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And then I heard Neal Conan talking with Laura Sullivan, National Public Radio’s police and prisons correspondent and Beau Hodai, freelance journalist covering private prisons about How Corporate Interests Got SB 1070 Passed on Talk of the Nation (a piece that all Arizonan’s should listen to.)

Both of these excellent radio hosts ask the kinds of questions that evoke stories from their guests. So in addition to presenting facts, they tell stories about how things work, and the listener gets more of a complete picture. It’s especially important on radio where there is no visual and everything needs to be explained.

I’m a big radio fan. In addition to listening in real time, I’ve discovered podcasts where I can download episodes of my favorite shows to my computer and ipod for free. That way I don’t have to miss anything, I can plug in on my own time schedule.

My present line up is Story Corps, This American Life, Science Friday, Fresh Air and The Moth. I change them around occasionally to keep myself amused.