it’s been a hell of a year for radio in LA. i had honestly not turned on any radio of mine the entire duration of my college education. then they put up an indie-rock station and my hope was renewed. i’ve posted enough about them in the past to leave that station alone by now though. they seem to be doing okay and i check in with them frequently.

now we’ve got perhaps an even more valuable addition: air america radio. i heard the chatter about this station starting up around the web pre-launch, and fortunately remembered the station frequency while in my car during the first week. already i’m hopelessly addicted to this station. it has taken over my drive times and i put it on over weekends when i’m running errands. i even put on headphones for the first time ever in 9 months at my job to listen to john kerry on al franken’s show this morning (which was a bit brief and generic, but i’m still 100% on his side come election time).

i think i’m intrigued at the idea of being intellectually stimulated while driving, which is entirely new to me outside of the odd road-trip philosophizing with my friends. i’ve never tried an audio book because it seemed weird to me, but being too busy at work to read news sites and not having cable to catch the daily show at home has left me with a dearth of liberal political satire lately, and god it feels good to have it back. not coincidentally i’m sure, steven colbert was a guest co-host on the evening show last week, and jon stewart was a guest on the afternoon show this wednesday.

‘morning sedition’ and ‘the o’franken factor’ are especially good for those in their cars during the morning commute or around town grabbing lunch, respectively. admittedly, it could be novelty that’s making me tune in so compulsively for the inaugural few weeks and it could be right back to ipod country come may. but at least for now part of me is looking forward to drive times and a little sad when i get to work in less time than normal. that’s a pretty strong endorsement, so i recommend you check it out (1580 AM or streamed live on their site).