NPR

I grew up a poster child of the 80s. I watched Pinwheel and Fraggle Rock, ate Pop Tarts, wore 3 pairs of different colored socks in my Chuck Taylors and thought Kirk Cameron was the greatest thing since, well, Pop Tarts. Though a number of my peers were reared on PBS and grew up listening to NPR with their folks, I wasn't one of them. Who wanted to watch "public" TV when there was Nickelodeon and "You Can't Do That on Television"?

So needless to say, I was a late-comer to the "public" scene, both TV and radio. As an adult, however, I can't get enough of NPR. And, luckily, Asheville offers the most wonderful WCQS for WNC's listening pleasure.

Top 5 Reasons I love NPR:

• StoryCorps – If you've never heard of the StoryCorps Project, you need to check it out. It's the most wonderful brainchild of David Isay. They set up booths in malls and public spaces around the country and people stop in and record themselves, and usually a loved one, just talking about significant moments in their lives. And then all of the recordings are archived at the Library of Congress. They air 1 each Friday during Morning Edition and I'd say 90% leave me teary-eyed. It's amazing what people can endure and how much they can love and forgive ... it's just a great portrait of humanity in general. You can check out the podcast here.

• Morning Edition & All Things Considered – These provide my news fix on the way to and back from work

• Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz – This airs on WCQS in the evenings, long about the time I'm ready to wind down and prepare for slumber. Marian McPartland turned 90 this year and is still so unbelievably talented ... as is every single guest she has on the show. These sessions are also online at NPR's website.

• Conversations & Evening Rounds – These are segments on WCQS featuring local authorities who come in and discuss everything from pet health and politics to computer repair, and listeners can call in with questions (sometimes very, very silly questions too!)

And last, but certainly not least ....

• Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! This hour-long quiz show hosted by Peter Sagal is jam-packed with laugh-out-loud moments and the top prize is that the winners get Carl Kasell's voice on their home answering machine ... love it! This is also a good way to recap the top news events of the week while be amused by the likes of Mo Rocca, Paula Poundstone and the such :)

And there you have it.