There's been a lot of radio done about the civil rights movement--but this is a very special piece of work. These women were not exactly "leaders" of the student movement in th e South, which makes the piece much better; you get a sense of what it really felt like. And the producers make the good choice of all but ignoring the 'emergence-of-feminism' story and the 'interracial sex' story, both of which have been told before. Instead, we get a real feel of what it felt like in Alabama and Mississippi in those years. Which may be the single most compelling story in all of American history.

An important piece of radio history, does a superb job of capturing the lesser known early years of the Marhsall civil rights crusade--the all night legal gatherings at NAACP HQ, the search for cases that would work as fundraisers as well as vehicles for change, the sense of moment that surrounded Brown V. Board. The only sadness is how little tapea there is of Marshall--the one snippet of him telling a story at a dinner is priceless

If, as someone once said, a 20-year-old who isn't a socialist has no heart and a 40 year old who is a socialist has no head, what can you say about an 80-year-old who has never wavered for a moment? That they have no teeth, probably, and that they live at Sunset Hall. This is a lovely piece; it would have been easy to make fun of these guys, and easy to be sentimental about them, but this avoids both pitfalls. A real testament to appealing crankiness!

This is a story everyone needs to hear, since it sheds actual light on the endless fascination with the occult. TShe story of Madame Blavatsky, Col. Alcott, and all that it led to is told with economy, grace, and real style, and the ending of Part Two is the only possible ending, absolutely perfect. I have no idea how this reporter becomes authoritative on such a wide variety of subjects, but I'm awfully glad she does. There is a modesty about these pieces that belies theair authority

What a fresh and interesting piece of radio. It's written and produced with real thought--though I didn't think the word salad interludes were as effective as the declarations that make up most of the piece. And the last part, when we reallyt got to late capitalism and love, is a mind-opener. A perfect late-evening piece.

This is really fine work, and really interesting too. In fact, it owuld be a lot better if it was a lot longer--there is a realy Fast Times at Ridgemont High story to be told here, about clothes stores instead of fast food places. Give us a half hour on it!

Do you like shaggy dog stories? I do, and this is a great one. Following a tomato in its journey back to New York is only a semi-interesting conceit, but the stories that go along with it are magnificent--especially the pugilistic truck driver, who is a latter-day Damon Runyon character. If you know Joe Mitchell's finest work (and if you don't, you have a treat in store) you will realize the tradition of New York stories to which this belongs. A few more facts might have been helpful--like how much of these biosolids are actually used--but what the hell. This is a very fine piece, from a mind that will clearly produce much more of value. I can't wait.

Jeez, this is one they should hand to the new radio recruits as they report for duty. The pacing is spot-on perfect--the proportion of words to notes somehow works wonderfully. More, the host is as laidback and easygoing, yet smart, as Brubeck's classic works. She's jsut enough of the piece, never too much. I can't imagine any station format where this wouldn't fit in the evening. You could say she softballed him a little bit--nothing on the question of whether black musicians resented his Time cover, etc--but what the hell, that's all been covered, he's an old guy (though still right there), and in the end it's such a treat to see his music and his personality blend together.

World Vision does good work in many places--i've come across their people in a variety of developing countries. That said, this is not entirely neutral reporting. It comes from an avowedly Christian group that gets most of thier support from middle to right-of-middle American Christians. You can perhaps hear a few echoes of that in their "coverage" of the war in Iraq that opens this segment, for instance. There's nothing really out-of-kilter here, (and as a longtime Sunday School teacher its stance doesn't bother me much) but programmers should be aware that this is not a typical news source. The radio is straightforward, tending a mite towards the dull end of the spectrum.

This is a great piece of radio, one of the finest half hours around. I remember it when it was first broadcast, and now would be the perfect moment for stations to replay it. It's an almost unbelievably sad and powerful story. But they'll need to have an intro (or maybe better a new ending) a couple of minutes long to explain how it was that Rideau finally managed to get out. It would also work very well with coverage of Sister Helen prejean's new book on the death penalty. (She and Rideau are old friends). Anyway, what a piece!

This is really a classic piece of radio work. First off, it sounds gorgeous--thank heaven the producers opted for two hours so they could play the whole songs, keep the pace so casual and easy. The whole thing breathes. Second, there's just enough history, just enough current appreciation, jsut enough Greil Marcus being his usual brilliant self. You end up feeling as if your mind has been stretched, as if you've been helped to make interesting connections. For anyone of this vintage, it's compelling, a perfect piece to stretch out on the sofa and listen to in the twilight, wineglass dangling in your hand.

The general case: Chautauqua lectures are serious and useful, long enough to get at something, and they're not obsessed (a la the commonwealth club etc) with having the most powerful folks around.

The specific case: This is an enormously powerful talk by Spitzer, who is possibly the brightest and msot interesting public official in america. He speaks rigorously, clearly, and completely without condescension. A wonderful talk, despite the lame title. Spitzer/Obama in 2012!

I've listened to several of these "art of the song" shows now, though this is the first i've reviewed. I think they are aabsolutely top notch, and can't imagine they're not on most public radio stations. The interviews are good (mostly because they pick good people to interview, which is the only real secret to interviewing). But they also get out of the way and let people talk. along the same lines, they get out of the way and let people sing--they use whole cuts of songs, not a single chorus or verse. Cretivity is a vexedly difficult topic to capture, but this does it better than just about anything i've heard on the radio. Really really solid. And Nanci Griffith is great fun to listen to. "Every song of mine has at least one line in it tht states my politics and my social views." Good enough for me

A good, straightforward take on what it actually feels like to live in Israel in a time of terror. But it doesn't go deep enough--it starts to get there with the woman who's talking about yelling at her kids because she's scared. You want to hear questions that are less general. (And of course you want to hear about those people across the wall who are living in an even tougher place, at an even tougher time--but that's for another day and another piece)

In the wake of the election, somehow pieces that are about ambiguity seem extremely important--like, isn't there a bit of red state in all of us? In this narrator to be sure, and it's brought out very nicely. I wish the piece had been longer, is all--there are stories (his boyhood friend, his own kids, the European friends) that seem half-told here.