A special broadcast version of two of NPR’s most popular podcasts — Planet Money and How I Built This — is coming to VPR’s Sunday program schedule starting on March 4, 2018. These back-to-back programs will air at 4 p.m. and On The Media will move to 10 a.m.
Why is your schedule changing?
VPR reviews its program schedule often to ensure we’re providing the best public service to our community. We’ve been repeating the first hour of Weekend Edition Sunday at 10 a.m. for several years and we’ve found that many listeners are tuning out because they’ve heard it already. At the same time, NPR released an exciting new program, Planet Money/How I Built This, and we feel that it’ll be a great fit for our listeners. If you’re curious about how the world works and savor rich storytelling, then this new program is sure to be an engaging weekend listen.
New Program: Planet Money/How I Built This — Sundays at 4 p.m.
Planet Money/How I Built This is a marriage of two popular podcasts that share common themes of business and money, and tell amazing stories in different ways.
Planet Money explains the economy in creative, fun ways — making sense of the big, complicated forces that move our economy. Planet Money launched in 2008 during the financial crisis and, since then, it has won many awards including a Peabody and an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2017. You can also hear Planet Money stories on Morning Edition, and All Things Considered. The program is co-hosted by: Ailsa Chang, Cardiff Garcia, Jacob Goldstein, Noel King, Kenny Malone, Robert Smith, and Stacey Vanek Smith.
In How I Built This, host Guy Raz introduces us to innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists, and the stories behind the companies and movements they built. Each episode is a narrative journey marked by triumphs, failures, serendipity, and insight. Guests have included the founders of Black Entertainment Television, Zumba Aerobics and Instagram. Our local listeners might be interested in their past episodes on Jake Burton Carpenter and Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Guy Raz is also the host of The Ted Radio Hour and the kids’ podcast Wow In The World.
Learn more about why NPR created Planet Money/How I Built This.
Time Change: On The Media — Sundays at 10 a.m.
On The Media is a weekly investigation into how the media shapes our world view. Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield give you the tools to survive the media maelstrom. VPR has carried this program for many years. We’re moving it to 10 a.m. because we believe it is a good follow-up to Weekend Edition Sunday. Together with The New Yorker Radio Hour at 11 and Next at noon, Sundays on VPR bring you a mix of news and culture perfect for weekend listening!
Absorbing change isn’t always easy. You may be wondering...
What about VPR Cafe, Awesome Etiquette and VPR’s Sunday Essay?
These VPR features previously aired between 10:40 and 11:00 a.m. The VPR Cafe is moving to Friday at 6:20 p.m. starting March 9, 2018. The Awesome Etiquette broadcast feature is discontinued, but fans can listen to the weekly Awesome Etiquette podcast. The Sunday Essay has also been discontinued.
How does VPR make programming decisions?
We take many factors into account when choosing and scheduling our programming. Programs need to fit our strategic plan and budget, and we take market factors, audience research, and listener feedback into consideration. We also keep an eye on what our public radio colleagues around the country are doing, and what is working for them.
I have some thoughts about these changes that I want to share with VPR.
Excellent — we love to hearing from you! You can give us a call, send us a an email, or write to us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. We strive to respond to every message!
