We have become FANS of Garrison Keillor's radio show "A Prairie Home Companion, heard on National Public Radio in ithe USA every Saturday night from 6 to 8 PM. This show has been on the air since about 1972 and we discovered it about 10 years ago. It is a radio variety show, definitely not what one would expect to last but last and flourish it has.
The program features quality writing, skits, guests with a variety of talents including musicians, writers, poets and actors to name a few. There are songs, regular series of skits that come and go, "commercials" for a wide range of useful products and services (Bertha's Kitty Boutique, The American Duct Tape Council, Be-Bop-A-Re-Bop Frozen Rhubarb Pie, Powdermilk Biscuits, the Ketchup Advisory Board (which promotes ketchup, America's favourite vegetable) etc) all featuring superb writing. There is Tom Keith, perhaps the best (and maybe the only) sound effects man on radio, Tim Russell (the man of many voices) and many other regular performers. It is a program that features music, satire (it is the only place that I have ever heard fun made of Mr. Rogers) and the highest quality of performance.
The highlight of each program is an approximately 20 minute story telling session where Garrison presents the News from Lake Wobegon which summarizes the past week's happenings in the Northen Minnesota town that he invented. These stories always end with "And that's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average". Did I mention that the writing is excellent? It is a radio show that brings back the joy of listening.
Check out their web site, Prairie Home Companion at "http://www.phc.mpr.org" where you can get show synopses, guest announcements, skit scripts, Real Audio show samples and more. Highly recommended!