Wisconsin Public Radio aims national with “BETA”

Wisconsin Public Radio – home of legacy national programming offerings like the Peabody Award-winning “To The Best Of Our Knowledge” and “Zorba Paster On Your Health” – proudly offer their arts and pop culture broadcast, “BETA” to their national programming slate.

The program (and podcast) – which features conversations with the people and works changing our world through arts, pop culture and technology – was made available for free syndication on the PRX Exchange in May of this year.

“BETA” is hosted by former TTBOOK producer, Doug Gordon and was co-created with longtime national programming executive producer, Adam Friedrich.

As “This American Life” host Ira Glass once said of Gordon, “(Doug) has a rich imagination and a good sense of humor, and produces entertaining work for radio. He’s inventing new things, which is rare in any field.”

And “To The Best Of Our Knowledge” executive producer, Steve Paulson, said of his former colleague, “Doug has a rare talent for stretching the possibilities of what radio can do – typically, by using humor, original ideas and great production skills.”

Listeners have spoken too, saying “BETA” is an “excellent way to discover new artists (authors, musicians, filmmakers) and gain novel insights about artists you might already know. Doug Gordon does his research and I’m often inspired to look up more about the guests and related topics after the show.”

“BETA” has featured insightful interviews with pop culture pioneers like, Amber Ruffin, Bill Hader, Bob Odenkirk, Terence Nance, John Waters, Sarah Polley, Shea Serrano, Kids in the Hall, John Cleese, Cassandra Peterson and Noah Hawley.

And had introspective conversations with acclaimed authors like Jennifer Egan, Ottessa Moshfegh, George Saunders, Mateo Askaripour, Susan Orlean, Jason Mott and Tommy Orange.

And the show has shared laughs with comedians like, Jena Friedman, Cristela Alonzo, Fred Armisen, Sheng Wang, Steven Wright, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Atsuko Okatsuka, and Eric Andre.

And kicked back with musicians like, Carrie Brownstein, Andrew Bird, T Bone Burnett, Ben Folds, Susanna Hoffs, Stevie Van Zandt, Anais Mitchell, and Michelle Zauner.

Plus, “BETA” always aims to highlight homegrown Sconnie talent like, Mike Moh, Zola Jesus, Mark Proksch, Charlie Berens, and Joe Wong.

“BETA” is pioneering, playful and provocative. And now, it’s national. Visit the show’s PRX series page for more information on syndication.