The Man Behind 'A Prairie Home Companion'

Garrison Keillor and the cast of 'A Prairie Home Companion' make it sound when they gather on stage, but it takes hours of writing and rehearsal to make the weekly performance seem casual and to bring the monologues, live music, and old time radio skits to life.

PBS NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown sits down with Keillor to see what it takes to put together a two-hour live radio show each week. Check out the video below for a profile of Keillor and a glimpse of the future of 'Prairie' after 40 years on the air.

It was surprising to hear that Keillor writes the entire "News From Lake Wobegon" himself, then performs the monologue without notes, feeling his way through the story, and ending when ending seems right.

'Prairie Home Companion' airs each weekend on public radio stations across the country.

Bonus: Listen to Keillor's other podcast The Writer's Almanac, a short daily reading of a poem and bios of famous writers, and buy 'The Keillor Reader' on Amazon.

(Image via PBS NewsHour on Youtube)