We love a mystery here at WHQR, and every once in a while a listener request calls on our skills of deduction. We received this request this week: “A couple of weeks ago I heard an interview with an author…book dealing with development of detective techniques…but the word detective was in the subtitle and I cannot find it online! Can you help? Thanks”
Normally we need a little more information to find the answer, such as name of the show it was on or at least day and time to help narrow it down, but Program Director Ken Campbell was able to figure it out. Ken responded “Steven Johnson was a guest on 1A and the book they discussed was "The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror and the Rise of the Modern Detective." Ken provided a link to the show to help confirm whether this is the correct answer.
But sometimes there isn’t quite enough information to narrow down the program in question. A listener recently submitted this request: “I am hoping you will consider moving the “Scritch & Scratch” program with modern, irritating sounds from afternoons to 3 AM. The program used to give us indigestion at lunch time. Thank you for considering this much needed relief.” I deduced that this was in reference to our classical station, so I consulted with Ken Campbell and classical host Linda Markas to identify the program in question. The best guess we could come up with was that this listener was talking about Performance Today with Fred Child, which airs every weekday from noon to 2 PM and does sometimes include more modern pieces.
Speaking of classical, a listener wrote their appreciation of the music on our classical station on Memorial Day, saying “What a wonderful program you produced today; inspiring & memorable, relating to Memorial Day weekend. Always enjoy listening to your programs related to films. Keep up the amazing content you deliver.” In this case, the program was not produced by WHQR, but by Lynne Warfel at Minnesota Public Radio. Ken responded “Thank you so much for your comment. I've passed it along and I agree that Lynne Warfel puts together a great program.” Classical also received recognition during our spring pledge drive from a donor who wrote “I love all your music but a special shout out to Jemila Erikson and Lynne Warfel. Love Stage & Screen.” Another listener sent us a note saying “I’ve never traveled to a city or community that met the quality or listening pleasure that does our own WHQR classical music station. Thank you!”
We received a number of very nice comments from people who attended the WHQR Luncheon featuring Scott Simon, such as this one addressed to our Development Director, Mary Bradley: “I tried to find you at today's luncheon, but the event was busy in the best kind of way. I wanted to thank you for enabling my husband Tom and I to attend. The event was terrific: well run, welcoming, and of course Scott was terrific. I feel so fortunate to have been part of it.” You can see pictures from that event on our website at whqr.org/scottsimon
We love to get your questions, comments and criticisms. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter, or X, or email us at feedback@whqr.org. Thanks for your feedback, and we look forward to hearing from you.