Editing Talk of the Nation

{{short description|American talk radio program}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox radio show
|show_name = Talk of the Nation
|image = totn.jpg
|imagesize = 
|caption = 
|other_names = 
|format = News, interview, [[call-in]]
|runtime = 120 min
|country = United States
|language = English
|home_station = 
|syndicates = [[NPR]]
|presenter = [[John Hockenberry]] (1991–1993) <br> [[Ray Suarez]] (1993–2000) <br> [[Juan Williams]] (2000–2001) <br> [[Neal Conan]] (2001–2013) <br> [[Ira Flatow]] (Science Friday) (1991–2013)
|creator = 
|writer = 
|director = 
|senior_editor = 
|editor = 
|producer = 
|exec_producer = Leith Bishop, Sue&nbsp;Goodwin<ref name="lastseg"/>
|rec_location = 
|first_aired = {{start date|1991|11}} 
|last_aired = {{end date|2013|6|27}}
|num_series = 
|num_episodes = 
|audio_format = 
|opentheme = 
|othertheme = 
|endtheme = 
|website = [https://www.npr.org/programs/talk-of-the-nation/ npr.org/programs/totn/]
|podcast = [https://www.npr.org/rss/rss.php?id=5 podcast]
}}
'''''Talk of the Nation''''' ('''''TOTN''''') <!-- Stop. Do not change to was per MOS:TVNOW -->
is an American [[talk radio]] program based in [[Washington D.C.]], produced by National Public Radio ([[NPR]]) that was broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. It focused on [[News|current events]] and controversial issues.

The show began broadcasting in November 1991. It was hosted by [[Neal Conan]] from late 2001{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} to June 27, 2013, the program's last day on air. Each episode featured guests discussing [[current affairs (news format)|current affairs]]. Past regular hosts have included [[John Hockenberry]], [[Ray Suarez]], and [[Juan Williams]]. On Fridays [[Ira Flatow]] hosted ''[[Science Friday]]'', with discussion topics from science and technology. The program invited listeners to pose questions for the guest host or hosts by telephone or e-mail.

On March 29, 2013, NPR announced that it would cease production of ''TOTN'' at the end of June, replacing it with an expanded version of ''[[Here and Now (Boston)|Here and Now]]'', an NPR/[[WBUR-FM]] co-production.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Folkenflik |first1=David|author-link1=David Folkenflik|title=NPR To Discontinue 'Talk Of The Nation' |url= https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/03/29/175677788/talkofthenation|work=The Two-Way|publisher=[[NPR]]|location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=2013-03-29|first2=Mark|last2=Memmott}}</ref><ref name="Nickisch">{{cite news|url=http://www.wbur.org/2013/03/29/here-and-now-expands-talk-nation-end|title='Talk Of The Nation' To End; 'Here & Now' To Expand|last=Nickisch|first=Curt|date=2013-03-30|work=WBUR.org|location=Boston|orig-year=2013-03-29|access-date=2013-03-30}}</ref><ref name="Stelter">{{Cite news|title=After 21 Years, NPR Is Ending 'Talk of the Nation' |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/30/business/media/npr-to-end-talk-of-the-nation.html?_r=2& |first=Brian |last=Stelter |date= 2013-03-30|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date= 2013-03-30|author-link=Brian Stelter |page=C1}}</ref>

''Science Friday'' continued as an independent show.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Karen |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-science-friday-npr-ira-flatow-20130329,0,845881.story |title=Ira Flatow of "Science Friday" discusses show's future after TOTN |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2013-03-31}}</ref>

==Format==
''TOTN'' began with a [[Teaser campaign|look ahead to the upcoming topics]]. Then the regular five-minute NPR newscast occurred. After the newscast, the show generally spent from 30 minutes to the entire show discussing the main topic. If discussion on that topic petered, or if the guests had to leave, then shorter news interviews similar to those found on the NPR news-magazines of five to ten minutes aired. Sometimes these shorter segments took calls, but often they did not. More controversial issues may have had guests and take calls the entire hour.

One hour's topics did not carry into the next hour. This is because many stations carried only one hour of the program. In addition, the host delivered a concluding "This is ''Talk of the Nation'' from NPR News" as a cue to stations that wish to cut away to local programming before the scheduled break.

To coordinate the choice of interviewees across all NPR programs such as ''[[Morning Edition]]'', ''[[All Things Considered]]'', and ''[[Tell Me More]]'', NPR set up a "[[wikt:dibs|dibs]] list" system around 2005, whereby the first show to declare interest in a particular guest can "reserve" that person.<ref name=shepard/>

==Hosts==
Hosts included [[John Hockenberry]] (1991&ndash;1992), [[Ray Suarez]] (1993&ndash;1999), [[Juan Williams]] (2000&ndash;2001), and [[Neal Conan]] (2001&ndash;2013). [[Ira Flatow]] served as host of ''[[Science Friday]]'' since 1991.

Guest hosts on the show included: [[Alison Stewart]], [[Ira Glass]], [[Mary Louise Kelly]], [[John Donvan]], and [[Tony Cox (journalist)|Tony Cox]].

From 2001 to 2013, ''TOTN'' had only two executive producers: Leith Bishop, and more recently, Sue Goodwin.<ref name="lastseg"/>

==Audience==
In September 2010, ''Talk of the Nation'' was aired on 328 public radio stations, and had a weekly audience of 3.2 million and an [[AQH share]] of 605,700.<ref name=shepard>{{cite news |url= https://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2010/09/15/129883401/harry-shearer-post |title=Harry Shearer and NPR: The Big Uneasy : NPR Ombudsman |work=NPR.org|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

As of March 2013, ''TOTN'' was airing on 407 stations to what host Neal Conan said was "the largest audience in the program's history".{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} In the final segment of the show's final episode, Conan noted the program had an audience of "more than 3.6 million ... each week. That puts ''Talk of the Nation'' in the top 10 of all [[talk radio|talk shows]] in the country."<ref name="lastseg"/>

==Cancellation==
On March 29, 2013, NPR and WBUR announced that ''Talk of the Nation'' would cease production and that NPR would replace it with a two-hour version of ''[[Here and Now (Boston)|Here and Now]]''.<ref name="Nickisch"/><ref name="NPR dropping TOTN">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/03/29/175686531/npr-to-drop-call-in-show-talk-of-the-nation|title=NPR To Drop Call-In Show 'Talk Of The Nation'|date=2013-03-29|work=NPR.org|last2=Montagne|first2=Renée|location=Washington, D.C.|first1=David|last1=Folkenflik|access-date=2013-03-30|author-link1=David Folkenflik|author-link2=Renée Montagne}}</ref>

According to NPR executives, "the unusual move ... to replace ''Talk of the Nation'' with WBUR's ''Here & Now'', which is carried by not even half as many stations across the country, is partly in response to long-voiced demands by member stations calling for more robust news coverage during the workday. The number of public radio listeners sags markedly between ''[[Morning Edition]]'' and ''[[All Things Considered]]''."<ref name="Nickisch"/> Partnering with WBUR to expand ''Here and Now'' is considered a "more pragmatic approach to expanding [mid-day] news coverage" than ''[[Day to Day]]'' (2003&ndash;2009), an earlier NPR attempt at such a program,<ref name="Nickisch"/> which had been produced in collaboration with ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''.

The final broadcast of the program was on June 27, 2013.<ref>[http://www.gpb.org/news/2013/06/27/final-talk-of-the-nation-airs-thursday Final Talk Of The Nation Airs Thursday] June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="lastseg">{{cite web| title= After 11 Years Behind The Host Mic, Neal Conan Signs Off | url= https://www.npr.org/2013/06/27/196282378/after-11-years-behind-the-host-mic-neal-conan-signs-off | date= June 27, 2013 | work= Talk Of The Nation | publisher=NPR| access-date=2013-08-29}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=5&prgDate=06-27-2013|title=Archive of the last episode of ''Talk of the Nation''| publisher= NPR | date= June 27, 2013}} Includes segment-by-segment audio and [[transcription (service)|transcripts]].
*{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/totn |title=Talk of the Nation @totn| publisher= [[Twitter]]}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/programs/sciencefriday/ |title=Science Friday| publisher= NPR}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.sciencefriday.com/ |title=Science Friday program website}}

{{NPR}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talk Of The Nation}}
[[Category:American talk radio programs]]
[[Category:NPR programs]]
[[Category:1991 radio programme debuts]]
[[Category:2013 radio programme endings]]
[[Category:1990s American radio programs]]
[[Category:2000s American radio programs]]
[[Category:2010s American radio programs]]
[[Category:Radio phone-in programs]]