Fourth of July: Editor's Picks
Table of Contents
Hour+ Specials
- BackStory - Independence Daze: A History of July 4th
BackStory, 53:59 - How did the Fourth become the holiest day on our secular calendar? What exactly happened on 7/4/76, and why do we celebrate it with explosions, hot dogs, and mattress sales?
- Stars and Bars
Hearing Voices, 54:00 - The latest Hearing Voices Fourth of July special.
- Humankind: Dreaming of America
David Freudberg, 58:55 - What's the American dream now as our country looks to the future and prepares to pick a new administration?
- Compact Discoveries 105: The Dream of America
Fred Flaxman, 58:00 - Peter Boyer's "Ellis Island: The Dream of America" is featured, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by the composer.
- American Popular Song and World War II
WFIU, 118:00 - A 2-hour program of American popular song from the World War II era.
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Half-Hour Specials
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- Shortcuts to Freedom
Peter Bochan, 24:01 - Montage featuring voices and sounds from American life.
- Capitol Steps: Politics Takes a Holiday, July 4th 2008 Edition
Capitol Steps, 28:01 - Help celebrate your country by helping us make fun of it!
- The USA Plan
HearingVoices, 29:00 - An all-American festival of fireworks-fueled patriotic fury.
- Theory of Everything - American Exceptionalism
Benjamen Walker, 29:00 - Chris Beck reports on a "recess appointment party" for John Bolton, Howard Zinn tells us that American Exceptionalism is a myth, Dennis Madalone sings an exceptional new American Anthem, and your host checks out the right wing blogosphere and comes up empty.
- 1776
Cambridge Forum, 29:00 - Historian David McCullough portrays the tumult and uncertainty of 1776 and shows how the courage and perseverance of a few dedicated men were responsible for the success of the American revolutionary experiment.
- Religion of the Founding Fathers
VFH Radio, 29:20 - Europeans who traveled to the thirteen colonies brought numerous strains of Christianity with them, and the freedom of the frontier allowed many new sects to flourish. How has the faith of our forefathers affected the way our country developed?
Cutaways and Segments (6-22:00)
- Six Decades Of 20th Century America-July 4th Special
Charlie Warren, 12:38 - An emotional fast-moving sound retrospective of American life.
- The Declaration of Independence
Michael Scherer, 09:06 - Thomas Jefferson's most enduring monument.
- The Fair
Jason Rayles, 10:28 - The fair is bright and nice and happy, and then the sun goes down . . .
- "The producer's narration is a wonder." - Braider
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Drop-Ins and Interstitials (Under 6:00)
- Celebrating the Fourth with the Enemy
Dick Meister, 03:14 - It's a most peculiar experience, spending the Fourth of July in that Canadian territory settled by pro-British "Loyalists" who fled the U.S. after the Revolutionary War.
- This I Believe - Andrew Sullivan
This I Believe, 03:16 - Although born in England, Andrew Sullivan finds his beliefs in America's Declaration of Independence.
- How to Sing the Star-Spangled Banner
Jackson Braider, 01:32 - Jenny Hersch, musical maven and part-owner of a baseball team, reveals the secrets of singing our anthem.
- The Lost Colonies: How Jamestown Beat the Odds
VFH Radio, 02:30 - The United States celebrates its birthday on July 4th. But how close did we come to flying the flag of a different country?
- 4th of July Fireworks
Hans Anderson, 03:28 - Humorous piece about setting off fireworks on the 4th.
- "This is the kind of piece that I wish I could hear on All Things Considered or Morning Edition. It's funny. It's well done. It has a point." - McCandless
- Jefferson & Science
William S. Hammack, 02:45 - An engineer looks at the Declaration of Independence and sees the science underlying the document.
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© 2007, The Public Radio Exchange
