NPR: All The Way Live...

All The Way Live...

Master P signs the autograph board at the NPR West studio.

Bettina Wiesenthal-Birch

Hosting a live radio show can get a little crazy sometimes, especially when it comes to staying within the format. Like today, for instance.

We continued our series on hip hop with a couple of special guests who broke down the connection to the culture of violence. William Jelani Cobb and Michael Datcher are both professors and authors, who provided a sort of insight you don't often hear.

And then, in came Master P himself, in studio, to sort of put the "been there, done that" spin on the whole thing. It was a wonderful, candid conversation, and I wish we'd had more time.
But that's the trick in live radio, deciding when to break format. We didn't this time, but if we had it to do over again...

NPR's Tony Cox (left) with HUD Sec. Alphonso Jackson

Bettina Wiesenthal-Birch

Meanwhile, there was no breaking format with Bush cabinet member Alphonso Jackson, whose story on housing woes in the U.S. airs Tuesday. A team of movie-looking Secret Service men escorted the HUD Secretary inside the NPR West building for our interview at about the same time that Master P's car was pulling out of the parking lot.

Secretary Jackson's SUV was bright red, and not because he's a Republican. Apparently all the black SUV limos in town have been snatched up for the BET Awards.

I love this job.

Tony Cox

4:24 PM ET | 06-25-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

I've been enjoying this series on hip-hop. I wish, this time, that you all would have broken format. The conversation was good and was cut-off way to early, in my opinion. Thanks for all that you do, though!

Sent by ernise | 2:36 PM ET | 06-26-2007

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