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Daily Circuit Blog
Stephanie Curtis

9 things our “Producer for the Day” learned behind the scenes

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Inspired by our show about "life swaps," we invited a teacher and MPR News listener, Becky Beiderman, to shadow The Daily Circuit producers for the day.

Here's what she learned:

I was lucky enough to be handed a golden opportunity this week to be "Producer For A Day" with Kerri Miller, Tom Weber, Stephanie Curtis and the rest of The Daily Circuit crew. I am a huge fan of the show and MPR in general and yes, I am a sustainer. Anyway, I spent the day learning just what it is that a producer does and how a show goes from an idea, to a script, to a wrap. Along the way I picked up some interesting insights into this new world.

1. Producers live in a world where anything and everything could be a show. Be careful because this quickly can become a real pathology and it is contagious. (I am at home now and I am pretty sure my cat could be a show.)

2. Books have completely taken over the Daily Circuit office space. So much so that they are using them as furniture and book avalanches are common.

3. Kerri Miller loves TED and reads even more than you think she does.

4. Standing up is the new sitting down.

5. Lunch is completely overrated.

6. Tom Weber loves cats and can pronounce anything.

7. A Daily Circuit meeting looks a lot like a scene from TMZ except you need to replace the names of celebrities with obscure economists and poets.

8. Stephanie Curtis eats dal, but is not a vegetarian.

9. Tweeting in your sleep is a required skill to work on The Daily Circuit.

I want to thank all of the very kind and gracious staff who allowed me to stand over their shoulders and took the time to explain all the whosits and whatsits of their studio. I will forever listen to the Daily Circuit with a new appreciation of all the talented and thoughtful people who work together to produce my favorite show!

Having Becky join us was fun. Kerri says we'll have another Producer for the Day stop by later this year. We'll let you know when.