A Kansas Public Radio comedy troupe is going from the airwaves to airplanes.

“Right Between the Ears” will be one of eight in-flight radio choices for Delta Airlines passengers in July and August.

	KANU Radio, the public radio station of Kansas University, has changed its name. The station now will go by Kansas Public Radio. The decision came after the station added a transmitter in Emporia and finalized plans to add a transmitter in Manhattan, which should be online this fall. The station also has a transmitter in Atchison. Janet Campbell, general manager, said it was easier to identify the station by Kansas Public Radio than by the call letters and frequencies for each of the stations. The name change was made official Saturday.

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And the show has been added to a station on Serius Satellite Radio, a digital service for vehicles.

“We have regular show on the ground, the show on Delta Airlines in the air, Serius is coming from outer space,” said Darrell Brogdon, the show’s producer and principal writer. “What’s next? Live from the moon?”

The Delta Airlines program will feature 45 minutes of material from recent shows and special material recorded for Delta.

The deal came after cast member Rick Tamblyn took a Delta flight and suggested the troupe pitch its material.

Brogdon called the company that handles the in-flight service. It turned out the producer had heard their shows, which are carried nationally on National Public Radio stations.

Brogdon said most of the material was “silly, character-driven stuff” that wouldn’t be outdated by late summer.

“They weren’t looking for material about plane crashes or 9/11 or things that would make people on an airliner in flight jittery,” Brogdon said.

If the eight-week trial run works out, Brogdon said the airline could consider “Right Between the Ears” for another stint. He declined to say how much the station will be paid for the show.

The Delta Airlines deal comes as “Right Between the Ears” has joined the regular programming schedule of Public Radio International’s station on Serius Satellite Radio. The comedy show, which includes archived performances from when the troupe was known as “Imagination Workshop,” airs at noon and 8 p.m. Sundays and 4 a.m. Mondays.

The service, which offers 100 channels, currently is available throughout much of the West and Midwest, with a nationwide launch scheduled for July 1.

“Right Between the Ears” is in its 19th season of occasional performances, which originated on KANU, the public radio station of Kansas University. The season ends with shows at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. June 29 at the American Heartland Theatre in Kansas City, Mo.

Brogdon said the new national exposure could help toward the troupe’s goal of having a national, weekly show.

“We’re kind of curious to see what happens ourselves if our Web site gets a lot of hits or if we get a lot of inquiries,” he said. “It certainly can’t hurt, especially in July and August when summer traveling is at its peak.”