The Scientist profiles Radio Lab

The Scientist writes up NPR's Radio Lab. "People are still daunted by words like 'physics' and 'biology.' Say 'science' and they get a funny look in their eyes," says co-host Robert Krulwich. "Say 'Travolta' and they know exactly where they stand . . . You've got to bring them over gently." (Current article about the show.)

Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth: The NPR Holiday Road Race

Andy Carvin offers another peek into the wacky holiday customs of NPR employees. This time, it's the NPR Holiday Road Race.

Winer takes offense at This I Believe plea for funds

Blogger Dave Winer says he submitted an essay to This I Believe, the series airing on NPR's newsmags, and never heard back--until he got an e-mail asking him for a donation. "I poured my heart into the essay, after spending a year thinking about what to write," he writes. "Now I gotta wonder, if I don't send the money, will they consider my essay. Or if I do send the money will they run it?" TIB co-producer Dan Gediman apologized, Winer reports (scroll down), and NPR has tried to distance itself from the whole thing. (Via Romenesko.)

Bloggers blast 'GBH report

WGBH's Beat the Press took a beating for an erroneous report about bloggers who are funded by political campaigns. The Boston Herald and the Boston Phoenix report on the controversy and a blogger for Blue Mass Group proposes his own set of remedies.