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‘Whad’ya Know?’ It’s a New Wave of Radio : Campy Call-in Program Touches Same Vein as Keillor’s ‘Companion’

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<i> Times Staff Writer</i>

It’s Saturday morning and you’re tuned to National Public Radio, that bastion of culture, bulwark of refinement and fount of thoughtful social and political analysis. Your host, Mr. Michael Feldman:

“Can you get the flu from ducks?”

“I think so. What do you think, Steve?” says Chris, the studio contestant.

“Well, let’s flip a coin here,” says Steve, another contestant on the phone line from Kansas.

“I would flip a duck,” Feldman interjects.

“I would think you can probably get it from anything,” says Steve.

“Yes, you can,” says Feldman, banging a desk bell for emphasis as the audience cheers both Chris and Steve, another step closer to winning wind-up teeth and other gifts from the fabulous treasure-trove of prizes. “In fact, according to American Health magazine, every strain of flu is in a duck’s gut. Try that at a cocktail party around the guacamole. . . .”

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Well, whad’ya know, it’s time once again for another edition of “Whad’ya Know?,” the quirky comedy-quiz-talk-interview-call-in show that is on its way to becoming one of the hottest entertainment properties on public radio since “Prairie Home Companion.”

If all that seems a little incongruous, consider this: a live, two-hour weekly program featuring the wit and urbane, off-the-wall ad-libs of a Milwaukee-born Jewish host originating from studios in central Wisconsin that has developed a loyal following on dozens of stations from Boston to San Francisco.

“I assume there’s some appeal of the heartland that draws them,” Feldman says. “Of course, we’re the left aorta of the heartland.”

The show has also turned into the latest camp attraction for the high-brow Midwestern baby-boomer set, who drive by the carloads from hundreds of miles away to be part of the studio audience. And a television production company will soon tape a pilot for a possible video version for cable or syndication.

“I don’t know if anyone can explain why it’s so popular, but it certainly does have a large and loyal audience,” said Sarah Carlston, a spokeswoman for NPR, which is based in Washington.

Interest in the quirky quiz, now in its third year, took off after Garrison Keillor folded his long-running “Prairie Home Companion” in mid-1987, and stations that had carried it began to shop around for something to fill the void.

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That is where the similarity ends, though fans often refer to the newer offering as the “Dairy Home Companion.” Instead of folksy schmaltz, Feldman’s stock-in-trade is irreverent, topical shtick.

“Well, you know my mother still doesn’t like Bush,” he wisecracked on the air recently. “She thinks he said a kinder, Gentiler nation.”

A one-time high school teacher and cab driver, the bespectacled, 38-year-old Feldman has been dabbling on the edges of audio peculiarity since 1977, when he convinced the manager of a small independent station here to let him host a morning show from a local greasy spoon next to the rescue mission. He interviewed diners as they ate breakfast, but the show was often interrupted by bar fights.

After a series of similarly avant-garde ventures on Madison radio, Feldman caught the attention of WGN, Chicago’s top-rated commercial station, which hired him in 1984 to host a talk show. It quickly flopped and Feldman was fired, but two years later he was back at Madison’s WHA, the University of Wisconsin-run public outlet, with carte blanche to develop a new program. The result was “Whad’ya Know?,” which Feldman says is just a refinement of his past offerings.

Trying to pin it down in print is a little difficult because the format and rules shift to fit Feldman’s whims. Armed with a portable microphone, he walks through the studio bantering with the audience, the show’s piano player, who performs periodic musical interludes, and callers from around the nation. There is also a community salute--a new town picked on each week’s show by throwing a dart against a map and then calling residents at random.

It all loosely revolves around a quiz, which Feldman admits is just a gimmick to hook listeners and get them to call during the show. Questions, as well as prizes, range from the obscure to the ridiculous:

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Question: “Is it true what they say about the sex life of clams?” Answer: “Yes, they turn from boys to girls. Many have appeared on Phil Donahue.”

All this may seem grating or silly to the public-radio purist, which is both the show’s promise and biggest problem. “Public radio formats tend to either be classical or talk- oriented, but reasoned talk a la ‘All Things Considered,’ ” Feldman says. “This is unreasoned talk. This is a few things ill-considered.”

The show is currently carried by about 90 stations, up from only four two years ago. That is fast growth by the standards of public radio but a far cry from the 300 or so affiliates that featured Keillor’s show by the end of its 13-year run.

Carlston said conservative managers at many stations are reluctant to air the show because it contrasts with the sobering tone of traditional public-radio programming. Yet, she said, those stations that do take the plunge report that pledge-week contributions rise considerably when the show airs--a key indication of success for non-commercial stations.

The primary public station in the Los Angeles area, KCRW-FM, ran the show briefly last spring, but dropped it in favor of a more traditional, locally produced call-in program. However, “Whad’ya Know?” is aired by public stations in San Bernardino and San Mateo as well as Boston, New York, Chicago and several other large urban areas.

Feldman, who spends much of his off-air time alternately remodeling his bathroom and trying to peddle the show to gun-shy public broadcasters, says such groveling is in keeping with the spirit of the program.

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“I do anything I have to do to get an audience,” he says. “On this show all we do is try and pander.”

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