Culture, social norms, and the impact on a person; this piece dishes out all of those things. The piece flows well and is able to keep the attention of the listener (it does not feel like nine minutes!). For the most part, sound clips and audio are properly introduced at key places, allowing for a better understanding of the message. This piece appears to be a combination of two central ideas: social norms vs. somebody different, and an in-depth discussion of the African-American culture. These two powerful ideas come out well in the piece, but can leave the listener confused as to the focus of the overall feature. The feature feels more like a combination of two strong pieces rather than a continuous one. Also, there is not a lot of direct connections made between the two central ideas, however this provides an opportunity for a listener to come to his/her own conclusions about the ideas presented in the peace. Overall, I walk away feeling more knowledgeable about a different culture, but I still do have questions as to what the narrator thinks about these issues. The piece is a good introduction for somebody who wants to provoke discussion about culture that is related to African-Americans or youth.

Many people believe that the youth population is not adequately represented in politics. It is for this reason that I am very fond of this piece as it shows how a group of teenagers can have a big voice in politics. Although the narrator is biased to her cause, her interviewee discusses both sides of the issue. I understand both the reasons for her group’s proposal, and the challenges they face. The piece itself does not contain sound effects or music (no flashy elements here), but the startling statistics that the narrator presents, combined with her powerful arguments, makes this a forceful call to action. This feature can be very effective to encourage a local group to get involved in their own community, as well as to show how even a youth group can make a difference in politics.

I feel that this piece starts off very strong for the first half, and it has some very powerful energy in it. The narrator's tone changes throughout the start of the piece. This really makes it seem as if a listener is hearing a person and not a robot. I really wish the author had maintained this change of tone, because at certain points the piece does seem to become monotone. As opposed to focusing on America as a whole, I would've preferred if the narrator had spent more time on Texas. The fact that she generalizes America makes it feel a little bit awkward listening to this piece, especially since I live in a city that does do a lot of walking (the narrator makes it seem as if all of America doesn't do much walking). Despite this minor flaw the piece does have a very good flow, and it does a good job of showing the teenage perspective on greener ways of traveling. The overall best thing about this piece is how the narrator at points seems to come alive in the piece that really makes it stand out. This piece is good for a location that lacks good public transportation or for an event designed to motivate people to walk. However, I feel that if a listener was located in a city where people walk a lot, this may sound a little bit awkward to them.

I like how this piece opens up by presenting the problem and the possible solution. This piece is slightly informative on the benefits of green roofs. However, I feel that the piece overall diverges from its original meaning. My interpretation is that this piece was meant to explain how green roofs are able to fix the runoff problem. However, near the end of the piece, it seems to become more of an advertisement for green roofs in general. This isn't necessarily bad, but it takes away from the overall clarity of the piece. The narrator is a little bit monotone throughout the piece. I wish that he had thrown a little bit of himself into the piece (or at least some music). This would have been key especially since he had so many humorous interviews, but most of the facts came from the narrator himself. One concern I have for this piece is that it seems to make some assertions without any factual proof. For example, the narrator talks about how green roofs reflect heat, but then he says that it will keep a house warmer in the winter. The broad assumptions (or the lack of explanations) near the end of the piece just seem to take away from the interest I originally had about the runoff problem. This is overall a good piece for somebody who is explaining green roofs alongside the piece. On a more positive note the piece has a very strong ending that I found to be very interesting. It goes to show you that green roofs might be found where you least expect them!

The words "war" and "environment" are not usually found in the same sentence, unless the phrase "is not helpful for" is in between them. Through this piece, Jordan presents a positive aspect of the military by showing the listener a base’s commitment to preserving the environment. Jordan takes a listener alongside him into the field, with a few experts, to discover some curious horned creatures. Throughout this process, there was a good range of sound that really made me feel as if I was right there alongside him. It felt like being a modern explorer! After listening to this piece, I wanted to find an image of a horned lizard just to see what Jordan was really looking at. The people at this base gain more than just a positive feeling from helping their surroundings. Jordan emphasizes this at the end as he lets the expert's tell how preserving the base's environment has benefited the troops at home.