This special profiles people from different backgrounds who seek to get past the consumer frenzy of the December holidays, and to focus more on authentic family connection and giving charity in the spirit of the season. Interviewees include Annie Leonard, whose environmental film 'The Story of Stuff' attracted over 10 million online viewers. Our second half-hour examines the movement to carve out family downtime from our digital devices

Church music is one of the few pure forms of human expression. Just a person, their voice, and the belief that compassion is self-fulfilling and will birth more compassion. Here in a one-hour special we explore the many kinds of church music in America. The culture and the people behind the voices. Who sings and why, and what those songs say about our country.

“A Christmas Carol: Redux” retells the Charles Dickens classic with a dark comedic spin courtesy of ‘Ready, Set, Panic’. Set in the present day, with a crumbling economy and skyrocketing unemployment, cheapskate Scrooge refuses to share his wealth with those less fortunate. Join our narrator, Russell Thomas, as he recounts this classic Christmas tale with visits by The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future (all while he battles his own ghosts due to a recent divorce).

Nine people of nine different faiths and philosophies attempt to answer a deceptively simple question: What does it mean to you to believe?

Two instances when peace broke out – right on the field of battle. First, the impromptu but widespread unofficial Christmas Truce of 1914 in the early months of fighting in Europe in World War 1. Also the story of the National Jubilee of Peace – the first major gathering of Civil War veterans from the North and South in 1911 - 50 years after the Battle of Bull Run at Manassas.

A sound-rich audio drama of the famous Charles Dickens story.

During Yuletide, Holmes and Watson face several Dickensian Londoners, a dusty hat, a famous gem - and a goose! (One of Arthur Conan Doyle’s rare comic tales.)

Today, the fifth of six programs honouring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It's the final lecture of Dr. King's Massey lectures. This one is more a sermon than a lecture- it aired on Christmas Eve 1967.

Voices of prisoner family members sending holiday messages to their incarcerated loved ones across the country. Powerful stories, poems, songs, and prayers. A touching program that will speak to every listener.

Can we know anything about Jesus's view on contemporary moral issues?

At last, a true and complete history of everyone’s favorite Yuletide character, Santa Claus. Listen to this magical Christmas radio drama and learn the long held secrets that occupy every child’s mind during Christmas time. Here at last is the real Santa Claus we have always cherished.

Press website for Christmas Chronicles

"Go Tell It on the Mountain" was born in the rich and indomitable oral culture of African slaves in the American south. A hundred years later it became a rallying cry for the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. And now, it's a perennial favorite at Christmas concerts and church services across North America.

Youth Media Project's Audio Revolution tackles conspicuous consumerism with local organizations, as well as Taoist approach to dealing with holiday stress.

Just in time for the holidays, the B-Side Radio crew brings you stories of holiday cooking, shopping, tree-hunting and charity gone awry. PLEASE NOTE: This piece contains a time reference to Hanukkah and should be aired after Hanukkah and before Christmas**

A sound-rich, inventive take on Sherlock Holmes for the holidays!

It's not Christmas. It's not Hanukkah. It's Schnartzenholler! When Emily Pearlman was a child her Jewish father and Christian mother created their own unique holiday celebration.

Set to the entire score of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Ballet, Vanessa White's The Slutcracker is a wholesome kind of raunchy...

Producer Jason Sear’s uncle has a foot-long beard, drives a red Ford pickup truck he calls his sleigh, and wears red almost every day of the year. He explains what it means to be Santa 24/7 and how he draws inspiration from his father, who was also a Santa for over 35 years.

The Swedes like to think of themselves as changing with the times, except when it comes to holiday traditions. On Christmas Eve, for over 50 years, the entire country has gathered around their televisions to watch a one hour cartoon starring Donald Duck. Producer Susan Gray spoke with Ann Hildreth from the American Swedish Institute and Lena Norman from the University of Minnesota to learn why Donald Duck holds a special place in their hearts.

Listen to the short Christmas parody here and find out what happened to Santa.

We drop in as some of the most talented teen dancers in the nation get ready for this holiday favorite: The Nutcracker.

These two stories show a house divided by two recollections of Christmas from two very different times. One the reflection of the care that goes into a new family’s preparation for Christmas and another the reflection of the same family’s fall from those lovely memories.

A child's Christmas thoughts spring into song.

A gentle parody of the public radio show "This American Life," using the James Stewart Christmas chestnut "It's a Wonderful Life" as a weapon.

A short meditation on the relationship between my father and his mentally disabled older brother, Sam.

An interview with "Harry," a man who gives away Christmas trees.

The last time we had Christmas with Grandma, she just about puked...

Two minutes with Vincent van Rhyn, a Christmas-tree seller in Brooklyn, N.Y.

A spoof: The urban youth version of "The Night Before Christmas."

We're driven by the belief that we can create this one perfect day or season, and the warmth generated by it will carry us through the rest of the year.

The last Xmas meal I cooked for my Jewish husband was lobster. That was in 1994.

Just in time for the Polar Express...shouldn't there be a law against the poorly trained and costumed "Santas" that are patrolling our streets? Why can't we be more like Canada?

You know the one, that groaner of a pun, "Chopin Liszt," printed across the tops of memo pads? Well, suppose we put Chopin on that "Liszt?" Grab your cart – let’s go “Shopping for Chopin!”

71 One-Minute Christmas Season Interstitials - traditions, legends, lore.