NPR Launches 'Book Club' with Laura Hillenbrand

This February, NPR Books launches a special reading event -- a book-club-meets-social-media experiment. Author Laura Hillenbrand approached NPR about engaging its audience in her newest work, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, currently topping The New York Times bestseller list.

Hillenbrand, will contribute updates and conversation topics throughout the month via Facebook, and will participate in a live chat with readers at the end of the month. Book club participants are encouraged to finish the book by the last week in February. Get details on how to join in the discussions at NPR.org.

We're officially welcoming our listeners in northwest Oklahoma with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and come-and-go reception on Thursday, Feb. 17 from 4 - 6 p.m. at the Josie Adams Cultural Centre in Woodward. Everyone's invited to meet and greet the KGOU staff and to celebrate KGOU's new repeater station now broadcasting at 88.1 FM in northwest Oklahoma. If you plan on attending, RSVP to Jolly Brown so we'll have an idea how many to expect.

KGOU has been recognized by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters (OAB) in its 2010 Outstanding Achievement Awards. KGOU won in the General News category, Metro Radio division, for an episode of Oklahoma Voices on the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. You can hear the program in our archives, along with any of the outstanding local programs produced by the KGOU News department. 

  

Whether you favor the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, or revile it as "Obamacare", you can find intelligent debate on the issue from Intelligence Squared U.S. this Sunday.

IQ2US provides Oxford-style debate plus a vote by members of the studio audience at the end of each program. Speaking for the motion are Douglas Holtz-Eakin and John Shadegg. Speaking against the motion are Jonathan Cohn and Paul Starr. Tune in Sunday, Feb. 13 at noon for all the pros and cons and the audience's verdict.

And be sure to check out each week's Sunday Radio Matinee listing to see what limited run programs and specials are coming up in that time slot.

  

House Republicans are unveiling their proposal to fund the federal government through September, which means big cuts for agencies across the federal government, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Hear the report that aired on Morning Edition today.

KGOU receives about 10 percent of its funding from CPB. Public broadcasters have formed an advocacy group, 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting, for the purpose of mobilizing citizens in support of continuing this federal funding. If you'd like to join the effort, sign up for alerts that will suggest ways to help protect this funding source.

Like many artists, Herb Williams goes through a lot of Crayola crayons. But Williams doesn't use them to draw or color -- he uses them to build detailed and colorful sculptures. NPR's Picture Show has some inspiration for the budding sculptor, whether the chosen medium is crayons or ice.