A lot of the radio stations and programs to which I listen in the car and in my office are “listener-supported,” which means regular pledge drives and seemingly-endless appeals for money. I’d probably prefer that they simply monetize my ears by being ad-supported, but even that has its drawbacks. At least one station offers listeners the option of buying subscriber-only access to their pledge-drive-free online station, but I hesitate to buy in even at $5 a month because I’m pretty sure it would land me on every junk mailing list in North America.

So what should I do, dear readers? Grit my teeth and suffer through it? Download more music and arrange my own playlists? Or subscribe to satellite radio?