ON AIR DECEMBER 2013 ISSUE Looking for Books? Take Our Web Survey WI Life Coming to TV Featured Photo WPR's Norman Gilliland with a quartet of students from Lawrence University in a live broadcast of The Midday this fall. Hear the complete broadcast online here. Jim Fleming's Retirement from To the Best of Our Knowledge Brings Schedule and Host Changes Sound Bites After more than 20 years, Wisconsin Public Radio's Jim Fleming WPR Holiday Specials announced that he will retire at the end of January as host of To the WPR is your home for Best of Our Knowledge, one of WPR's three nationally broadcast seasonal music, programs. The show has won numerous awards, including radio's entertainment and talk. highest honor, the Peabody Award. It's distributed by Public Radio Find a complete list of International and heard on 198 stations around the country. special programs online here. "I have loved working on this show, being surrounded by all the talented people who make each hour such a joy to listen to. I look forward to being among the bright and interested people who listen Make a Year-End Gift to our program and to hearing Anne warmly welcoming us all to the Today! radio each week," Fleming said. The show was created in 1990 by Support the WPR Fleming, Steve Paulson and Anne Strainchamps. Strainchamps has programs you love before been tapped to take over hosting duties beginning in February. "It's the end of the year! an exciting opportunity, but bittersweet because we've all loved working with Jim so much," she said. Free WPR Mobile App "Jim has always been a trusted guide to the listener and a valuable If the holidays include a leader of the production team for the show. Anne is excited about new smartphone or tablet the challenge of hosting and we all look forward to building on Jim's for you or a friend, add a success with the program," added Michael Arnold, WPR's director of little extra joy to it by content. He noted that Fleming will continue to work on other installing the free WPR projects at WPR, including Chapter A Day broadcasts. app. Available in iTunes and Google Play now. The increased responsibilities at To the Best of Our Knowledge mean that Strainchamps' 45 North will cease production at the end of December. On Point, the national call-in show, will replace it and Quick Links air Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. on WPR's Ideas Network stations. The network also announced that On the Media WPR Online will air Fridays at 6 p.m. beginning January 3, 2014. Donate Now Visit To the Best of Our Knowledge online at ttbook.org NPR Online Best Books of 2013 Personalized for You by Be Part of WPR's Online NPR? Community Usually you can't escape end-of- year lists. This year, NPR passes on their standard year-end best books list and offers something more versatile, informative, interactive, and fun - the NPR Book Concierge. Working with book critics and other bibliophiles, NPR Books staff categorized more than 200 books of 2013 against more than 20 different classifications (or filters) - and we're not talking old-school Dewey Decimal System. Each book has been tagged to capture not only the genre (Mystery, Science Fiction, Biography, Cookbooks, etc) but the themes, characters, archetypes, and overall tone of the book (Eye-Opening Reads, It's All Geek To Me, Seriously Great Writing, The Dark Side). If you want a rather short book for a history lover that leans toward the dark side, the NPR Book Concierge has a pick for you. How about a geeky book that's also a thriller that your book club will love? The NPR Book Concierge has it. Visit the site below and have fun clicking through the selection of filters to find your first great read of 2014. Get your customized reading list at NPR.org BEHIND THE SCENES What Do You Think of WPR.org? This fall, WPR launched a completely new wpr.org. It was designed to put more emphasis on the informative and engaging news, conversation, music and entertainment that you're looking for when you visit us online. We put a greater emphasis on the headlines of the day and created an easy-to-use navigation to help you browse the site by show and topic area. And, of course, you can still listen to all three of our networks live and listen to or download past episodes of some of your favorite programs. Plus, it all works on smartphones and tablets, too! The new site has been up for several months and we're eager to get your impressions. We've crafted a simple 5 minute survey that you can take right now. Your input will help us serve you - and all Wisconsinites - better. Over the coming weeks and months we'll all be working hard to refine the site and add new features. Keep letting us know what you want - and need - from wpr.org. Click here to take the survey now. Wisconsin Life TV Sneak- Peek Wisconsin character. You find it everywhere you go. From the bluffs above the Mississippi River to the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. You find it in the hearts of the people that call Wisconsin home and you'll find it on Wisconsin Life, a regular feature on Wisconsin Public Radio. Starting this February, you'll have a chance to experience Wisconsin Life in a whole new way on Wisconsin Public Television. We've updated the website and posted a preview of the series online. Check it out and stay tuned for more about this exciting new collaboration celebrating the people and places of Wisconsin. Visit WisconsinLife.org for audio, video and more. AROUND WISCONSIN GrandSLAM Storytelling in Milwaukee, January 31 WPR loves stories, especially those told by folks in Wisconsin. Over the past year, our Milwaukee-area listeners have had the opportunity to gather for monthly open-mic storytelling competitions sponsored by a national non-profit called The Moth. Storytellers compete for bragging rights and a chance to participate in an annual GrandSLAM competition. On Friday, January 31, you can see the first 10 winners battle it out in Milwaukee's first GrandSLAM at Turner Hall, 1040 N. 4th Street, Milwaukee. The night's theme is "Fish Out of Water." Each storyteller will have five minutes to share a tale about a time they were out of their element. At the end of the night, one storyteller will be crowned Milwaukee's first GrandSLAM champion. Robin Wachsberger, Associate Producer of The Moth, enjoys watching "the titans" of the monthly storytelling community come together for the GrandSLAM. "It's a Moth love fest where friends and family are coming out to support their achievement and celebrate these performers," she said. (The Moth Radio Hour can be heard on WPR's Ideas Network Stations each Friday at 9 p.m.) Tickets are available at the Pabst Theater box office or online at pabsttheater.org. Get yours here. A Memorable Tour for Whad'Ya Know? Fans On December 13, listeners from western Wisconsin got the chance to hop on a bus to Madison for a fun-filled WPR weekend. The 27 listeners on the trip saw a live broadcast of Whad'Ya Know? and had lunch with Michael Feldman and the Whad'Ya Know? crew. Six people from the trip ended up on the air, including a licensed retired cheese maker and a therapeutic harpist. (Listen to the full broadcast here.) Tiffany Coggins, who led the trip from WPR's Eau Claire bureau, enjoyed seeing all the props and visual components that went into the show. "It's a lot of fun to see live radio being made - and it's really geared toward the audience in the theater and on air," she said. Get tickets for Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know? shows in Madison and Kenosha here. Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved..