Beyond Headlines and Haydn

By J.D. Reed

In fictional Zenith, George Babbitt brags about boosterism. In Boston, a Tappet brother asks, "Does the transmission go clunk before or after you let in the clutch?" In Paris, Papa Wemba recalls his days as Zaire's most popular folk singer. And in New Orleans, Dr. John bellows the blues from the stage of the Colt 38 Club.

Until recently, people knew pretty much what to expect when they tuned in to National Public Radio: thoughtful and innovative news programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered, with plenty of commercial-free classical music in between. But no longer. Washington-based NPR, which is celebrating its 20th year, is adding more sounds of fun -- and even a little fluff -- to its successful duet of headlines and Haydn. For example, the private, not-for- profit network last month introduced Heat, a late-night mix of news, music and guests, to attract younger listeners, already a growing part of the network's audience. "NPR is not a preserve for the humor impaired," says Heat senior producer Steve Rathe. "It is for thoughtful people who have not forgotten how to dance."

NPR is bopping right along. Twelve million people tune in each week, and the number of member stations has grown from 90 in 1970 to 395. Morning Edition, with its weekly audience of 4.8 million listeners, is public radio's top draw. Not even Garrison Keillor's new American Radio Company of the Air, which is produced by NPR's friendly rival, American Public Radio, commands such a large audience.

To keep itchy fingers off those dials, the network is leavening its offerings with lighter fare. News attracts a sizable cadre of thirtysomethings, but many of them switch off their sets when Eine Kleine Nachtmusik begins. Increasingly, the network is promoting what Peter Pennekamp, a programming vice president, calls "culture with a small c."

For one thing, NPR is expanding its lineup of ethnic-, jazz- and folk-music offerings. In addition to Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, which for 13 years has featured guests such as Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea and Peter Schickele (P.D.Q. Bach), two new shows are getting funkier and further afield. BluesStage transports listeners to down-and-dirty locales to hear rhythm-and- blues stars, including the Persuasions. A recent episode highlighted veteran Little Milton from the gritty B.K. Lounge in Rochester. The emcee and commentator for the weekly program is Grammy-winning R.-and-B. soul sister Ruth Brown, who also earned a Tony for her role in the Broadway musical Black and Blue.

Perhaps NPR's liveliest offering is Afropop Worldwide, which is buoyed by the wide knowledge, melodious voice and infectious enthusiasm of host Georges Collinet, a Cameroon native. The program explores contemporary African music and its influence on pop sounds. Among performers recently featured: Brazil's Gilberto Gil, the Ivory Coast's Alpha Blondy and the "Lion of Zimbabwe," , Thomas Mapfumo.

Traditional radio drama is also getting a wider airing on NPR. The network broadcast Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis' novel of Main Street shenanigans, complete with music, sound effects and a cast of 34 readers, including Ed Asner (as George Babbitt), Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving and John Lithgow. Among future projects: Arthur Kopit's play Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Momma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad and muckraking novelist Frank Norris' McTeague. Asner, who was paid a mere $2,300 for his work, which stretched over nine months, finds it satisfying nonetheless. Says he: "I grew up with radio, and I don't remember anyone falling asleep before the radio like they do with TV."

Over the past couple of years, NPR has been adding to its lineup of talk shows. Fresh Air, the most insightful and entertaining interview program on radio, features an eclectic mix of authors, artists and performers. Host Terry Gross has discussed with John Updike his love of faces ("a dermal sin") and explored comedian Martin Short's unusual adolescent fantasies. She got tough with Nancy Reagan over her memoirs but allowed actor Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) to wax lyrical about Laurence Olivier. Gross is just one of a notable number of female voices at NPR. Unlike the commercial networks, she says, "NPR never bought the idea that women's voices lack credibility."

Car Talk, NPR's offbeat call-in show, gets as much mileage out of the jokes as the information. Boston's Tappet brothers -- actually two M.I.T. grads named Ray and Tom Magliozzi, who own an auto-repair shop and drive U.S. models -- have turned America's love-hate relationship with the automobile into a stand-up routine. "Do you know why they call the Volvo the poor man's Mercedes?" Ray once asked a perplexed caller. "Because the repair bills will keep you too poor to buy a Mercedes!"

Heat, broadcast nightly from New York City, offers late headlines and single-issue shows intended to mesmerize young news junkies. One recent edition addressed the transformation of the South African theater. The guests included the cast of the play Survival, musician Hugh Masakela and, from Johannesburg, novelist Nadine Gordimer. "We want to erase the artificial line between intellectual and creative expression," says host John Hockenberry. "We want the show to be a place where the left brain and the right brain can unwind together." That's a tall order. Can the live wires at NPR deliver? Stay tuned.

With reporting by Elizabeth L. Bland/Washington and Nancy Newman/New York