Format
The show begins with a look ahead to the upcoming topics. Then the regular five-minute NPR newscast occurs. After the newscast, the show generally spends from 30 minutes to the entire show discussing the main topic. If discussion on that topic peters out, or if the guests have to leave, then shorter news interviews similar to those found on the NPR newsmagazines of five to ten minutes air. Sometimes these shorter segments take calls, but often they do not. More controversial issues may have guests and take calls the entire hour.
One hour's topics do not carry into the next hour. This is because many stations carry only one hour of the program. In addition, the host will deliver a concluding "This is Talk of the Nation from NPR News" as a cue to stations that wish to cut away to local programming before the scheduled break.
To coordinate the choice of interview partners in cultural coverage between TOTN and other NPR shows (as of 2010: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Tell Me More), NPR set up a "dibs list" system around 2005, whereby the first show to declare interest in a particular guest can "reserve" that person.
Read more about this topic: Talk Of The Nation