It’s a testimony to the technical expertise of the staff that they can put these rerun shows together to be so seamless. As I’ve said before, I’m amazed to not be able to detect changes in C&C’s voices due to aging, or to advances in recording technology, microphones, etc. I’ve heard recorded bits of other NPR broadcasters, Neal Conan and Robert Siegal come first to mind, and they sound distinctly different. Not so with Tom and Ray. Those few obvious freshly recorded bits sound exactly like the 20 year old shows. How can that be?
Except for the few newly recorded bits which I’ve noted in a previous post, and the one cited by @Raymond M regarding the reference to the inexplicable case of the imaginary girlfriend, the shows are certainly “archival”. I also wonder, as did Raymond, if they are lifted intact from a previous show, or assembled piece by piece. My hunch is that they are mostly all from the same show, simply because of the significant extra effort to do otherwise, but that’s just a guess. Obviously, the staff is mindful of subtle cues like making sure seasonal references are appropriate.
Urgent info for Rain on show aired Feb 2, 2013! Don’t use full-strength bleach on your car upholstery to kill mildew!!! It will not only bleach it, it will probably disintegrate it!! A dilute solution will kill the mold and hopefully not bleach the color. I would try the directions on the bottle for “hand washing”: 1/8th cup (2 oz.) bleach per 2 gallons of water. She may want to try in an inconspicuous area and let it dry completely to check for fading before using it on large areas of upholstery. This is from an experienced caregiver who uses bleach on a regular basis to disinfect and deodorize.
@Lisa K
Urgent! Please notice that all Cartalk shows now are repeats from the archives. The caller Rain probably called 15 years ago, so your good advice is too late. Whatever happened with the bleach is long since done, and that car probably met the crusher years ago.
re STUPID SIGNAGE on 3/2/13/ show
You should reference the expert on this topic, Carlo CIpolla (also Italy’s greatest historian of public health) – he wrote the “bible” THE BASIC LAWS OF HUMAN STUPIDITY, in english to hide his identity from guess who…The first law of human stupidity is that always and everywhere people underestimate the number of stupid people in circulation.