Labor Day Editor's Picks

Excuse me, have you seen my stapler?

Table of Contents

• > Hour+ Specials
• > Half-Hour Specials
• > Cutaways and Segments
• > Interstitials and Drop-Ins

Hour+ Specials

Image by Chuck Holton

Sand, Still in My Shoes
Liner Notes, 58:59

On Labor Day we find ourselves nostalgic about summer.

The World at Work
World Vision Report, 59:59

A look at jobs throughout the world including Ghana, Montreal, and South Africa.

Work 'n Music -- A New Labor Day Weekend Special
Charlie Warren, 58:00

A wide variety of work songs supplemented by historical facts and current employment information presented in a fast-moving, but conversational style.

Passaic On Strike!
New Jersey Historical Commission and NJN Public Radio, 53:53

In 1926, 16,000 Wool Workers Strike for nearly a year in New Jersey.

Working the Night Shift
WFUV, 59:02

Night shift workers share their perspective on life after dark, family obligations and the big question -- when do they sleep ?

"He does a good job of bringing the unexpected bustle at a time of night many people have never even seen, as well as tackling health and social issues related to the subject. It's interesting, surprising, funny and moves rather quickly." Oladipo | full review

Life Stories -- Jobs: Women at Work
Jay Allison, 59:00

Three portraits of women working - A pastor, a seasonal worker, and a judge.

"The very best of this kind of first-person radio." McGrath | full review

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Open Source, 59:00

A produced hour special, narrated by Open Source host Christopher Lydon.

Half-Hour Specials

Image by Arne M?seler

The Jobs Plan
HearingVoices, 29:00

Stories of employees.

Immigrants, Labor Rights and the Human Cost of Rebuilding an American City
National Radio Project, 29:00

Immigrant laborers who were invited to help reconstruct New Orleans are now fighting to survive.

Immigrants, Labor Rights and the Human Cost of Rebuilding an American City - Part 2
National Radio Project, 29:00

Profiles of people making a difference in the lives of the laborers who are rebuilding New Orleans, and the workers themselves.

Remembering Mother Warren
Jessica Lockhart, 28:40

"Corporate America does not want you to think about labor history, trust me on this. That right there makes this worth airing." Lewis | full review

The Port Chicago 50: An Oral History
Long Haul Productions, 25:12

The story of the worst homefront disaster of World War II -- an ammunition explosion that killed more than 300 men -- and what happened to the 50 African-American men who refused to go back to work loading ammunition after the explosion. Originally aired on This American Life in 1996.

Nightfall in Chester County
Helen Borten, 28:57

In Pennsylvania farmland that was the first stop on the Underground Railroad, a strike by Mexican mushroom pickers polarizes a Quaker community.

"It's great to hear a documentary with so much sound material of events actually happening - a 'you are there' rather than an 'I'm telling you what happened' approach." Roberts | full review

Skywalkers of Akwesane
Helen Borten, 29:00

Mohawks were on the high steel crews of every skyscraper in Manhattan, and became famous for their skill, daring and contribution to the skyline of New York.

Cutaways and Segments (6-22:00)

Image by Joshua Davis

Aftermath
Love & Radio Productions, 17:24

From the company headquarters of Aftermath, Inc., amidst a strip of bland office buildings in Chicagoland, Tim Reifsteck makes his living cleaning up after the darkest side of human society.

Final Sale
Samantha Broun, 6:56

After 70 years, Winthrop Sherwin is retiring from the general store where he works. It's the end of an era in Groton, MA.

Series: American Worker
Long Haul Productions, four segments

Examines the meaning of work in people's lives.

On The Line: Union Actors In New York
Eevin Hartsough, 9:45

This piece uses voices of New York actors, casting directors, and the head of auditions at Actors Equity to tell the story of Equity Principle Auditions. This is the story of people doing irrational things in pursuit of their passion.

Fair Pay for a Day's Work
KUT, 7:09

Unions embrace undocumented workers

Interstitials and Drop-Ins (Under 6:00)

Image by Julie

Series: Day Job: How (Seattle) Musicians Pay the Rent
Joshua McNichols, series of drop-ins

Interviews with musicians about their jobs.

Commentary: Labor's Day -- And Yours
Dick Meister, 3:20

A commentary on how working life would be much harder and far less rewarding were it not for organized labor.
(Read PRX's interview with commentator Dick Meister.)

The Right to Organize
Sarah Elzas, 4:29

Three people get fired for trying to start unions.

StoryCorps: Walter Fahey
StoryCorps, 1:44

Retired police officer Walter Fahey tells his son Bill about his long career.

StoryCorps: Ken Kobus
StoryCorps, 2:31

Ken Kobus tells his friend Ron Barraf about his father, John Kobus, who worked at a steel mill for nearly 40 years.

Hiring Illegal Immigrants: the Tyson Story
Tanya Ott, 3:36

Tyson Foods is accused of surpressing wages by hiring illegal immigants. The lawsuit points out problems in the government's handling of workplace sanctions for companies accused of hiring illegal immigrants.

Entrepreneur
Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, 6:13

Adam Johns eeks out a living as a bloodwormer on the Maine coast.

Measure, Measure, Measure
Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, 5:53

A father copes with his son's departure for the Navy during a time of war.

Series: On the Night Shift
WFUV, eight drop-ins

A singing sanitation worker, newspaper reporters, a baker and more.

"Gosh the humanity rising out of the dust in here -- the speakers -- so forthright and unadorned but poetic almost- are what you want to hear on the radio." Merrick | full review

Series: People Who Work
Richard Paul, twelve pieces 3:12 - 10:22

A series of self-narrated stories of blue-collar workers.

Refugee Job Fair
KCPW, 4:31

The job hunt is never easy. But if you're a refugee from another country, it's especially tough to find work. Language, cultural barriers and red tape are just a few barriers to gainful employment.

Odd Jobs
WFUV, four interstitials

A chess hustler, a matchmaking cabbie, a street performer and a guy who cleans up chewing gum.

© 2007, The Public Radio Exchange