In The Loop with Jeff Horwich - Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio

Featuring an interview with a South Pole blogger, a chat with the famous "Marc in Paris," podcasting wisdom from Sanden, a final song from Jeff, plus lots of Loop-love and a listener-guided tour through the five crazy years of ITL.

A talk with the creator of ChurchRater.com, Father Maurice Alvarado on the Chilean national character, Faron Williams with details of the revenge-fantasy also called the "Securities Transaction Tax," Sanden stops by with odd things correlated with the recession, a song for Sen. Jim Bunning, and folksinger Heatherlyn rounds out our "Starving Artist" series. Also happens to be our, um, penultimate show.

You get a big ol' episode, featuring Olympic snowboard racer (and first Eskimo Olympian -- we think) Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, an attempt to interview people using ChatRoulette.com, Sanden's Week In Geek, Congressional power expert Scott Adler, and our latest "starving artist," poet and photographer Cole Sarar.

With Jeff out of town, Sanden and Anna take over the show to bring you stories of "living without ____." Listeners call in to talk about life without all sorts of things from gluten to indoor heating. An endangered species expert chimes in with a picture of what life would be without obscure little critters. The official town crier of Minneapolis talks about giving up luxuries to save up for a trip to the world town crier competition. Plus a commentary from Anna about her current living situation and a song from Sanden about doing the show without Jeff.

Forget Toyota -- How are our own Big 3 doing? Our space NewsNicher laments the (possible) end of the moon program, but Sanden explains how she might be able to go anyway. And the compulsive Obama letter writer meets...the intern on the other end. It's In The Loop for Feb. 5, 2010

Rob Crilly, on what we don't get about Darfur; Fausta on why to give a rip about Argentina's central bank; Superbowl ads go bye-bye?; iPad muziks; Comedian Mike Brody is our latest "Starving Artist."