Sleepwalk with Me, a film by comedian Mike Birbiglia and This American Life's Ira Glass, is showing at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art's Noble Theater starting tomorrow. The concept was featured on This American Life, as a one-man stage show, and is now a film produced and co-written by Glass. The film is showing Sept. 21 - 27, with KGOU hosting tomorrow's 8 p.m. screening. Get more showtimes, watch the trailer, and see Ira Glass's brief history of the project.

 

"Quality of life" features -- arts and culture, recreation, transportation, schools, social services -- can make a state more attractive to businesses and the young professionals they want to hire. But who should provide that quality of life? Local or state government? Private investors or philantropists? And how much investment is enough, especially from public sources?

StateImpact Oklahoma has assembled a panel from the public and private sectors to discuss "Investing in a Sense of Place". Neal Conan, host of NPR's Talk of the Nation, will moderate the discussion Oct. 5 at the Devon Energy Boathouse, 725 S. Lincoln Blvd. in Oklahoma City, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Outgoing House Speaker Kris Steele headlines a list of community leaders on the panel. The forum is free and open to the public, but we'd like to have a good idea how big the crowd will be, so please RSVP to Joe Wertz if you're planning on attending.

 

We asked you whether we should continue to broadcast Car Talk after Oct. 1, even though Tom and Ray Magliozzi are retiring and there will be no more new material produced for the show, and the cost is going up. Of those who took our survey, an overwhelming 83 percent said it's time to hear something else. And so, we have decided not to continue Car Talk.

The number of responses we received is a good representative sample, so we're confident this sentiment is widespread among the membership and listeners as a whole. A few listeners and members have expressed their displeasure at KGOU's decision, and we understand -- Car Talk is one of the most beloved public radio programs of all time. But ultimately, we feel it makes financial and programming sense to replace it with more current programs.

So, what will air in Car Talk's place? We're rethinking the scheduling of our entertainment programs and will announce our new lineup soon. We will continue to participate in the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program, although it will soon look and sound a little different.

KGOU will bring you live special coverage from NPR news of the presidential and vice-presidential debates. Special coverage will be from 8 to 10 p.m. (CT) on each debate night, Oct. 3, 11, 16, and 22.

After each debate concludes, NPR hosts and analysts will give a brief summary followed by analysis from NPR Senior Washington editor Ron Elving, political analysts E.J. Dionne and Matt Continetti, and several NPR policy reporters. We'll also hear insights from correspondents traveling with the campaigns and national political correspondents from the debate sites.

During and immediately after the debates, NPR.org will focus on key moments in the It's All Politics blog, and will invite users to participate in a live chat hosted by NPR's Frank James.

 

NPR's Backseat Book Club resumes in early October on All Things Considered, with Michele Norris introducing the next installment -- the classic Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell. Michele will discuss the beloved animal adventure book with author Jane Smiley.

 

Jonathan Goldsmith is "The Most Interesting Man in the World" -- or at least, he plays him on TV. The spokesman for all things spectacular and smooth (and one beer in particular) since 2006, Goldsmith shared the story of how he got so cool with another cool guy, Guy Raz, on All Things Considered Sept. 15.