“You Are Smart,” a daily feature for commercial radio, made its national debut recently with host, Jim Underdown, executive director of CFI–LA and founder of the Independent Investigations Group (IIG).
“I offer a familiar topic (such as UFO’s, homeopathy, or other subjects), state the credulous position, and then summarize the skeptical alternative. Then, I suggest that the listener decide the truth for him or herself, ending with the words, ‘…because you are smart,’” Jim explained.
The goal of “You Are Smart” is to tell the listener how evidence-based thinking might help them find the best information to answer any question, which folds nicely around CFI’s mission to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values.
The two-minute feature is like an elevator pitch: a brief snapshot of evidence-based thinking that anyone could express in the few minutes it takes to ride an elevator to the desired floor.
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“You Are Smart” debuted in Hawaii two weeks ago. A few days later a radio station in the Eugene, Oregon market picked it up as well.
Jim continued, “I find it somewhat amusing that it plays multiple times in shows hosted by Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and others in Hawaii. I think it stirs up the audience a bit, which is great!”
“I record the raw audio with a handheld flash recorder wherever I happen to be and email the audio file to our sound engineer who adds music and processes the whole file for each episode. Then, the episodes are distributed to each affiliate,” said Jim.
The feature’s national sponsor is The Critical Thinking Company, which produces educational material for children of all ages. Visit them at www.criticalthinking.com/smart to receive $53 in free products plus receive an additional 20% off your purchases if you enter the coupon code “smart.” Please order and share these items with your kids or with the parents of kids you know.
The feature is actively seeking affiliates. Jim explains, “We offer ‘You Are Smart’ to commercial radio stations at no charge. Once the commercial radio station becomes our affiliate, then it may sell a local sponsorship to a local business. In Hawaii, our local sponsor is the University of Hawaii Extension which pays the radio station directly.”
So, if you know someone at your local radio station who would like to attract a local advertiser with a quality feature, tell them about “You Are Smart,” and have them contact our radio syndication professional, Bill Oxley, at billoxley@gmail.com.