In the last week or so, I’ve finally started to give PRI’s morning news show, “The Takeaway” a chance. Originally, I thought it was going to be the PRI answer to NPR’s “Bryant Park Project”, but it’s not. While I don’t think I would want it to try to be, it still seems to come across as a slightly more hip “Morning Edition”.
It’s starting to grow on me, though, and today, I finally caved and subscribed to the podcast so I would have something to listen to at work on days that “This American Life” isn’t working for me.
Here’s what I like – the hosts, John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji are likeable, but not over the top (and is that a hint of adoration I hear between John and Adaora? Are they angling to become the new Brooke and Bob?) . The news anchor, Femi Oke, is awesome and she has that hard-to-place-but-definitely-well-travelled accent that only public radio reporters and Madonna seem to be able to pull off.
As far as stories go, they’re interesting, but I would like to hear some of the harder-hitting news laid out in a more news-magazine style way for those of us who want the information without having to do a buttload of research first. (”The Takeaway” is partnered with both the New York Times and the BBC, so that could explain the almost-excessive thoroughness. I love news, but I need something with a bit of sugar with breakfast. I want the Special K with Red Berries version of current events early in the morning.)
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After reading your post I subscribed to The Takeaway via iTunes, but upon listening to the first downloaded episode I found that after every segment (that’s every 5 to 8 minutes), they play a sponsor ad. So every few minutes you hear “The Takeaway podcast is sponsored by Liberty Mutual Financial… nothing says Mutual Financial like Liberty!”
It’s like downloading the pledge-drive version of an NPR show.
Any sponsor info should be at the top of the show, or maybe every 30 minutes, but not every five minutes… it’s like the first podcast I’ve heard with aural pop-up ads.
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