A timely piece -- given all the talk about improving engineering education -- looking at what engineers do. It brings to life some of the more accessible and lively engineering jobs, ones that might appeal to young people wondering what to do with their interest in math and science, or in innovation, gadgets, video games or the environment.

The producers have picked some lively and very human engineers with passions that listeners can relate to: special effects in movies, green energy, robots that help rescue people, toy design, helping poor people. At the very least, the piece does a nice job of erasing the stereotype of engineers being nerds with calculators. On top of all that, it's a trip around the world, to India, Japan, Fiji, the World Trade Center on 9/11, California, Iceland, Australia, China.

If I had to summarize the hour in one sentence, I'd say we're seeing people who took childhood dreams and passions into adult realities.

It's co-produced by IEEE Spectrum, the magazine of IEEE (which explores the creation, application and implications of new technologies) and the National Science Foundation.

This is great for all the audiophiles out there, or people who like to look a little closer at what makes scary movies scary. We get right into the sound effects man's head, how he thinks, what he wants when the scene calls for "get the moviegoer frightened." No narrator getting in the way here, just the enthusiasm of Steve Boeddeker, Hollywood sound designer and the creepy sounds he creates.

It's done by independent producer/reporter Jonathan Mitchell, and although there's no music in the piece, you can feel his study of music at work. This was commissioned originally for Studio 360, and used since then by KQED and WBEZ, among other stations. It's from 2001, but holds up well.

A refreshing commentary, from a Dad (humorist Owen Egerton), about the job of looking after a toddler, and seeing the world through her eyes. He does a nice job of capturing and describing the intertwined nature of the peril and the wonder that are constantly part of a child's life, and the accompanying parental responsibilities and joys. Enough to make your listener/parents believe that someone really understands what they're going through.