Marfa Public Radio Puts You to Sleep

A Whole Other Country is a new podcast from the award-winning Marfa Public Radio Studios. Back in the ‘90s, in an off-the-grid neighborhood in the mountains of Far West Texas, a wannabe vintner started his own Wild West nation. Reporter and host Zoe Kurland drives up the long, bumpy roads of the Davis Mountains to talk to a cast of neighbors and onlookers who watched the story of the standoff unfo...

Imagine, you’re sitting in a small radio station in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert in Far West Texas. The air is dry and still. You’ve spent the day reporting on a long county commissioner’s meeting. Maybe you’ve edited a story about the local herbarium and its keepers. Maybe you sat in the host chair for Morning Edition and All Things Considered, reporting the weather. Perhaps, on this day,...

You’re the programming director at Marfa Public Radio. Someone has pitched you an idea for a new show. It’s an edgy program that may contain questionable content. Are you up to date with the current regulations? Well, you should be. The FCC requires it. In this episode, Marfa Public Radio’s Programming Director, Chris Dyer, reads the FCC Rules and Policies regarding drugs, alcohol, tobacco and obs...

You’re listening to MPR in the afternoon. The program? All Things Considered . As you sink into a comfortable plush armchair, you ponder— where did this show come from? Who’s making this happen? Who has made this happen, historically? In this episode, Marfa Public Radio reporter and All Things Considered host Travis Bubenik reads a brief history of All Things Considered. To help keep Marfa Public...

You’ve been sending out Marfa Public Radio merch packages all day to places near and far– tees to Tomball, caps to Cornwall, diner mugs all the way to Montreal. You’re surrounded by stacks of shirts, soft and inviting– a bed of cotton classic logo tees upon which you lay your head. You’re sending out the last order of the day and you wonder, what exactly are the postal regulations after all? What...

You live in Texas. You find a phrase floating around in your mind: Texas Administrative Code. What is that? Is that a code of honor? Is it a code of conduct? Is it a secret code that gets you a discount at your favorite store? Is it a communication code, like morse? You don’t know. But Mitch Borden does know. In this episode, Marfa Public Radio’s Permian Basin Reporter Mitch Borden reads the Texas...

You’re producing a sleep podcast for Marfa Public Radio, not unlike the one you’re listening to right now. You’re looking for music, a dulcet tune to lull your listeners into sweet sleep. You find a couple of lo-fi selections. But…can you use them? Are you allowed? Will you find yourself entangled in a stressful lawsuit around copyright infringement? In this episode, Marfa Public Radio reporter an...

It’s a rainy night in Far West Texas— the drops hit the roof of the radio station, the pitter patter a percussive rhythm. You gaze out the window, and far away, you see lightning strike. Uh oh. You know what that means. The tower is out. In this episode, Marfa Public Radio’s station manager Travis Pope, reading a selection of The Tower Regulations Manual. To help keep Marfa Public Radio awake and...

It’s 1967, you find yourself in the hallowed halls of an important national institution, that happens to smell like dust and popcorn. You’re seated in a rigid chair, looking upon the senate floor. The hum of discussion fills your ears as you sink deeper into your seat on the sidelines. Senators are discussing the future of broadcasting. The public kind. In this Episode, Marfa Public Radio’s Execut...

You’re writing up an article for the Marfa Public Radio website and you find yourself wondering… do I use an oxford comma? Is this the correct syntax for the situation? How should I go about capitalization? Should I use italics here? Can I use italics? Marfa Public Radio’s News Director, Carlos Morales has the answers to your questions. In this episode, Carlos Morales reads you the NPR Style Guide...

After a brutally hot summer, the desert weather’s easing up. You like standing outside at night, but you find it gets dark, so dark that you can’t see a thing. You yearn to read outside, yearn to knit, yearn to play a game of solitaire every once in a while. At last, you decide to install an outdoor light. But you harbor a concern— you don’t want to disturb the stars or pollute the beautiful dark...

It’s early in the morning, you reach over to your analog radio and turn the dial to hear a warm fuzz, breaking into the beginnings of your favorite program, Morning Edition. You find yourself curious– asking what is this show? Where did it come from? Who’s making this happen? Who has made this happen, historically? In this episode, Marfa Public Radio’s DJ and Morning Edition host, Julie Bernal rea...