Inspiring for teenagers (and adults)

Well,it was bound to happen:"This American Life"paints itself into a corner that's easily susceptible to parody.
"This American Cheese",clearly with a loving cheekiness ,takes the aural timbre of "TAL"and boils it down to such an accurate portrayal,some might think this is Ira himself who was taking a swipe at self-mockery. Of course,anyone who's ever listened to "TAL"enough times will easily recognize the basic recipe(quirky background music,diary-like vocal presentation,Glass's signature nasal delivery replete with pauses)so almost anyone could pull off something similar. However,being that this is the first time I've ever heard such a blatant parody,it's rather fresh and needs to be added onto the next"TAL"live CD. Good stuff. The"Fonzie/Fondue" segment is pretty amusing,too.

As the producers say, this is a "parable of public relations and the price of fame", a story about a crusty old fellow who has a charming sense of honesty. Does he really dislike skiing that much? Does his wife really have the right to complain about his lackluster employment record? This guy seems to have the kind of "crusty-on-the-outside-but-a-heart-of-gold-inside" personality that TV sitcom producers try to replicate, but never quite achieve. And the story treatment first reveals and then moves beyond the typical PR cliche in a way that I think most public radio listeners appreciate.
An interesting, listener-friendly eleven minutes.

In “Democracy,” the struggle for black voter registration in Mississippi is re-evoked in all its horror through first-person accounts from people who were there. As one European paper put it at the time, a Mississippi Negro’s life was not worth “a whistle.” Even now, hearing the stories, it is hard to make sense of what was happening in this country mere decades ago. “It don’t make no sense” one woman says at the end, looking back. And somehow it just doesn’t, even with the benefit of time. “Democracy” presents the stories, the paradoxes-- the sense of terror—while avoiding easy pronouncements.

The story is pretty silly, just the sort of thing they play at the end of the hour on Morning Edition while you're waiting for the local weather. What made it impossible to stop listening to was the skilled sound mixing -- complex without letting you lose the thread of the story. The male voice also had a nice Clint Eastwood sound that gave some heft to the piece. Nice piece of whimsy.

A very polished piece smoothly mixing narration, interview and, of course, tango music. It helps that Robin Tara has a smoky, engaging voice. Every woman of a certain age nurtures tango fantasies and here is the tale of one who pursues those fantasies and is rewarded with both a business and a man. This certainly belongs in a "follow your dream" category and will be very appealing as such.

I’m sure Giantman is a metaphor for something— in fact, it might just be a metaphor for everything. It’s inspiring. Hillary Frank makes good radio with pretty much nothing-- none of that fancy ProTools or bourgeois pause button stuff-- just ideas, talent and a good story. Careful volume fades have made us soft. Perhaps not enough radio stories end with an abrupt stop. It’s sort of Brechtian—DIY, punk—just like Giantman himself.

A good piece for hearing the voices of people without the mediation of a narrator interpreting and introducing. The editing is also superb, creating a richly textured and seamless experience. Tupperware had a helpful role in transitioning women from their post-WWII expectation of staying at home back to the workforce before 1960s feminism dawned. Therefore, while this piece is amusing, it could be used to balance a more serious program about 20th century women and work.

This piece is perfect for Women's History Month. It is also appropriate fro any programming about the Cold War, Anti-Semitism, and/or academia.

Barry Vogel interviews author and historian Gerda Lerner. It's a phone interview and that interface is effective because it adds a sense of immediacy and intimacy to the piece, which is highly intellectual.

Lerner covers a lot of territory: remembrances of growing up in Anti-Semitic Austria; her life as a black-listed communist working to unionize the film industry.

Gerda Lerner has a great radio presence : she's at once philosophical and very accessible. And Vogel does a nice job of keeping the conversation moving and expanding without losing focus. cm

After hearing this piece you will know what sea cucumbers are, who buys and eats them and who doesn't (and why), how much money you can make fishing for them, how to process them, which central American countries almost all the sea cucumber processors at this plant come from, how much it would cost to smuggle their children here, what they had for dinner that night, what you would pay for rent if you were willing to share a trailer with eight other people, and more. An interesting and straightforward piece, complete with a sense of place.