"HEY STUPID, BUY MY BOOK!"

What does Neil Steinberg think of Public Radio listeners? A quick Lexis-Nexis search of his columns provides the answer:

"NPR-addicted graduate students" -- August 9, 2002

"gray-haired NPR radicals" -- January 17, 2003

"lemon-faced NPR liberals" -- April 11, 2003

And the same search gives us insight into Steinberg's thoughts on Public Radio hosts:

"Hmm," murmured the host, inevitably, as all NPR hosts do no matter what wild, sky-is-brown bit of palaver they're being spoon fed. -- January 16, 2004

But, lo and behold, today's Steinberg column closes with the following announcement:

"Friday morning at 9:30, Neil Steinberg will discuss his new book, 'Hatless Jack,' on WBEZ-91.5 FM." -- December 1, 2004

So Steinberg is going to try to pitch his book to Chicagoland's "lemon-faced liberals"? Although one can hope for a Terry Gross v. Bill O'Reilly style confrontation -- "You didn't ask Eric Zorn these types of questions when he was on the show did you? Did you?!? This interview is over!" -- I suspect it will be more like the following:

Steinberg: The hat’s demise has over time been credited to President Kennedy, or “Hatless Jack,” due to his reluctance to be photographed wearing a hat for fear it made him look old. But one president alone did not make or break a trend.

Host: Hmmm.

Steinberg: In my quirky social history, I trace the evolution of the hat over centuries, as a costly but necessary investment, as a symbol of social status, and masculinity, and as a global industry.

Host: Zzzz.

You can purchase "Hatless Jack; The President, The Fedora, and The History of American Style" here.