Obviously the show is now in reruns on NPR.
How can I know when the episode originally ran?
When somebody is asking for advice on a problem with their 1954 Studebaker, it would really be helpful to know if you were answering that question in 1955, or in 2005.
Rebroadcasts of older shows have been occurring for some time, w/some new topical comments by Ray added once in a while. I don’t think they say when the show was originally broadcast. I don’t see how it matters. Wouldn’t diagnosing & fixing a 1954 Studebaker be the same now as in 1955?
I thought the idea was they would be mixing up calls from various shows that they thought would be entertaining or that people would enjoy hearing again. Not just rebroadcasting entire shows for the most part. That is if i read the original announcements right.
At least parts of the show still seem to be live. Sometimes callers make topical references as do Tom and Ray on occasion. They now credit staff librarian Alben Heardbefore for “pre-recorded portions of today’s show,” but what the ratio is of live vs pre-recorded is anybody’s guess. I guess what they they retired from was doing it full-time and now just put in part-time hours whenever they want and fill the rest with pre-recorded segments. Tom also seems to be participating as much as Ray so I don’t have the sense anymore that one of them needed to retire for, say, health reasons; I think they just wanted to smell the roses more (and auto fumes less) but they still enjoy the gig.
Topical references? I’ve heard Ray make some topical comments, yes those brief segments by Ray must be new. But I’ve never heard a caller make a topical reference. At least not lately. What topical reference did you hear from a caller @wlow?