NPR Worldwide Berlin Radio 104,1 FM

Attention to everyone in Berlin, Germany — Americans, Brits, English-speakers, and those who want to learn — National Public Radio has just opened up a 24-hour radio station right here in Berlin, NPR Worldwide Berlin, 104,1 FM!

Probably the only reason I spent 17+ years in Washington is because of WAMU, 88.5 FM, the local NPR radio station. At one point WETA, 90.9, moved from Classical to NPR talk programing, and it was bliss. When I moved to Berlin, Germany, in November, I loaded up every day on NPR and PRI podcasts because I did not want to do without Car Talk, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Studio 360, Speaking of Faith, This American Life, Fair Game with Faith Salie — the lot!

Well, I was farting around with my Nokia n95 8GB cell phone last week, and using the Radio feature, and happened upon 104,1 FM, and there was NPR programming! I thought it was a podcast, which I also listen on this amazing little device, and it wasn’t.

For some reason, the stations I had mapped for Washington opened me up to a station I had had programmed in Washington (Nokia checks the city and then populates all the sations) — WXGG, a Gospel station in Washington! Well, it wasn’t Gospel, it wasn’t German-language, and it wasn’t BBC World Service Berlin.

Well, my heart leapt!

There isn’t a lot of local programming yet but there is a pretty cool feeling of programming going on — there is a little more content focused on the Foreign Service and Diplomatic Corps, which is cool, but all your faves are there: Marketplace, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, All Things Considered, On the Media, Car Talk, Fresh Air Weekend, Morning Edition, The Diane Rehm Show, Hot Jazz Saturday Night, Speaking of Faith, and — wait for it — A Prairie Home Companion!

Lake Wobegon and Garrison Keillor are the most important here because the entire radio show isn’t available via podcast, only the sweet Report from Lake Wobegon, not the entire radio show.

24 Hour Satellite and Cable Schedule