Ira Glass, host and producer of This American Life, appeared on Talk of the Nation this week to discuss his show's unique Warner Bros. deal.

Neal Conan is No. 1--and David Brancaccio is dead last. At least in San Francisco Ultimate Frisbee league match-ups, where teams have taken the names of public radio personalities. Team members appeared on Talk of the Nation this week.

The Car Talk brothers tell The New Yorker that the SUV craze is "a strange madness of crowds." Trying to fight it has earned them a vast surplus of Stonyfield yogurt lids.

One of public TV's best loved dramas has been remade for broadcast on A&E: Ursula LeGuin's Lathe of Heaven. Starring this time around: James Caan, Lukas Haas, Lisa Bonet and David Strathairn. The director is Philip Haas (Angels & Insects) and the composer is (who else?) Angelo Badalamenti. Sept. 8, 8 p.m. WNET's production last played on PBS two years ago, Current reported.

The FCC again blocked attempts by Central Wyoming College and the Idaho Board of Education to apply for licenses on spectrum to be auctioned off this week, according to Broadcasting & Cable magazine's website. Both noncomms argued they were entitled to apply for the permits without participating in the auction.

Maryland Public TV announced lay-offs and salary cuts for top executives and rank-and-file employees. Lost underwriting revenue for the revamped Wall Street Week with Fortune contributed to the state network's projected $2.1 million revenue shortfall.

Fast Company magazine sends a love letter to HBO and its new c.e.o., Chris Albrecht, for raising the standard of quality in original programming while making piles of money. Its profit last year, $725 million, was equal to nearly half of public TV's total budget. The Sopranos is only the start. See the article by Polly LaBarre in the September issue.

Business 2.0 profiles Chris Mandra, who has molded NPR's online presence in his four years at the network.

Julia Child's kitchen has been moved from Cambridge and reconstructed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in D.C., the Washington Post reported. It will be on display for two years. [Smithsonian's kitchen page.]

"For the conflicted soap fan longing for a simulacrum of realism," the British import "EastEnders is an addictive slice of heaven," says John Dougan, TV critic of the cultural webzine PopMatters.

Britain's Prince Andrew has fallen for Cynthia Gouw, a reporter and producer for KQED's Pacific Time, reports the San Francisco Examiner.

Whoops: Click and Clack have three million yogurt lids to unload.

Will Robedee, g.m. of Houston's KTRU-FM, protests the new royalty rates for streaming music in Radio World.

The Boston Globe bids farewell to WGBH exec Peter McGhee, who resigns this month. The outgoing v.p. of national programming is leaving because he's disappointed with the way things have been going at PBS, the profile reports.

Public radio's Satellite Sisters has been pulled from orbit. You can read about it at their website.

Public radio's This American Life and Warner Brothers have signed a first-look deal that gives the studio rights to many TAL episodes, reports the Los Angeles Times. More TAL talk: Ira Glass, disgruntled vegetarian, lunches with a Chicago Sun-Times columnist.

iBiquity Digital Corp. is now calling its IBOC (in-band, on-channel) technology HD Radio.

Burlington Free Press columnist Sam Hemingway writes: "Famous and not-so-famous people take note: If you're looking for the right way to deal with a messy situation, the Moyers' model is the one to emulate."

Sirius Satellite Radio's stock dropped yesterday after the company warned it might have to seek bankruptcy protection next year if it can't raise new funds, Reuters reports. (Read the company's latest quarterly report.) Sirius carries both NPR and PRI programming.

Bill Moyers pleaded guilty Monday to the reduced plea of negligent driving after a July 27 incident in Vermont. He'll pay fines of at least $750 and may also perform community service as part of his sentence, the Bennington Banner reported.

Technicians at NPR ratified the latest union contract proposal today, 88 percent voting yes.

Minnesota Public Radio brings "adult beverages" to the table as part of a three-station collaboration on programming, reports the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

David Barsamian and Pat Aufderheide appeared on Pacifica's Democracy Now! Friday to discuss the state of public broadcasting.

Hit Entertainment, Barney's new keeper, plans a $6 million promo campaign, 16 new toys and a 70-city stage tour to accompany 20 new Barney & Friends episodes on PBS, the New York Times reports. Barney's audiences today are half of their 1996-97 size.

The FCC dismissed some applications for noncommercial stations and translators Friday. The dismissed applicants failed to supply required updates to earlier applications, the agency says. (PDF, .doc, .txt.)

Former Sesame Street actor and producer Matthew T. Robinson Jr. passed away Aug. 5.

Garry Trudeau ribs NPR in Saturday's Doonesbury.

Garrison Keillor is setting up shop in an old St. Paul radio studio and has formed Grand Prairie LLP, an umbrella company for his various enterprises, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Nickelodeon purchased Sesame Workshop's 50 percent stake in Noggin, the network aimed at "tweens," Variety reports. Sesame will continue to produce programming for the network.

Quil Lawrence of public radio's The World discusses war reporting with the Boston Globe.

President Bush bypassed the Senate Aug. 6 and installed Cheryl Halpern to the CPB Board while she was still awaiting confirmation, reports the Washington Post.

NPR commentator Cokie Roberts has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will undergo six months of chemotherapy, reports the Washington Post.

"It's part of the theft of my property by a Yankee carpetbagging con artist," says George E. Pickett V, who was defrauded of valuable family relics by former Antiques Roadshow appraiser Russell Pritchard III. Memorabilia of the famous Confederate General George Pickett are on display at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pa.

Public Radio Weekend is exploring ownership models and crafting pilot feeds, according to an interview with PRW mastermind Jim Russell. A preliminary clock is now available on the project's website.

Audio diarist Laura Rothenberg describes life with cystic fibrosis in a piece produced by Joe Richman, this afternoon on All Things Considered.

Kenyel Dotts, charged with fraud and conspiracy for allegedly stealing donor information from New York's WNYC-AM/FM, was arraigned today in Albany County court. (This article appeared prior to the arraignment.) Dotts pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance.

Vermont police arrested Bill Moyers last weekend (July 27) for driving with blood alcohol over the legal limit, the Bennington Banner reported. The PBS journalist said he would contest the charge.