NPR's Talk of the Nation to End After 21 Years

NPR mainstay Talk of the Nation is going off the air in June after 21 years. The nation's bigger NPR stations thought the afternoon call-in format had grown stale and agitated for something newsier, reports the New York Times. They'll get an expanded version of the show Here & Now starting July 1, reports Boston's WBUR, where the latter show is produced. Talk of the Nation host Neal Conan will "step away from the rigors of daily journalism," says NPR, but he and all the show's staffers will be offered different jobs at the network. The show runs from 2pm to 4pm Eastern Monday through Thursday. The program in that time slot on Fridays, Science Friday, will remain. (More NPR stories.)