Best Prairie Home Productions Podcasts (2024)

1
You Were Warned (Pt. 2) 15:02

4h ago15:02

15:02

Marci has a “freedom of speech freedom of the press” agenda—but she once paid the price for a teenage transgression. Turi is a hard-liner on consequences, until she sees her own kid’s Facebook page. Now on campus: Imagine what happens when the thing you were told would happen…actually happens.By Shebops Productions

1
You Were Warned Pt. 1 15:56

7h ago15:56

15:56

Turi experiences a rude awakening. It’s the cops. Crime and punishment, Marci has been hacked. Crime and punishment on the university campus, aka didn’t your parents teach you anything?By Shebops Productions

1
A small life has its own distinct moments 7:14

5h ago7:14

7:14

In my parents’ home, waffles took time so they were saved for Saturday morning; you had to locate our waffle iron, a big clunky appliance kept on a high shelf in the laundry room, and we washed the griddle while someone else mixed the batter, and we put Mazola oil or margarine on it for a lubricant, and someone said, “Not too much,” so not enough w…

1
The Reunion 14:56

2d ago14:56

14:56

Marci is grandparenting…by some name. Reunion—radio and otherwise. The Denver Boot (for cars) and one for some other use. Update on the garbage house, which may explode. Marci’s history of neighborhood explosions. Reunions, radio and otherwise. Coachella, the algorithm strikes back.By Shebops Productions

1
O what a beautiful evening 7:49

5d ago7:49

7:49

I get pleasure from words, which is surely due to coming from taciturn people, so when I happen upon a seed catalogue and look through the beans (Scarlet Runner, Provider, Contender, Gold Rush, Blue Lake, Tenderette Green) and the corn (Bodacious, Ambrosia Hybrid, Sugar Buns, Abundance) and the tomatoes (Early Girl, Better Boy, Beefsteak, Sweetie, …

1
Chivalry is Selective 15:18

6d ago15:18

15:18

Fine, thanks…and how did YOU sleep? Paying to take orders. The people on your social media that you know you know….but you could be wrong. The worst people at the worst performance at the Fringe Festival.By Shebops Productions

1
The art of writing, lesson one 7:13

13d ago7:13

7:13

Silence is a basic necessity. I’m an early riser and as I make coffee and take my meds, my dreams evaporate and my waking mind is open to inspiration and sometimes finds it — I suddenly know what’s next in my novel, I think of a letter I need to write to someone, and I don’t want an Oscar Mayer wiener to butt in. The thought of wanting to be one, o…

1
You Can't Have It For Free 15:15

13d ago15:15

15:15

If you give it away….they don’t respect it. Another theory about your memory, and the kid you liked in fifth grade. Those boxes in storage, and the hoped-for natural disaster. The unopened box.By Shebops Productions

1
Pets Over Husbands 14:36

16d ago14:36

14:36

In a surprising twist, it turns out Turi may love the spousal unit more than Marci loves her husband. Or it may just be that Marci desperately craves an appearance on “Shark Tank.” There’s a helmet and a goat involved. Contemplating the return of the muumuu.By Shebops Productions

1
Why We Have Podcasts 15:54

18d ago15:54

15:54

An old children’s story, and the tale of the foster dog. Marci’s marketplace adventure. Child-rearing, then and now. The nightmare tenant, again and still.By Shebops Productions

1
I open the fridge and life beckons 7:22

23d ago7:22

7:22

From the marmalade to the long table with green lampshades, I’ve chosen one pleasure after another, and when noon approaches, I have a lunch wagon in mind in Bryant Park, which offers an Italian sausage in a bun. Walking around the park eating a sausage with mustard is my idea of what a real city guy does, a guy with places to go and things to do, …

1
Nightmare with Prairie Dogs 15:21

23d ago15:21

15:21

Marci’s hip deep in muck…and possibly vermin. A nightmare with various possible inhabitants in the holes in the back 40. Another foray into reality TV, and our possibly first ever movie review, with lots of dead people. Marci gets ready for a sentimental parting, that will make her $500.By Shebops Productions

1
Last Wednesday, stuck in a traffic jam 7:05

30d ago7:05

7:05

New Yorkers have this ability, to express despair and municipal pride in the same sentence. I over-tipped him and hiked 12 blocks to my doctor who took my blood pressure and said it was excellent, so I owe Joe for getting me to exercise. I was so surprised though by his language describing his likely November opponent, which I read in a paper I won…

1
The Anonymous Poison Pen Letter 14:14

1M ago14:14

14:14

Where the band width has gone. Dangerous things you can rent. Turi confesses to the embarrassing thing the foster dog has revealed to her. Hint: Turi is a princess. What quiet people are thinking. The anonymous rat-out. Professor repellent.

1
But Can You Sleep Through It? 15:43

1M ago15:43

15:43

Marci is exhausted by goats and pina coladas. Turi is exhausted by dogs. The spousal unit sleeps on. And we learn a rule of thumb….about backing up.By Shebops Productions

1
The winter blues has got me bad, mama 7:47

1M ago7:47

7:47

We need to commemorate heroic acts of invention and creativity that have improved our lives vastly over those of our ancestors. I see that Microsoft has a little museum at its campus in Redmond, WA, and there are various rock and roll museums. I’ve googled around for a museum celebrating the first successful open-heart surgical operation, which too…

1
The Profane Sweatshirt 12:53

1M ago12:53

12:53

Marci has the wrong clothes to go out in public…and ends up out in public. The epic wardrobe fail of Williams, Arizona. The privilege of the curtain-less window. Landlords and the people who hate themBy Shebops Productions

1
Me and Maurizio, ships in the night 7:17

1M ago7:17

7:17

He asked about North Dakota, so I told him. Yes, the winters are long and the land is flat, but the people are the salt of the earth. Decency and humor. No pretense. Nobody lives here to show off. The man in the greasy jacket and barn boots might be a multi-millionaire farmer and he will be friendly without patronizing you, and you can tell him wha…

1
Prison Stories 15:42

1M ago15:42

15:42

Marci is following a particularly grisly sentencing…because of the perpetrator’s tattoos. Grisly crimes—before and after social networking. Survival skills you do not want your cat to have. Newborn babies: what DO they remember?By Shebops Productions

1
Unproductive Thinking 10:19

2M ago10:19

10:19

Turi has anxiety, but refuses to do anything that would make it go away…or make it worse. Marci admits to avoiding information. Middle-school inner dialogue, and when you should give up on making a friend.By Shebops Productions

1
Crossing the flats, looking for mountains 7:27

2M ago7:27

7:27

In homage to my ancestor David Powell, I’m riding a train across Kansas heading for Colorado, his goal in 1859 when he left Martha Ann and the children behind in Missouri and headed for the gold rush. Kansas is a state of vastness, some of it seems undisturbed since David rode across it. Here is a little farm near the tracks with no neighbor for se…

1
Is Your Marriage OK? 11:16

2M ago11:16

11:16

News this week of the third divorce among Turi’s friends has the spousal unit asking this important question. And the answer may come down to the weather and an app. Also, a parental accomplishment—you may have reached this money-saving milepost, too.By Shebops Productions

1
Hormones 13:48

2M ago13:48

13:48

Everything they tell you about youth and hormones is only half the story. Then there’s the post partum version…and the old lady version. The thing that you allegedly broke, but the explanation makes no sense.By Shebops Productions

1
Sunday morning, back in the fourth pew 7:33

2M ago7:33

7:33

A man stopped at my table who recognized me from my radio days. “Have a seat,” I said. He’s from Ohio, retired high school English teacher. Like everyone my age, he’s worried about young people. “They’re so busy with sports and activities and social media and video games and whatnot, it got so I couldn’t assign reading, they just didn’t have time f…

1
Your Friend's Exploding Marriage 14:44

2M ago14:44

14:44

Deceptively good marriages: Other people’s rotten spouses are easy to spot---and then it happens. Marci explains her accent. Backyard cattle update. Deceptively perfect babies.By Shebops Productions

1
Don't Date Lizards 14:37

2M ago14:37

14:37

Marci has read the account of a man who perished at the hands—well, claws and teeth, actually, of his pet. Turi explains that this is JUST like people who date bad boyfriends. And, amazingly, you will find her theory makes perfect sense. The marauding goats and cattle are back—indoors, this time.By Shebops Productions

1
As I keep telling myself, life is good 7:33

2M ago7:33

7:33

The birth of the spotless giraffe at a zoo in Tennessee, the only known one on earth, is important news to those of us who grew up as oddballs, seeing the spotted mama giraffe nuzzling her child, remembering the kindness of aunts and teachers who noticed our helpless naivete and guided us through the shallows.And then there was the story of the cab…

1
Maestro on the Couch 14:54

2M ago14:54

14:54

Turi is fascinated by a late night TV ad.which is better than what she’s been watching on disc, for the Screen Actors’ Guild awards. Marci has found a movie that’s even worse than watching “Black Adam”…again. #BradleyCooper #Maestro #BlackAdam #Bernstein #SAGBy Shebops Productions

1
What endures is decency, believe me 7:42

2M ago7:42

7:42

I hear people complain about police and city planners and the health care system, but never about firemen or EMTs, and few complain about slow delivery of mail, perhaps because so few people write letters these days. I do and delivery is prompt. This morning I wrote a postcard with a limerick for a new father:Byron is his child’s wiperAnd poop does…

1
The Rental Car 15:09

2M ago15:09

15:09

Marci claims her body parts could top the predictions of cataclysmic flooding during Turi’s work trip to LA. The helpful spouse and the bargain rental car. What (not) to do after you get sacked from your job in 2024.By Shebops Productions

1
A Tale of 3 Bathrooms 15:24

2M ago15:24

15:24

Marci is back from grand-maternity leave. She’s got diapers to change, and a cat in her bathroom. Turi has returned from Mexico. Plumbing also played a big role in her vacation.By Shebops Productions

1
The gift of Miss Helen Story, remembered 8:13

3M ago8:13

8:13

But I found my glasses today. They were in my jacket pocket. Sometimes they’re in a shirt pocket, sometimes perched on top of my head. The frenzy ends, the problem solves itself. The comedian is grateful. He looks around and appreciates the beauty of the day, the here and now. It’s 5 a.m. My love is asleep in the bedroom, my daughter in her bedroom…

1
Sing on, dance on, good eye, ain't you happy 7:23

3M ago7:23

7:23

At the game I sat next to a true Twins fan named Alex who gave me the lowdown on various players and yelled the right things — “Looked good to me!” at the ump who’d called a strike a ball and “Good eye!” at a Twin who let Ball 3 go by and “Throw him the meatball!” at the opposition pitcher who had an 0-2 count on a Twins batter.It was a big pleasur…

1
Flying around America, looking at crowds 7:43

3M ago7:43

7:43

I imagine that someday at America’s boarding gates, after the wheelchair passengers are boarded and Those Who Need Extra Time, then active military, there will be other categories of merit to be given precedence, Persons Traumatized By Flight, Persons In Need Of Affirmation, Persons Trapped In Bad Relationships, and why not add Unappreciated Poets …

1
You May Not Give Birth in This Car 15:43

3M ago15:43

15:43

Increasingly nervous at the prospect of her daughter going into labor while the neighborhood is snowed in, Marci has a “plan b”…and a “plan c”. One involves the fire department, the other is messier. You’re going to name him what??? Turi is wondering where all her underwear has gone.By Shebops Productions

1
The memory is alive with old roots 8:09

3M ago8:09

8:09

The simple pleasures of a long close marriage on a perfect October day, leaves dropping from the trees, eating an egg salad sandwich after her long morning walk, playing Scrabble. She talks about who and what she saw on her hike and I, the writer, am silent in thought, having played the word “irony,” which triggers the memory of a day long ago in S…

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