Madison, Wis. – Has America become untethered from reality?; Is Florida weird on purpose?; Is it possible to be nostalgic for a place you have never been? These just a few of the questions explored on the next BETA, available on air and at wpr.org/next beginning October 28.

In this new pilot from WPR Next, producer and host Doug Gordon explores a theory on how America went haywire over the past 500 years, unpacks the reasons why Florida is the epicenter for bizarre news, and talks with a writer who became homesick for another world. Along the way, Gordon navigates through the strange world of Horror Noire, unearthing the history of African-Americans in horror films, and investigates Cold War X-ray music.

WPR Next is a content incubator project giving producers the opportunity to explore new concepts and ideas to create the next great WPR programs. Among four programs initially piloted in the spring of 2017, BETA was one of two chosen for a second pilot.

“Doug (Gordon) has always been an innovating producer responsible for several popular segments on WPR’s Peabody Award-winning national program To The Best Of Our Knowledge and we were excited to see folks engage with his show, BETA,” said Adam Friedrich, executive producer of WPR Next. “I don’t believe I’ve met anyone as dedicated to the craft of creating (and redefining) radio as Doug Gordon. His mind is a limitless playground of ideas and curiosity. He’s channeled all of that into BETA and I am excited for our audience to hear it!”

Gordon describes BETA as a polyphonic mosh pit where high culture and low culture collide. “BETA takes an immersive, innovative, intimate and provocative approach to exploring the arts, culture and technology,” said Gordon. “It’s a show in which the past, present and future coalesce into a simultaneous now, filled with mind-bending moments of mirth, mayhem and surprise.”

The pilot for BETA will air on both The Ideas Network and the NPR News and Classical Music Network at various times from Saturday, October 28 through Sunday, November 5. Find a schedule of broadcast times or listen on-demand at wpr.org/next.

Photo: WPR Next Executive Producer Adam Friedrich (L) and BETA Producer/Host Doug Gordon. Photo Credit: WPR/JPotter.