Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)
The third annual Arkansas Country Blues and String Band Festival is taking place tomorrow through Sunday in Springdale. Orson Weems is the executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit behind the festival, The Music Education Initiative. Weems speaks with Ozarks at Large’s Sophia Nourani about the organization and its connection to the three-day event.
Nov. 15, the candidate filing period closed in the state of Arkansas at noon without any major surprises. Ozarks at Large's Matthew Moore speaks with Talk Business and Politic's Roby Brock.
The border between a stream and development called riparian is an important place. This is where the health of waterways can be greatly affected negatively if there isn’t sufficient boundary to help mitigate pollution, contamination or erosion. Ozarks at Large's Kyle Kellams speaks with Stephanie Bohlen, outreach coordinator for Beaver Watershed Alliance.