Asking about good liberal talk radio shows

[Rossum]

Hello, I tend to listen to the radio while driving and for the last several years I have mostly stuck with the same two stations. One for music and the other for conservative talk radio. But after reading this forum for the last few weeks (and hearing some things from Rush and Medved that I disliked) I figured I should start expanding my woefully limited choice of political news sources.

The thing that really hit me was recently both Michael Medved and Rush Limbaugh responding to a story about school meals program providing dinners for students who need it (the article they were quoting from is this one) and both treated it as a "waste of tax dollars" and "undermining the family by having dinner time provided by the state" ... that's rubbish. From what I heard on Rush's own show and the article he was reading from, the kids were getting a pretty tasty and nutritious meal (lasagna made with spinach, peppers, carrots, tomato, fresh basil and cheese). If they had something better to go home to then they could easily have spent that time studying and went home to eat... if all they had to go home to was fast food or nothing then they have the opportunity to have something decent at school.

Yes, I know, there are probably bigger things that I should be outraged about by right wing talk-show hosts... but taking nutritious food away from students? Thats worse than taking candy from babies! (One could argue that sugar is bad for babies and therefore candy theft is a good thing... but lasagna with spinach?! Darn it! There's no way to justify that!).

Anyway... I'm looking for some talk radio shows either on the radio or online... or whatever. Some way to listen to how "those liberals" think of things while I'm driving. I found a list of progressive talk radio stations that looks interesting, but if anyone here has a recommended source of audio news then I'd be glad to hear it. Maybe even some not in the US (used to watch BBC world news which was nice before I stopped watching TV for the most part. Never really watched American news stations).

[Bellosh101]

Yes, I know, there are probably bigger things that I should be outraged about by right wing talk-show hosts... but taking nutritious food away from students? Thats worse than taking candy from babies!

In the minds of the Right Wing, the only people who'd have their kids get dinner from school are poor trash, and God forbid if money gets spent on poor trash!

[ArmorPierce]

I'm actually curious to see what is the position on that issue from members on this forum. Last time the issue of school lunch came up, there were plenty that were against school cafeterias providing lunch to students or school cafeterias at all period.

[Uraniun235]

I'm actually curious to see what is the position on that issue from members on this forum. Last time the issue of school lunch came up, there were plenty that were against school cafeterias providing lunch to students or school cafeterias at all period.

Yeah, and if we had a decent healthcare system in this country, there'd be no need for employers to offer insurance either.

[CaptainChewbacca]

One in ten high school students in the US doesn't eat before school, and they often can't afford the lunch. In order to teach a child I need him to be functional, and to do that he needs food. Otherwise there's really no point in him being there.

That being said, california school lunches are atrocious. If a child so chooses, they can have pizza, fries, and chocolate milk every day of the year. We have to provide choices, and sadly kids aren't taught to pick the one that is best for them.

[Ethereal235]

I went to a high school in an upper-middle class neighborhood, but some still came from families that couldn't afford much. One friend of mine was living in a foster home, so he received lunch from the school free of charge. There wasn't really an alternative; he had no car and no cash, so going home or going elsewhere simply wasn't a possibility.

Another friend of mine had parents with higher income, but they didn't give him money for lunch, so he didn't get anything from the school or from elsewhere. Driving home would take fifteen minutes, driving back another fifteen, and our lunch break was about 40 minutes, so what he basically ended up doing every day was (not making this shit up) looking through garbage for uneaten bits that were still good. Most of the time, we felt bad enough seeing it that we'd buy him meals instead.

The thought of a substantial number of students being in a similar situation is disconcerting. Children shouldn't be punished for having poor or incompetent parents. I don't understand why anyone would support measures that decrease social mobility.

I don't know any left-wing talk show hosts. I think they're substantially less popular. I'd personally recommend avoiding them and relying on print media. For commentary/opinion, I prefer The Economist and Newsweek, but I don't think The Economist could really be called liberal, and it seems like Newsweek might be dying soon.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Support your local public radio station. They will carry programming from NPR and the other public media companies. Some will even carry the BBC World News. NPR's news coverage tends to be worlds better than you can expect to get from nearly any other American news outlet.

[Aaron]

I'm actually curious to see what is the position on that issue from members on this forum. Last time the issue of school lunch came up, there were plenty that were against school cafeterias providing lunch to students or school cafeterias at all period.

Theres a program here for it at my kids school. I certainly have no objection to it, I live in the poorest county in Ontario and if it helps the kids do better then I'm for it. No kid should have to sit through school with a sore stomach because he's hungry.

[salm]

Why are you looking for a liberal radio station? Personally i´d be looking for a neutral, non partisan station that simply reports facts as opposed to stupid oppinions.

[Uraniun235]

I'm actually curious to see what is the position on that issue from members on this forum. Last time the issue of school lunch came up, there were plenty that were against school cafeterias providing lunch to students or school cafeterias at all period.

Theres a program here for it at my kids school. I certainly have no objection to it, I live in the poorest county in Ontario and if it helps the kids do better then I'm for it. No kid should have to sit through school with a sore stomach because he's hungry.

If I remember right, we have a federally-funded program at the district I work at that opens some of our kitchens throughout the summer to provide free breakfasts for kids, because so much of our population qualifies for free or reduced-price meals.

[jcow79]

I'd like to second NPR. Their website will list stations in your area or you can listen to their broadcasts online. They aren't a liberal talk radio show but they objectively report on world news. I'd rather listen to the news and make up my own mind rather than listen to the spin of liberal and conservative talk radio. You just won't get accurate whole-picture information from editorialist. They have an agenda to push, ratings to get, and money to make. Giving you all the facts doesn't tend to help that.

[Temujin]

Since Air America went off the air, all you really have is NPR, which I wouldn't really classify as liberal any more than I would classify the BBC as liberal, just objective in their reporting. However, it has been said that realty (and alternatively the truth) has a liberal bias, so you'll probably get what your looking for.

[Rossum]

Okay, I found NPR and it sounds great so far. I guess I am interested in getting a neutral honest news source (it's just I've always heard that there is no such thing as an unbiased source so... yeah, figured I'd at least go for a source I knew was different from the one's I've dealt with before).

[Razorgeist]

The Young turks but they're only on satellite radio.

[Elfdart]

If you want real information and substance, try Thom Hartmann. If you want some substance and you want to hear someone make fun of the Republican leader in the House as Congressman Boner ("Boner Watch -How long can the GOP's boner hold up?"), then Stephanie Miller is probably right for you (she's the one who started calling Cheney "Dick Vader"). Randi Rhodes is somewhere in between.

Just look them up on YouTube and see which one you like. Speaking of which, I catch The Young Turks on YouTube every night.

[SCRawl]

If you have an mp3 player you can download the podcasts of (for example) Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann. They're updated weekday nights, a little while after they appear on television. I'm sure there are more, but they're the ones I listen to.

[Mr Bean]

If you have an mp3 player you can download the podcasts of (for example) Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann. They're updated weekday nights, a little while after they appear on television. I'm sure there are more, but they're the ones I listen to.

Seconded this, I listen to Maddow and Keith this way. A mp3 player(40$ for most Sandisk or Creative 2gig players) is dead cheap and most phones come with ability built into them now if you don't want to fork over the 40$ for a decent mp3 player.

As for OP's question of Liberal talk shows, with air America gone only the Young Turks remain and they broadcast only Sattelite but offer Youtube and podcast versions of their show.
http://www.theyoungturks.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheYoungTurks
http://www.youtube.com/show?p=gsnCohqU8dY&s=2

They are listener supported however, the (roughly) first hour of their show they give away free in podcast form in addition to putting up Youtube clips of their show every day.

Please note as far as Liberals go, the host of the Young turks is not typical, being an Agnostic Turkish immigrant former Republican, former Muslim tends to do that to you.

[Razorgeist]

^^^Yeah Cenk Yugar isn't typical but he pulls no punches when interviewing idiot conservatives. Check out his interview with SE Cupp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWu5fLRCFDk