Patience and faith--in radio that is-- are essential in order for you to fully appreciate this piece as it betrays the conventional expectations of a hard feature. This piece is almost impressionistic as the interviewee becomes the narrator. As your guide, the matriarch Ruth Marchellatta walks you through the family business, the decay of Maine's economy AND she offers you a cup of coffee! ( What more could you want out of a radio piece?)

Listener beware: you'll have to monitor your glycemic index as this piece is full of ear candy: wonderful voices, the intoxicating sound of percolating coffee and the noirish appeal of Ruth lighting a cigarette.

When to air this? During "All Things Considered" or "Morning Edition" or wherever you can spare seven minutes and one second. Given the presidential election's nonstop discussions about jobs, the economy and NAFTA , this is a supremely relevant piece.--Chelsea Merz

Before I heard this piece I had assumed that I would write that whether one enjoys it or not depends on whether you like Burnside Project (who I must confess to not being familiar with until now), but this is not the case. The band comprises a trio of engaged and engaging musicians whose enthusiasm for their work is infectious. This well rounded radio interview is aptly named: providing an insight into the artistic process and the nature of the musicans' collaboration, and also revealing the dramatic impact of digital editing software on music composition. In addition there is ample use of their music throughout the interview for those not already in the know.

Don't be put off by the host's somewhat speedy and fact-filled preamble, (I felt a bit breathless just listening); he is clearly knowledgeable and interested in his subjects, and appears to be a natural fast talker! HW

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

I can feel my brain mutating trying to keep up with the flood of Dr. Wells' knowledge. Straight ahead Q and A conversation, really interesting information and speculation on evolution and migration. (Creationists take your blood pressure medicine.) The production has some glitches edit-wise, nothing major, just slightly distracting cuts that would be less distracting were I listening while doing the dishes, say, as opposed to sitting still,headphones clamped on. Vogel asks good questions and Wells communicates fluidly, and in layperson friendly-speak. Good science programming, good points raised, food for thought. sl

Bearing witness to the forced blooming of courage in the arrid terrain of civil rights in Mississippi - O Freedom presents an intelligent document engaging me on several levels at once. The political, historical aspect albeit astonishing, crafted through testimony, is easy to take in, but simultaneously being pulled in emotionally to imagine: non-existent the most rudimentary sense of ease and safety, the courage that comes from a nauseating fear in your marrow, the impossibility to suffocate the human need to break the yoke. Black and white. What more successful documentary than one that informs your every sense?
vm

This would be a nice addition to Valentine's day programming as it's a love letter to Florence.

Listening to this leaves you with a sense of going somewhere, being somewhere and having to leave, which is quite an accomplishment for such a short piece.

This would be perfect for The Savvy Traveler or any show about travel and/or the bittersweet sensation of saying farewell.

Improvisations on chivalry and honor in the rodent world is the producer's description and silly is the result. In a good way. The piece is out there, it made me giggle. Henceforth I shall see squirrels, imagine them stentorian-voiced, and be glad for the perceptual change. And if I heard this in the middle of ATC or ME, I'd be pleased. sl

Part one is a mix of authoritative interviews, the most gripping of course is a close encounter with Alzheimer's ( a Mother and daughter), but really there was only the one subject. There were some odd production choices, embedding a relevent piece with no segues where breaks for news and id's would be. The second part on diagnosing early Alzheimer's feels a little alarmist and unscientific - using one example of early diagnosis which could quite feasibly turn out to be wrong ! As we are told, even full-blown Alzheimer's cannot ever be 100% diagnosed without autopsy. So the focus was a puzzling choice. A fair portion of the content was an interview with David Shenk author of The Forgetting - his research is extensive and he is considered now an authority. But I sometimes felt some of his pronouncements a little irresponsible.
We are all living longer, there are many more cases of varying types of senility, early and otherwise. People are so very much more vulnerable to and desperate for any kind of information about Alzheimer's, and I left this piece feeling it somewhat alarmist.
In spite of this, there were many engaging moments. A particularly moving theme was about the caretakers, the syndromes of their stress and the wear of heartbreak.
vm

Delightful and wrenching (how is that possible in 3 minutes !!??) Like good writing where you find yourself pulling for the bad guy - but Goldstein doesn't let you get sloppy - suddenly you're laughing out loud, brought back to your senses (or completely out of them). I went away: the delivery, the writing,the music...
Perfect for Valentine's Day
...or Halloween
vm

A companionable discovery of a formidable and godforsaken place. A worthy subject and one of the speakers, the lighthouse keeper, an interesting fellow, full of the contradictions of today. I wanted to hear a lot more from him. Even thought it's about a place, I assume also time restrictions forced the choice: the place or the man. I think more focus on the lighthouse keeper as an obsolete job, or just a portrait might make a lot more use of the tape. There's a funny use of two narrators that I haven't quite figured out. It's surprising, given the piece is so short.

The content is lively, full of good sound, active description - engaging little piece that could be part of a series on place, as they present it, or in cahoots with another similar local series on Other Places. I like a vibrant description of a place, especially if it's unlikely I'll get there myself. vm

"The Miseducation of Josh Frank ," is a great insight into the artistic process--the hard work involved and the sacrifices made.

The writing is clean and conversational and and the organic use of music is great. This story also peripherally addresses the universal teenage experience.

This could work in many contexts: sibling relationships, being a musician, teenage living. Also consider using this if you happen to have a ten minute gap somewhere because it's a good, strong story.

You probabaly won't want to consider airing this until next Christmas --as it considers the ethics of perpetuating the myth of Santa--but it's a good spot. Ethically Speaking is brief, informative but not dry. It’s ideal for interstitial programming. There are a number of public radio shows that have a resident ethicist so Ethically Speaking is a perfect way for PD's to fill the ethicist void.

This is a great piece. Steve Henn, in interviewing a variety of experts, does a splendid job of exploring the business of burnishing the presidential image. The editing is clean and keeps things moving along; the writing is perfectly clever: not too clever. Although there is no mention of mattress sales this is an ideal piece for the upcoming holiday: Presidents' Day. This is also a great piece to consider broadcasting during the presidental campaign. CM

An interesting story to try to tell- it's a little surreal, mixed with prayer and language and stage adaptation; a little puzzling to understand the plight to maintain the identity of a hidden religion when it is no longer a mortal necessity, in this country. Also, strangely, the piece ends with the beckoning from the rabbi which sort pulls it down a notch in terms of documentary.

I don't understand why you'd want to be a crypto-jew if you could just embrace judaism. I went back to listen more than once because I felt I might be missing something - and I think I was right. The piece is only 6 minutes and has to cover some history, a historical adaptation for the theatre, the practise today - and it just isn't enough time.
vm

Thoughtful producers provide two versions, one with a sweet scene – the pianist outside Carnegie Hall – one without. It’s just wonderful to hear this pianist talk -- he’s so excited -- and his playing is amazing. This is perfect to air around his extensive upcoming US tour, the producers offer the details. But as is the case with the others in this series, any time airing is fine. To hear these kind of pieces in the middle of the news day is like when the sun surprisingly breaks through on a solid gray afternoon. There's nothing like a little hit of art oxygen to refresh the soul. sl