NPR - How refreshing

I have about a 20 minute commute to work, and like to simply relax and listen to the radio.  Lately, however, I can't find a station that is worth listening to.  It is not the innuendo that bothers me, it is the constant, lowest common denominator, one-track, childish innuendo that I find annoying.  So, I switch from channel to channel trying to avoid the announcers.  In the mornings this is almost impossible; every station (except pure classical music) is like talk radio for middle school boys.

So, I listened to NPR today, and found it refreshing.  A few of the segments actually caused me to think :-)

I also did a little searching, for academic interest, at how close to the line some of the stations are today.  I found this link, which outlines what is "indecent".  The definition is actually quite interesting:

"Because the Supreme Court has determined that obscene speech is not entitled to First Amendment protection, radio and television stations may not broadcast obscene material at any time. Speech is determined to be obscene by applying a three-part test:

1.  An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
2. The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and
3.  The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value."

The memo does not actually state if all three of these must be met, or only one.  To me, point three is the most telling, and I feel that most radio stations (in the Bay Area) miss the mark by a long shot.  If only they could add some intelligence, some subtlety, and some non-repetitive material into their shows, I think they could have much better retention rates.  Then, being close to the line would be interesting, as opposed to irritating.