this so I better know something about it ditto with the TV I watch Ditto with the magazines. I read the websites I visit. I'm just trying to In effect stick my canteen into a constantly running stream. I'm bailing out the ocean and trying to know as much as I can because it just helps the show sound good speaking of ditto his talk radio gotten the unnecessarily bad rap. You think no, it's it's it's bad when I came by it. Honestly, I think what's been exaggerated is the impact what's been exaggerated is the audience size the people who write tut-tut stories about how talk radio is injurious to democracy and how bad it is and and all that don't they don't seem to have a lot of confidence in the average listener that they can when eating the popover of life. I just eat the bread and not swallow the hot are they they they don't they don't have a lot of confidence that the audience can discern when it's being had when it's being asked to believe Things that aren't very well explained a Quantified this idea that because it's on the air there's this Army of a gullible automatons ready to go out and vote this way or vote that way or right nasty letters because someone told them to well, I like to think that's my audience is smarter than that Ray Suarez is our guests this are joining us from Washington, of course, raise the host national public radio's Talk of the Nation program and he's moved to the other side of the mic today to take your question. So give us a call Twin City area number is 227-6002 276 thousand outside the Twin Cities. The number would be one 800-242-2828 and at em your first place. Well, I have to say I never expected to get on I figured that millions of people would be calling so Hai re Hai dim all the time of my friends and I think you're really You did a wonderful job. And so my question is is it seems to me that that you're able to function on the radio with a a very generous sensibility when it comes to people's questions and encouraging comments out of gas and things like that. And I think it's it's it's an admirable form of Journalism, and I was wondering if you would just care to comment on that. Well the structure of talk radio especially talk radio where there's a guest and a host and then the audience in most talk radio programs. The power is given to the guest. Well in many programs and what you're saying is here's the guest here. Is this smart person X you don't know a lot they know a lot. So they're going to tell you you'll call up with your easy to answer questions that you would already know the answer to if you were only smarter, but you're not so give us a call and our anointed expert will speak from Loft The Olympian Heights and tell you to feed you like baby birds mewling in the nest. Well, we try to sit a break that structure when designing Talk of the Nation in and level the platforms were standing on a little bit. We think that listeners are smart curious people. That come to the program because they are trying to pull in as much as they can about the world and listen to what other people have to say. So I want the callers to talk as much as possible and I want the guests to hear what the callers have to say because that's an in very very important transaction in the production of show. It's not just wear that we're raining Pearls of Wisdom down on you unwashed boobs at ground level know. We're all boobs in this together and we're going to learn a lot from each other. How do you decide which caller gets on and which one dozen well to that degree. The job is a little bit like train conducting because what you're doing is you're you're hitching up the very long freight train and one car follows another follows another follows another and you wanted to be somewhat logical you want points to follow each other in a fashion that makes some sense and you also don't want to spend too much time talking about things that have already been adequately addressed in another part of the program So when I listen to my headphones and I'm listening very closely. I'm also watching a screen with eight boxes on it that tells me where people are and what their names are but also gives me a two-line summary of what it is. They want to talk about so sometimes if there's a guest who's not coming in until until later in the program. I'll purposely hold a very good call because I know that their point will be more adequately addressed later in the program by the new guess that would bringing on after the break for instance. It's not that one aspect of the conversation is more or less important than another it's really that it'll make more sense to hold this caller and have them ask their great question to the person who's going to be on that our really is coming on to talk exactly about that. So there's things that I know that the listener doesn't know about how things are going to run during the course of the hour. And so I'm I'm sort of watching and trying to Pace the thing and sometimes frankly and this is a little bit of a trade secret where where lulling guests who were who were very hard to bring in in the first place. So if deeper into the cave so they can escape so you hold an adversarial really tough adversarial question from a caller until two or three colors in just so they're feeling okay. These people are not here to kill me. Maybe I should just relax and see what happens if I get to st. Therese words for some of the young more Progressive gifts. He said on the program on people like Bill Hartung when you were talking about NATO expansion and Phyllis Bennis when you had the Iraq you program and all he listens closely other day when you were talking about the multilateral agreement on investments cuz I I really appreciate having that daversa voice on there and second you had fell has been I was one of the collars and I just wish I'd had the chance to think you've ever that you had her on there because I just feel that we do need a broader perspective on on a lot of these issues and not so much just to The Middle on the right. So again, I thank you for having those gifts on and I hope you continue to have them on thank you certainly will certainly degrees of of you in any in any issue of debate. And the idea that we should form. Our conclusions about how to proceed is a country a based on assessing 40 degrees is that the baby is just dumb and we're trying not to do that here. How do you decide what subjects to take up real? Are you are you concerned with Gathering and Reporting information? Are you concerned with what people are talking about? Are you concerned with perhaps force-feeding people information about a subject that they may not be all that interested in or Think they are interested in what's your how do you get the caller mentioned the show on the multilateral agreement on investments? That's the show. I mean MAOI isn't on the tip of the audience's tongue. It's not something that people are picking up their morning papers and seeing above the fold on page one, but we still thought it was pretty important. And in that particular instance, that's an example of Talk of the Nation trying to bring you those things that you're not getting from other media, but in a lot of other topics, we can't get too far ahead of the audience because the audience is such an important participant in the production of the program. So if we are going to talk about something with his really know ambient level of knowledge on the topic, it might be more appropriate to let somebody do a report on it on Morning Edition All Things Considered than to try to do an hour of talk when you say Here's the subject you haven't heard about yet tell again or tell us what you think of it. And sometimes the truth of the matter is the public doesn't know what it thinks of it yet because it's something that hasn't had a chance to sort of percolate down into people's Consciousness. So that's a general rule with trying to be where the audience is as far as thinking about and talkin about the issues of the day in the case of something like MAOI. You may have to wait a good long time and really until it's too late before people are really focused on it. So we try to focus some attention there. Here's something that you we think you should listen up to for an hour. So we're trying to do a couple of different things all at the same time it across the five days of the week. It'll be a mix will be talking about something that in effect has been with people a long time like the continuing to It's over affirmative action or California revisiting bilingual education. Now that's certainly not new and a lot of people have had a chance to think for a long time about what they make of this that's one kind of show then there's one where where it's we're really taking it from the day's headlines. And then there's one where of we're ahead of the audience in effect Ray. Hi. Hi. I just want to thank you. I feel honored that you're talking to us in the midwest way back here in the middle of the country and it's just I like I said, I'm so excited just to speak to you. I guess you have to call me cuz I just I love you. I do. I just love your your comments. I love the way you speak and you handle the the program. You know, I I I guess I just want to make one time about myself. I I do like I do love the way you handled the program for sure some of the topics I guess. I'm kind of busy. Old school and back to the you know that the old old things you never tried and true things and then some of it gets a little bit a little bit too much for me, you know, sometimes some of the people or the comments I must let you know more than I can take but I love your honest and truthful approach and I think you always going to bring it back to Center and for people like myself. I feel like you use you cover it for everybody to you you balance it off so we didn't go too far one way or too far the other way and I just I just think you do a wonderful job and you know, I know you should write a book because the descriptive and I hate everything about I just think you're wonderful. Thank you Ray and I like I said, I was just a pleasure. Thank you for the steam up here at all. What is what it what is your job we talked a little bit about this earlier, but you get somebody on let's say gas door for that matter a caller and they start talking and providing this information. How do you how do you go about do you feel at your job than to point out immediately that that that is not valid information or how do you handle that? It depends on whether it's a matter of fact or a matter of interpretation. If it's a matter of fact, it's really necessary if I can for me to to get in there right away and say That's not exactly right from my understanding and give them my sources or what I think is the case from history or flu or whatever. If it's a matter of interpretation. I'll look to the callers to bring. That that leavening to the mix or if there's no caller who seems ready to address that in particular. I'll try to bring in the other perspectives that I know are out there in the audience not because I'm pushing them one way or another not because I'm just giving my opinion and arguing for a from my point of view, but I'm in effect speaking on behalf of all the people who I know are out there thinking I don't agree with that and trying to bring their points into the mix of the conversation very important part of the job and Ryan. Have you found yourself ever looking back on a program and saying boy did I blow that one? This guy was running at the mouth about this and the other thing and it's clearly not sure I should have caught it. I didn't then now we got a whole nation of people who've got bad information. Yeah, I mean sometimes I really should be more clear about about something. I'll make a a very subtle a side that I that I think undermines the point that trying to make if I think they're really using bad stats or or bad methodology and then I'll say you know, I cuz I I know both sides of the argument so I handle it that way but it was sort of too subtle buy half and if you were in the kitchen or at the wheel of your car waiting to make a safe left door at work or for anything else you may you may have just missed it and thought she he missed that he missed the fact that that guest was saying ABC and that's totally wrong. So sometimes I should strive for a bit more clarity about the about what gas to say, but If you come down on him too hard, then you get letter saying and I was really clear that you didn't agree with guest ABC because you said blah blah and you know, they're as often as not they totally wrong but they take it that the fact that I took issue with them as an indication of what my my private thoughts are on a matter bro. And I said, it's a tough balancing act all the time. You're next good place demon. Yeah. Absolutely. I was wondering which gas that you've not yet had do would you come to play giving up your firstborn for and which guess do you really regret ever having had on or what topic? Have you really regret it disgusting on your show? Well, I count the days till Nelson Mandela is on Talk of the Nation. I I just think you'd probably have to scrape me up with a dustpan and sweep me out the door after it was all over. I just think that would be a tremendous experience who have I had on that I've regretted having on or what subject do you wish you never would have waited until it's a pretty short list actually because I I think it's it's the best kind of Talk of the Nation if you keep it wide and you take on all kinds of Commerce and and listen to what they have to say. I suppose the Chicago educator Marva Collins who's been much celebrated for her neighborhood academies in some of the toughest neighborhoods in Chicago. She is a hero to many she is a tremendously aggressive and hard-working and successful woman and just an incorrigible guest she's an idiot out I guess though and all those things it possible to be all those things at the It was just 54 minutes of hell, and I just I looked up I I realized this thing was going very badly South and I quickly glanced up at the clock and saw that it was only 13 minutes after the hour and at that point wanted to slit my wrists. But what can you do with that point, you know in the old days, I guess you could have just taken out In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and play that for a couple of times and gone to the men's room. But you're kind of stuck with each other. It's like dancing with somebody that you hate but you know that you got to wait until the Music's Over and it was just terrible Brian. Go ahead, please. I'm another big fan of you and your show and I think that your guess your collars rather are probably better inform more articulate than just about any on the radio, but even with Sad I still think the biggest limitation of your show is the fact that it's a call in the show and I find that the overwhelming majority of information and enjoyment that I get out of the show is from your introduction and from your interaction with the gas during those first few minutes, and I find that when you start taking called that's what I kind of start to groan inwardly because I've been enjoying the first part of the show so much in the end. I had my chances of a kind of tuning out and getting bored kind of increase from there. If you ever considered making the first part of that show, maybe a little bit longer, I mean that there are excellent questions here and there but I I really enjoy the first part of the show. Well, thank you. It's nice that you like the part that I do but we are die-hard small D Democrats here at the program. And if there was a way to start taking calls at 7 minutes after that's when we would start taking them. I mean they are our topics there are guests. We're quite honestly, I know that if it wasn't a call in program, I would get more out on the table. If it was just up to me to handle this person for the rest of the hour, but I also know that that's not what this program is and it is important. It is intrinsic to the design of the of the program to get people from all over the country men and women from all sorts of circumstances from all different Vantage points to get in there and enjoying the conversation as well. So to be honest with you, there are Days, when I wish I could turn the telephone off sometimes it's because I'm having such a good time in this is like a a mental laundry list of nine hundred things that I want to ask this person, but that's just not what the show is. It seems like everybody is doing call in radio these days talk show radio. Is that format? You think peaked in popularity? Can we expect fewer programs like that overtime or I think it's a reaction to what's happening in the rest of the business The Wider the golf the public feels there is between them and their sources of news the more they're going to run to talk radio the more alienated they feel from how information is disseminated in the society and how unconcerned salted they feel and how unable to talk talk back to the Network's the big papers the more they feel that the more necessary and popular places like Your program in mine are I mean it I think it's in direct reaction. And if the public didn't feel that way they wouldn't feel that there was that much of a need as much of a need for talk radio. We have to wrap up here because this is the last day of our membership drive and need to get back to trying to make our goals. But we sure appreciate your joining us this hour. And now my pleasure to do a great program. Keep it up. Is it really cold there? No, it's well, it's nippy. It's not it's not brutal and I could you assign a number and it be there cuz I want someone I pack a little later today. I'll have a better idea what I'm doing the forecast for tomorrow partly cloudy high in the low to mid twenties. That's not bad Northwest Winslow 15 to 25. That would give you your wind chill right around zero. Okay. Alright now I know what I'm getting into. That's fine. Thanks a lot Raceway national public radio program. He's going to be out here in the Twin Cities tomorrow. He's giving a lunch in a dress at a conference sponsored by the Minnesota journalism Center at the U of M. Unfortunately last we heard that luncheon is all sold out. But you know, if you're interested you might give him a call at the University and maybe they've got an extra ticket. We would like to reminder the Minnesota public radio's Main Street radio is supported by the blandin foundation committed to strengthening rural communities and better housing for the Greater Minnesota housing fun. Melanie summer speaking about just picking up a call a phone and making a call just for the heck of it. I think people should do that. I think your listeners today those of you who are listening to mid-day will listen to Talk of the Nation to enjoy that conversation very much with Ray Suarez might want to do that right now. You might want to take a couple of seconds and pick up your phone and call 227-2811 to make a pledge of support for Minnesota Public Radio. This is our last day we're going to the the stretch Drive of our membership week here at Minnesota Public Radio and every call now counts so much because we're still trying to come down to our goal of $800,000 by 8 tonight. Can we do it we have $183,000 to go. Can we do it? Yes, we can only though if you call and make your pledge to me. So the public radio to to 72811 tall goal for today. We're at 975 people who have called just today to make their pledges. So if we can aim for getting the 25 people to call between now and noon, I think that'd be great. So help us out. We got six people right now calling to to 72811. But if we get your call and your neighbors call and your nephews and your aunt and uncle's call we can make it to a thousand calls by 12 just nine minutes from now, you can help us you can help us do it by calling 227-2011 and making a pledge to to 72811 is the number to call of the original goal this hour $11,000 20 $100 to go yet this hour if we're going to make it to 8 tonight or 800000 by 8 tonight. We're going to need to hear from all of your 10 people on the line right now. This is the last Day of our membership drive your last chance to to get in on all the special offers that we've been talking about this week. We're going to be drawing for that Costa Rican giveaway preferred Adventures limited American Airlines and lapa Rios are offering a combinations for a week in Costa Rica believe it or not where it's about 80° right now and sunny four nights at a restored Colonial Mansion B&B. It's it's a heck of a deal as they say and to get in on the drawing. All you have to do is call us. You don't even have to make a membership pledge. All you have to do is call us. But this is the last day if you call us tomorrow, it won't count. So give us a call now at 22728 11 22728 11 outside the Twin Cities one 800-227-2811. Of course, we'd like you to make a membership pledge because the whole reason for the drawing the whole reason for our being Here is to try to make that membership goal all the money that we collect goes into the programming. That's what that's what used to pay for Midday off of the nation Talk of the Nation Science Friday, which is coming up at 1 this afternoon. That's how the programs are paid for need to get you on board now at 2 to 7:20 at 11 or 1. 800-227-2811 Melanie somebody's going to kick themselves in the butt tomorrow because they haven't called because they haven't pledged, you know, they're all set. You know, they're going to do it and they're going to call tomorrow and they say I want to get in on the Costa Rican. You know, I'm an old marlys is going to say no. You can't do that. No, no, no, no, no, no speaking of a heck of a deal here at 4 Midday. We've got one for you. If you'd like to take advantage of our $99 pledged level, which is $8.25 a month of this is our heck of a deal for the day today. Honor of rays appear in Sun. Midday The Talk of the Nation coffee mug as well as a half a pound of Guatemalan Peet's Coffee a 12 month subscription to Atlantic Monthly magazine as well as a 12 month subscription to Minnesota monthly magazine and all of the other Publications that go along with that now that is a heck of a deal especially cuz he did Gary Acton everyday at midday thrown in for good measure, so call 227-2811 make your pledge at The $99 level or any level that you feel is most appropriate and most comfortable for you. Gary were talking about trying to get up to a thousand calls by 12 noon. We're at 979 right now, but we got 13 people who are calling right now making their pledges. We got 5 minutes to go. Do you really want to hit a thousand calls by 12 noon today, and you can help us reach that go to 27208 11227 2811 new memberships. A lot of people are calling in to renew their membership by Dolores and Jean Alstrom from Rockford, Minnesota call. Need to renew Julie glocker from st. Paul has called in a renewal Mary Kay Tebow. I believe it is from St.Paul. Yes. Yes. It's calling in to redo that membership Jeff joyer from Lino Lakes and I believe it is from Eden Prairie. Let me say thank you to Frederick Jeff's from Minneapolis all of them calling 227-2811 or one 800-227-2811 about 4 and 1/2 minutes left to go in this segment and we have 19 new members. Shy of that thousand new member Mark for the day making their pledge to Minnesota Public Radio. They're going to try to help us reach that goal of a thousand Paul's. We got 19 left to go in just the next couple of minutes. Just want to tell you Gary that you already have one lunch date. What has called to 274 devil made a $1,000 pledge and is going to have lunch with Gary item as one of the rewards were pledging $1,000 to Minnesota Public Radio. You can also do the same if you are interested and able to become a member of our leadership circle at the $1,000 pledged level. Hey Gary, eichten lunch face-to-face. You probably have lunch with Gary almost everyday, you know, you sit down and you listen to him while you're having your lunch, but now you can go face-to-face. So, you know some nice place McDonald's the dariette in St. Paul, you know her like that. I have a nice chat with Gary, but you have to call to to 72811 any amount that you can afford is just fine with us. The most important thing is that you make that commitment and become a supporter of Minnesota Public Radio. Please don't be scared off. If you'd like to join us at that thousand-dollar leadership level. You don't have to go to lunch, but leave me if you don't want to do it. It's it's fine, you know, most people App for know a week and now and say yes, you can always say no later. We have 3 minutes to go here 16 callers on the line waiting to hear from 13 more new members, and we'll get to that thousand member Mark love to do it in the next three minutes. If you're one of 13 people listening right now who been listening to us this week you're not currently a member. Give us a quick call and get signed up help us over that hump. If you're already a member, and it's time to renew. Give us a call make a membership pledge take advantage of the special premiums the Costa Rican giveaway, if you're a member and all paid up and you can do a little bit extra. Give us a call back if you're a member and you're all paid up and you can't do any extra make sure you get at least get in on the Costa Rican give away. One of the special Benny's available 20 callers on the line 11 new membership. Shy of a thousand at 227-2811 or 800-227-2811. In the stretch Drive of this membership drive. We just got about 8 hours left to go $182,000 left to reach our goal and boy, do we need your help. We need your call. It's time to stop procrastinating if you've been thinking about it all week been meaning to get to it. You know now is the time he don't really have a lot of time left to to 72811 particularly. If you enjoy. Midday, if you enjoy the programs that Gary brings to you every single day the conversations that you can get involved in everyday you need to call 227-2811. Old music Meister Mike panga keeping us rocking and rolling this week. Good day during this black dress cuz you guys play the best music Minnesota Music Awards drummer on their staff, Hey, Gary was but five only five people left. We only $5 that is really great. And we only have 45 seconds to get there. So how about you help us out? The number one, two, three, four five there at 2 to 72811 help us to get to the Thousand call Mark today by 12 noon. We are so close and you can help us to to 72811. Let's see if we can get through that $180,000 barrier yet before we have to break for station identification in the news that would be $1,800 away and we don't expect you to pledge all of that. But if you could call in and join say at The $99 level you will move as quickly along here $18 on the line. We are to two new members shy of a thousand. Are you one of two? People who wants to become a new member to to 72811 is the number to call to to 72811 outside the Twin Cities one 800-227-2811. Now we're going to break here for station identification will catch up on some news headlines. Keep those phones ringing. We got a thousand new members. Thank you will be back in memento. Listen for the lighter side of auto repair from Click and Clack the tappet brothers on Car Talk Saturday and Sunday mornings at 11 on Minnesota Public Radio. You're listening to Minnesota Public Radio. We have some light snow now 26° at 10 o w FM 91.1 Minneapolis and st. Paul windy and colder this afternoon with some light snow flurries. Likely, it's warm. Is it going to get windy in Boulder tonight with a low 5 to 10 blustery and cold tomorrow?