Musically well-informed as the producer of this work is, and musically eclectic as the featured composer seems to be, this piece falls short of expectations. Well into the piece I decided it was about the creation of a work that had yet to be performed - how musicians make contact with each other, the birth of an unusual pairing of instruments, the composer at work in his office, etc. But I was wrong - the piece has been performed, and recorded (with much better quality than the interviews) and so I had to rethink what I'd been listening to all along. The elements are here for a better arts & culture piece, but the structure should be rethought. Unless the rawness of the work is in some way which I missed a deliberate choice?

A touching perspective on 9/11, through the eyes of a two year old child. As Sophia's father grapples with how much truth to tell his daughter, she displays a disarming understanding of what happened. "Our building is okay," she reassures herself. But is it? The recent images of New Orleans come to mind. Children today have a lot more to worry about than if Santa is real. Sensitively written and narrated, this gently paced piece should find a place on any station on September 11th - or in any discussion about the impact of television images on young hearts and minds.

A fascinating, meticulously researched and produced story about a little known chapter in American history. I thought I was fairly well informed about the 19th century post-Civil War period. But this program contained such a wealth of information I'd never heard or read before that I was a bit overwhelmed. For example, I don't remember ever learning about the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, or the 1888 Scott Act which so tightly restricted immigration that only 10 Chinese were allowed to enter the country one year. I never knew the derivation of the derogatory term "coolie." Or that at one time, the Chinese were the largest ethnic group in Idaho and Oregon. But part of what makes this story so interesting is how eerily some of the information about the Immigration Department is so topical today - and not in a positive sense. Then there is the interesting tale of herbalist Doc Hay, his partner Lung On and their extremely successful medical practice. The use of music, readings from letters & newspapers, and even staged scenes add richness to the authoritative experts and the well written narration. But my favorite parts are those who actually met Doc Hay - because it makes one realize this history is more recent than we might like to believe. If your listeners have an ear for history, drama or just good storytelling, treat them to this very different take on the American frontier.

David McCullough, who might be considered the historian laureate of America, is a compelling storyteller and speaker. A lecture he gave about John Adams in Amsterdam last year inspired me to expand an idea for a half-hour program into a three-part series, for which I was grateful to have him take part. He believes history is as exciting as any novel and his books are written with that in mind which is why they're so popular. But as I keep learning over and over again, it's no easy task to make history come alive on the radio. In fact, I'm asking myself at this very moment why I keep attempting it at all. At the end of this program, he advises a young biographer, "Just say what happened - you don't have to trick it up." But I'm not sure that holds true for radio. Hearing McCullough speak in person is a great joy, but listening to a recorded lecture loses something in "translation" from live event to radio program. It's still full of interesting information, about both major players like Washington as well as little-known figures who played important roles in American history. The humorous anecdotes still bring a smile and, in the end, I'm certainly sold on adding his book to my long list of summer reading. And I honestly believe that radio can sustain a broad spectrum of styles and formats - so why not an engaging lecture by a great speaker about an important topic? Forgive me if this is perhaps less a critique than a contemplation, but these are questions I've been asking myself alot lately. Like McCullough, I believe history can be a lot more exciting than I ever thought it was in school. And it seems to have grown in popularity in recent years - in literature, film and tv. So why not radio? But how? Hmmmmmmm... At any rate, there couldn't be a better time for this piece than 4th of July weekend, notwithstanding the lack of fireworks.

This glimpse into the Mental Health Division of Chicago Cook County Jail is so well-intentioned its difficult to find fault with it. Neatly structured from Recieving of detainees to the Release of one, it has a "day in the life" feel but the material was clearly gathered over a period of weeks. Along the way we briefly meet some staff members in each stage of the evaluation process, as well as a number of the detainees with varying degrees of mental problems. A narrator reads a well written script which fills in descriptions, details and background information. This is a solid portrait of a place of transit, a kind of Central Station of unfortunates, where so many pass through it's hard to tell them apart. Perhaps that's why the narrator's voice had such a sense of detatchment. But that didn't help bring me any closer to any of the people in the story. One detainnee blends into another, as do even the obviously caring and competent staff. And the whole half hour moves along on one level - without the ups and downs that must occur in a place like that every day - making it all seem a little safer than I imagine it really is. I never felt the "danger" of the title. In this sense, the piece might just be a bit too well produced - not necessarily a bad thing for the average radio audience.

This polished production should fit any station's Think Global remit. Four sound rich stories from four countries where traditional societies cope with the changing global economy. But the first and last items from Peru and Mexico are very narrator driven, probably due to language differences. So much information is related, it begins to overwhelm the sound and feeling of the places and people who live there. The item from Scotland's Outer Hebrides was able to focus on the people - but why is the piece split in half with a station ID break? This interruption hurt the pace of the story and seemed unnecessary when it could'v been slotted in between two complete stories. But without a doubt, the jewel in this hour is Chris Brookes' poetic piece about the collapse of the Newfoundland cod industry where a whole town has vanished leaving only a dance to remember it by. A fascinating story, beautifully paced and produced, it's worth playing the whole hour just to let your listeners hear this bit of audio wizardry.

In the 17th century, Dutch masters were fond of painting a series of works based on the five senses. This piece covers them all in just eight minutes! From word of mouth to weather reports, small town politics to the logistics of grave-digging, the great themes of life, death and immortality are revealed with a good dose of mystery and mythology thrown into the mix as well. The voices are fantastic, the music perfectly evocative and the story - well, near the end, one old-timer says, "If you never did see it you'd never understand it." But he's oh so wrong... This is certainly more than just another fish story!

In 1996 at the first Amnesty International film festival in Amsterdam, I interviewed Robert Richter about his disturbing documentary "Inside the School of Assassins" - the story of decorated Vietnam veteran Father Roy Bourgeois's campaign to close the US Army's tax-supported School of the Americas (SOA) at Ft. Benning, Georgia. I was (perhaps naively) shocked that an institution committed to training Latin American soldiers torture techniques even existed, much less on American soil. It's even more chilling to hear that SOA is still in operation, albeit as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). That's why I wanted give Prisoner of Conscience a listen. But I was wary of how it might be presented. Voices of Our World is produced by Maryknoll, the Catholic missionary movement of which Father Roy is a member, as is Sister Lil Mattingly who's story makes up the first half of this program. I prepared myself for a certain, shall we say, biased point of view. What I heard instead was the soft-spoken, even timid voice of a 63 year old woman facing six months in prison for "crossing the line" in her efforts to force WHINSEC to "stop teaching people to kill." Rumsfeld and the neo-cons might call this unbalanced, leftist propoganda. I call it a story that needs to be heard - now! It's timely (Sister Lil began her sentence March 15) and, sad to say, timeless. I don't see the present administration changing its current foreign policies any time soon. Though there is a glimmer of hope in the second half of the program in which lay missioner Lisa Sullivan Rodriguez relates the story of her and Father Roy's meeting with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez who subsequently made the decision to become the first Latin American country to stop sending soldiers to WHINSEC. Two simple interviews with two committed activists who speak from the heart make this compelling listening, especially the first part which could stand alone for news programs not suited to the half-hour format.

This piece brought a ray of sunshine to a rainy Sunday morning. A breezy history of music played on ocean liners, simply told with a rich variety of interesting information about hired "dance hosts" for single ladies, Glenn Miller versus Disco and the grotesque inaccuracies of "Love Boat." The balance of narration, speakers and music is just right. It ends with a touching story of the musicians on the Titanic and the haunting melody they played as the ship went down (not "Nearer My God to Thee" as Hollywood and Google would have you believe.) Keep this piece in mind for the April 14 anniversary of the Titanic tragedy - it has broader appeal than just music or arts programming. And don't cut into the very slow fade of music at the end. It's deliberate and very effective!

A delightfully gentle reflection on the fears and joys of getting naked with friends and strangers. The narrator's folksy charm seems sincere and his thoughts are intelligent and well written. The use of music and sauna sound moved the piece along at just the right pace. As someone who sometimes gets embarrassed alone in the shower, I could almost imagine myself sitting butt naked in the hot, steamy sauna, relaxed and congenially chatting about the state of the world or my dog's latest antics. Almost, I sigh... Radio is great for the imagination and this piece made me imagine it might be possible. Maybe I should give it a go?

This program introduces the work of a fine contemporary classical composer in two parts. In the first half-hour (after a rather lengthy and dry run-down of his resume), Adolphus Hailstork talks about his musical inspirations and his approach to several compositions. I would have preferred to hear a bit more of the music and a little less of the technical nuts and bolts of musical composition; and perhaps more about the emotional meaning behind the work instead of the structuring of longer pieces. The 2nd half of the program is a live recording of Hailstork's latest Violin Concerto. This piece reveals the true nature of the composer - who communicates more deeply in his music than in his words. That being said, this program should suit any station with a classical music audience.

This is a lovely piece about the creative process - not simply of the composer but of the radio maker himself. By carefully blending the voices, the music and, most strikingly, the intervention of nature, a kind of poetry emerges which elevates this work above the ususal arts & culture radio item. I wanted to hear more but the length is part of its beauty. Often the haiku can touch us more deeply than the epic poem.

There's an interesting time-warp thing going on in this piece - a new radio drama inspired by the sixty year old radio classic "War of the Worlds" written and performed in a style popularized by Firesign Theater some thirty years ago. Some of my fellow drama majors at college in the early 70's were such die-hard fans they'd memorized whole albums and would perform them at parties. Back then I wasn't a great fan of this genre of comedy which also included Cheech & Chong and Monty Python. And after listening to this work, I must admit I'm still not overly enthusiastic. That being said, I admire what the guys at Great Northern Audio Theater are doing here - trying to preserve a endangered art form. In this age of info-media, radio drama -and especially comedy- is a rare bird indeed! Even in Europe where such work is still done in many countries, there is much less airtime devoted to it. But an important distinction seems to be that in Europe, writers and producers are experimenting with new styles and techniques - trying to find a fresh sound that will re-invent the genre. Having recently listened again to War of the Worlds, I was struck by how timeless it sounded, how innovative the writing still seemed. So while I appreciate the work on Martian Trombone (the production elements are excellent!), it seems a bit anachronistic. Maybe that's the point, in which case it would be great for a station with an audience attuned and eager for alternative programming. But I guess I'm left with the question, is this "alternative" in the best sense of the word?

I first heard this piece a couple of years back on Outright Radio - loved it then and loved hearing it again. The stories of two gay men brought up in the Mormon faith are told with equal portions of heart and humor - and effectively mixed with music and songs. The opening is cleverly done; I wish the ending was a bit stronger. But this is a refreshingly light take on a deadly serious issue.

An entertaining magazine-style program - not as unconventional as is overly hyped in the introduction. It's the unconventional guests who give the program its quirky appeal. Gordon has a good ear for audio and artists off the beaten track - and has a good rapport with them in the interviews. The mix of talk and music or live recordings is well-balanced and the whole show moves right along at a good clip. I especially liked the 60's San Fransisco "street terrorizing" comedy team. The segment on the theramin was a bit thin - seemed like maybe it was just a time-filler. (Might be because I recently heard a fascinating half-hour doco about the instrument.) I enjoyed this program very much, but would not call it experimental.