Here Is the Islamic State's Version of NPR

The Washington Post's Swati Sharma just noticed something weird about the Islamic State's radio bulletins: They sound almost exactly like news updates from NPR.

The bulletins, which began in April, start with "We thank our listeners for tuning in and present the following Islamic State news bulletin," and the host speaks in calm, sane-sounding American English. He keeps things so sober that even when he mentions a guy who died in a suicide attack, and says, "May Allah accept him amongst the shuhadā,'" it sounds like the next thing out of his mouth is going to be an appeal for you to subscribe and get a free tote bag.

Any self-respecting group of murderous radicals needs to broadcast their ideology, so it's never really a surprise when we hear how much propaganda the Islamic State churns out. The forms and styles of the products consistently blow minds, though. For instance, those who tuned into the video of Jordanian pilot Moath al-Kasasbeh being horribly burned to death (don't click that), were treated to a quick-cut prelude that could have passed for one of the crappier political documentaries on Netflix.

Now, the Islamic State has its own Steve Inskeep and a radio program that could slip right into your Stitcher feed and you would barely even notice.

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