NPR Morning Shocker

Yesterday was a crazy morning in radio land!
First, I turned on the radio just in time to hear a snarky commentary about how Britney Spears should be thanked because just when we were going to have to start thinking about the Iraq war, America's declining prestige in the world, etc. she went and shaved her head and kept us from such upsetting thoughts. It continued by suggesting that Brad Pitt start dressing as a woman to keep the American consumer on track. The comments were kind of funny, but I couldn't believe the tone - it was unabashedly liberal and very un-NPR. I was almost relieved when I heard the sign off - it was Ron Reagan Jr, which made me realize that I must be listening to one of our local AM stations by accident. Whew!
So what did I do but change the channel to NPR so I could get back to only slightly liberal, less-snarky news. Instead, what I heard was...nothing! From what I understand, dead air is the bane of radio, the one thing you do not want to hear. I expected it to be a short-term thing but instead it stayed silent for longer and longer - in fact I never heard a peep out of NPR on my whole drive to the gym. What is the world coming to?
(And can we blame it on the loss of Deborah Brandt, who retired last Fri in what was apparently a very good thing for all the folks who had to work with her annoying self? I think I will.)