“The first time I was killed was from an iPhone wired to a hand grenade,” Perter Breslow writes in his new memoir Outtakes: Stumbling Around the World for NPR. The context was Breslow taking mandatory war zone survival training.
Breslow is the former senior producer of NPR’s Weekend Edition and for 40 years produced news programs and content for National Public Radio.
Breslow writes about everything from breaking news to on-air snafus and how he and his colleagues dealt with the ups and downs at the one-time fledgling news operation.
Delivering stories took Breslow to almost the top of Mt. Everest and down to the South Pole. And along the way, he found ways to indulge in classic American blues.
It can seem from the NPR listener’s point of view that NPR is this smooth-running machine that consistently delivers news and information at the highest level. And while that’s true, there are times when things in the control booth or out in the field go sideways. But somehow things work out, the deadline is satisfied, and no one is the wiser.
“Outtakes” takes readers along with Breslow as he travels from war zones to the deepest jungles and into West Texas in the pursuit of those public radio driveway moments.
Guest:
Peter Breslow is the former senior producer of NPR’s Weekend Edition. He’s the author of the memoir Outtakes: Stumbling Around the World for NPR.
"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255 or email thesource@tpr.org.
This interview will be recorded Tuesday, December 19, 2023.
