So if birds from the city can’t flirt with birds from the country anymore, “those birds are actually going to be less likely to mate with each other,” he says. “I mean, literally they’re going to stop being able to speak the same language.”

I hope that doesn’t happen. Keep tweeting birds!

/via Jason Fried on Twitter.

An instant classic in NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series is with Weird Al Yankovic. He covers three songs. I recommend the entire series of Tiny Desk Concerts.

NPR music is pretty much the best place on the Web right now.

/via NPR.

^*Flash is required but the photos are still boner-worthy.

From the “coolest thing you’ll see all day” department – these bees in Turkey make their nests out of carefully folded flower pedals.

Striking.

/via Jason Kottke. On NPR, of course.

“Gone to Sleep” is a product of this process with Moby and Kelli Scarr and the 16-minute featurette is nothing short of awesome. Moby and Kelli managed to finish their song in under 8 hours so they spent the entire second-day doing a few other versions of the song as well as a Tiny Desk Concert (another series at NPR) for the NPR staff.

Here is Moby’s opinion of the song and process from his journal:

“i’m really proud of it, to be honest.  writing and recording and mixing a song in a day is a daunting process, and i’m really happy with how it turned out.   and i think that kelli’s vocals sound beautiful.”

You can watch the video, download the entire song in all of its versions, and watch the concert for free.

I love NPR.

I love these few bits. First, a little about Terry’s reputation.

“Marcus isn’t the only journalist to swoon over Gross — other colleagues speak of her with reverence, as do her listeners, many of whom say “Fresh Air” is their favorite part of the day or the only thing that gets them through a long commute. And her guests declare her unrivaled among interviewers. An icon of the intellectual elite, Gross elicits great new information from overinterviewed celebrities and public figures. She’s a sympathetic, intelligent listener who can also push hard when necessary.”

And this bit, which is the reason I enjoy the show so much.

“… Gross does not see herself or her show as being about “gotcha” moments and scoops, but about the arts and the mind.”

I love that the entire interview is available on the Web, ad free.

As a reminder, here is what I said about Terry Gross in January of this year.

“Terry Gross, the host of Fresh Air, is an unassuming, casual interviewer that consistently conducts interviews that hold your attention for the entire length of the program. She’s intelligent, in touch with what the audience wants to know, and obviously tirelessly prepares for each episode.”

/via Liz Danzico.

NPR.org is getting a facelift on July 27th. As a way to promote the new redesign, allow people to see it, and to give feedback, NPR has created this promotional video and put it on YouTube. The video shows Scott Simon, one of NPR’s hosts, going through the site for the first time and describing some of the new features.

This is absolute genius. Probably the best way I’ve ever seen a new redesign unveiled to a community. They also written a letter from the editor and posted it to the site. On July 27th I’ll be making NPR.org my home page.

Via Khoi Vihn.

Terry Gross, the host of Fresh Air, is an unassuming, casual interviewer that consistently conducts interviews that hold your attention for the entire length of the program. She’s intelligent, in touch with what the audience wants to know, and obviously tirelessly prepares for each episode.

Being a radio program – it is well produced with high-marks for living by its own rules even though it is consumable as a podcast. If you like talk radio and enjoy interviews of incredibly interesting people – Fresh Air is for you.

Source: NPR’s Fresh Air from WHYY with Terry Gross.

Be sure to check out other suggestions I’ve made.