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The Newseum

If you haven’t yet visited the Newseum, D.C.’s newest museum, I would highly recommend it. Sure, I might be biased, given I’m a journalist and all, but I do think the museum would impress, or at the very least, interest anyone. This 250,000-square-foot, 7 floor museum of news features galleries, theaters, studios, daily newspapers from around the world (electronic versions), and even a piece of the Berlin Wall (the largest single piece). It really is cool.

Unfortunately, because the Newseum is not part of the Smithsonian, and thus receives no government funding, it is pretty pricey to get in … $20!! Luckily, I’ve found a way to visit the Newseum multiple times for free … AND attend a live taping of NPR’s Talk of the Nation radio program!

Talk of the Nation, hosted by Neal Conan, tapes live daily from the Newseum out of a studio overlooking the Capitol. Every Wednesday from 2-4, TOTN invites in the public for free! All you have to do is reserve a spot by emailing tickets@npr.org ahead of time. You can choose to attend both hours, or just one of the two. When you email, they will give you explicit instructions on where to go, etc.

(Sidenote: The last time I attended the program, the second hour’s theme was on “corruption.” The studio audience and callers were invited to share, or admit to, their own experiences with corruption … it was incredibly entertaining. Especially when the caller admitted to stealing almost $50,000 of his company’s money.)

When you’re finished, you’re welcome to explore the Newseum in it’s entirety. I guess since most people work during the day, this would only work if for some reason you could take off a few hours on a Wednesday afternoon.