Announcing Time Change for the Weekday Edition of Health Talk

Friday, June 12

For those of you who listen live to the weekday edition of Health Talk via flagship station WOR Radio 710 AM in New York City, there's news of a time change starting June 22: As of that date, Health Talk will be broadcast an hour later, from 12:00 to 1:00 AM.

The station cites the popularity of radio host Glenn Beck as the reason for the schedule change. In order to make way for a third hour of Beck, the entire lineup is being shifted.

For listeners of the weekday program outside the New York market, it's likely you won't be impacted. Check your local listings to confirm that the schedule will remain the same. And for Tri-state fans of the popular weekend edition of Health Talk, there will be no change--the show will continue to be broadcast live from noon to 2PM.

I enjoy Glenn Beck, and he's been a slam dunk for WOR, so congratulations to him and the station on his evident success. But I must admit I'm a tad disappointed that Health Talk will be broadcast at an hour even less accessible to a health-conscious audience: NOBODY desirous of maintaining wellness should be staying up that late unless they have incurable insomnia or are on the night-shift, say, at a hospital or driving a cab.

Therefore, I'm going to re-emphasize that there are practical options for those not able to tune in live to the weekday program. It's part of a new paradigm of intelligent, selective media-consumerism in which people no longer sit captive in front of the TV or radio and passively accept a random mix of programming in real time.

For example, when I get home from work sometimes I fire up my DVR and play back that afternoon's broadcast of Glenn Beck's 5PM show on Fox. Or, I'll catch a favorite show or movie that I can't make a date for. The possibilities are endless.

Podcasts of Health Talk are available via www.wor710.com. They are usually posted the morning after they air.

Don't be daunted by the term "podcast". Even if you're not a techno-maven (hey, you're already reading this article on a computer!) or if you don't own an iPod, podcasts are easily downloadable to your computer desktop. Then you simply click on them and listen. Or, with a little expertise, or perhaps some help from your kids or grandchildren, you can transfer them to a portable device, and listen in your car while commuting, or in the gym while exercising.

Alternatively, if you're an iPod, iTouch or iPhone user (or even if you're not), you can download iTunes and from there click on and subscribe to my podcasts. Directions: Click on "podcasts", and then do a Power Search for "WOR Health Talk". It's free and you can subscribe, so all my shows will be automatically downloaded into your iTunes library. Then synch to your portable device, and away you go!

Finally, if you prefer, Crane Radio stocks a variety of radios with recording options. You can simply set the timer on the radio to Health Talk's time slot, and it'll record every single show to an MP3 which you can then replay via the radio, or synch to your computer or other portable device.

One radio called the Kaito KA1121 Radio w/ MP3 Player/Recorder is billed as follows: "Never miss your favorite radio show again - set the MP3 player's timer to record."

Another, the VersaCorder 1/4 Speed Cassette Tape Player/Recorder, attaches to your radio: "Attach the VersaCorder Quarter Speed Cassette Tape Player/Recorder to your radio and never miss your favorite radio show again."

Also, one of the best-kept secrets of Health Talk is the Daily Features section of the drhoffman.com website. These serve as virtual "liner notes" for each broadcast. There you'll find references and/or links to downloadable articles from medical journals and periodicals that are the basis for Health Talk features. Additionally, there are phone numbers and web resources for many of the products or places we discuss. And, once again, there are links to podcasts for each broadcast. It's all free, of course.

Our staff puts in a lot of work uploading and maintaining these links, so please bookmark this URL and re-visit frequently to take full advantage of Daily Features!

With the time change, you might worry about my own health. Thanks for your concern, but we pre-record these shows on weekday afternoons for rebroadcast later at night. The "live callers" are actually called back from our radio studio after we cull their questions from submissions to [email protected]. If you state your question in brief, give us your first name, and provide us a number where you can be reached on a weekday between 4 and 6 PM, we'll call you and put you on the air to pose your question "live" with me. Don't worry, we won't sell your e-mail address or phone number to telemarketers--promise!

So, despite the time change, we remain committed to bringing you the best of health information on Health Talk, and we hope you fully access every opportunity to take advantage of our rich broadcast resources. Keep listening!