The StoryCorps MobileBooth arrived in Oklahoma City on Monday, and the crew has been busy setting up in front of the Civic Center at 201 N. Walker. The StoryCorps crew will be here until Nov. 20, gathering personal stories for the archives at the Library of Congress's American Folklife Center.

If you have an interview scheduled, StoryCorps has an information sheet about what you can expect. More interview appointment times open tomorrow, if you haven't yet scheduled a time to tell your story. And you can read about some of the highlights of the visit in the StoryCorps blog.

KGOU will partner with NPR and OETA to bring you the results of the 2010 general election. We'll bring you returns of the statewide races with the help of OETA's reporters and analysts, and NPR will report on nationwide races of interest.

Robert Siegel and Melissa Block will anchor NPR's coverage, featuring the insights of NPR's Ron Elving, Ken Rudin, and Mara Liasson, as well as The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne, The Weekly Standard's Matthew Continetti, and The Pew Research Center's Andrew Kohut. Coverage begins as the polls close at 7 p.m. and continues until 2 a.m.

If you've been a consumer of news this past week, you couldn't miss the story about NPR firing news analyst Juan Williams for comments he made on The O'Reilly Factor on cable's Fox News channel.

NPR and other news organizations have reported extensively about the firing and subsequent calls to end public funding for NPR. For accounts of Williams' comments, the firing and related issues, you can read the assessment of NPR Ombudsman Alicia Shepherd, access news content and discussion from NPR and others, and hear Juan Williams himself on The Diane Rehm Show Tuesday, Oct. 26.

KGOU received many calls and e-mails from listeners and non-listeners, both in support of and in opposition to the firing. If you have a comment or a question about this issue, we encourage you to contact NPR directly at (202) 513-3232 or through e-mail, or contact KGOU General Manager Karen Holp.

The earth may have moved under our feet, but it didn't hinder listeners' response to KGOU's fall membership drive. Counting pre-drive renewals and challenge grants, listeners have pledged approximately $155,000 so far, with pledges still coming in. We thank everyone who participated, new and renewing members, our marvelous phone volunteers, and Café Plaid, Donut King and Jason's Deli for providing food.

 

The success of the drive means that KGOU can continue bringing central Oklahoma high quality news, information and entertainment programming. Thank you!

In NPR's final series exploring the influence of major rivers, Anne Garrels reports on the Volga River, the longest river in Europe at 2,300 miles. Flowing from the swamps northwest of Moscow south to the Caspian Sea, it is a river steeped in folklore and an important source of water, power, and transport. The series is scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 8 on All Things Considered.

Burnt out on butternut? Never fear -- this fall, a cornucopia of squash varietals has blossomed at farm stands and supermarkets. Bonny Wolf provides a "Squash Sampler" to introduce novices to some of the different types, and shares recipes for Baked Onions with Buttercup Squash Filling, Citrouille Farcie, Squash Stew with Lamb, and more. Check out this Kitchen Window Web exclusive at NPR.org.

Another round of NPR.org's short fiction contest has closed. For Round Five, writers were asked for original works of fiction that began with the line, "Some people swore that the house was haunted," and ended with the line, "Nothing was ever the same again after that." Read some entries that editors thought were interesting -- guest judge Michael Cunningham will reveal the winners soon.