Did you hear that?

Was that really David Norris castigating an entire nation on Sun- day Supplement (Today FM)? You know, it was, and the fact it was the nation that we're all licensed to slander - Serbia - made it no less surprising.

The Serbs, Norris suggested, have been more than troublesome over the years, what with starting the first World War. It's time, he told us, "to put them back in their box".

Strangely, this was in the midst of an excellent discussion of the "war" (well-informed, and better focused than on RTE's Sunday Show) to which Norris had contributed very sensibly; no cheerleader for NATO, he.

Eamonn McCann rightly took him up on these remarks and Norris eventually "clarified" that he was talking about the Serbian administration; then he ruined that and showed he really was rattled by having a go at McCann for talking about "Brits" (not on this programme he didn't); he even called McCann a republican, which snapped off the hand of friendship entirely.

Some of the most compact good sense talked about Yugoslavia during the week, and some of the smartest, most provocative radio on any subject, could be heard from Germaine Greer during her long chat on Thursday's Marian Finucane (RTE Radio 1, Monday to Friday). Skilfully steered by a very cool Finucane - though Greer needs little help with her soundbites - the brilliant feminist did what she does best: cut through the fluff about subjects from relationships and housework to geopolitics and Boys' Own warfare.

In the process, Greer provided Marian's programme with a much-needed "Did you hear that?" factor: for the first time in its three months on air, I was hearing about the show all day.

"Tonight with Vincent Browne, Agriview, Cross Currents, Brendan Balfe, Failte Isteach - they're my favourite programmes." Kenneth Nolan has a range of listening and a clarity about his preferences that would put some radio columnists to shame.

Moreover, he can shift quickly into the archives, recalling an old favourite. "The Foley Family, RTE Radio 1, George Green played the part as Tom." Putting on the voices, Nolan lovingly enacts a piece of typical dialogue:

"`Tom, what kept you, Tom?'

"`But Alice, I got delayed, Alice.'"

Kenneth Nolan was at the centre of - though it would be wrong to say he was the "subject" of - Lorelei Harris's excellent documentary, Family Portrait (RTE Radio 1, Wednesday). Based on a idea by (and narrated by) Gilda Nolan, the programme saw Harris follow Nolan on a visit to her gentle Uncle Kenneth at his home, an institution for mentally handicapped people.

Interspersed with Kenneth's wide-eyed views of the world around him were interviews with his siblings. These remarkably honest people move from affection to bitterness to guilt when they consider the effects of having such a brother upon their lives, from childhood to the present day. Such tension and sadness can scarcely be unique to this family. Family Portrait is part of a remarkable trend - in which radio programmes have played no small part - towards frank assessment of the role that disability can take in the lives of caregivers and families.

The 1990s tendency to pick at such emotional wounds can sometimes seem excessive. Nonetheless, there remains a vast culture of grin-and-bear-it at large in this society; if the likes of Family Portrait helps other people to unburden themselves - psychicly or practically - then the process is surely worthwhile.

Amidst the usual pleasures of listening your columnist had a deflating moment last week - not of Branson-balloon proportions, but deflating nonetheless.

Over the past few weeks I've been tuning into Dublin "independent" music station Jazz FM and trying to sort out the vagaries of its daytime programming; I think I even went into print speculating about its Monday-morning drive-time show. Then, lo and behold (and at long last) the station's programme schedule arrives, and I see that a programme called All Night Mix (policy: "best of black sounds") runs for up to 14 hours every day, right through most mornings, and its DJ is somebody called "Random Selecta". Who I suspect is not a Stax-and-reggae buff DJing in his or her spare time, but rather something to bring out the Luddite in me.

By the way, the last mention of Jazz FM here prompted a complaint from the Irish Times readers' rep (on behalf of one or two of y'all) about my quoting the station's tag line, "the best underground sounds, 24-seven", without explaining the last bit. My apologies.

Now, go on, figure it out for yourselves.