I felt transported to this plaza via the many different prospectives I was treated to throughout this piece, from regular people who experienced the plaza in their youth, to the homeless and junkie population who live there now, to the folk who encounter the plaza on their daily commute. Hearing from the man who designed the plaza was a powerful addition to the piece. You can hear the love in his voice for this project and his disappointment in the way things turned out. Yet he wouldn’t change a thing, which I found moving. The background sounds were amazing and the music chosen matched the feeling of the piece very well. Personally, I really appreciate these in depth behind the scenes views into everyday places. Imagine how many people encounter the UN Plaza everyday and wonder what really goes on there… Listening to this with my morning coffee was 30 minutes well spent.

Fun! This light-hearted piece was just what I needed on a Monday morning. I enjoyed hearing/learning about how board games are invented. This piece takes the listener to cafes in Amsterdam to conventions in Germany. The people interviewed in this piece are interesting and the visual descriptions of places where interviews take place very clear and good.
I had never given much thought to how board games came into being, and now I am motivated to learn the history of the ones I like to play the most.
A topic that might seem like a bit of a bore on the outside was presented well and was even intriguing. I learned a lot from listening to this piece. For example, designers of board games in Germany have their name on the game box. They are treated like an author would be and I found that to be very interesting. That makes the games more personal and I like the idea.
This piece would work well on a morning show or on a Sunday afternoon.

This piece conjured up so many images for me that I had to listen to it twice. The narrator does an excellent job of painting a picture of this community, especially the 93-year old woman. I could actually see her sitting by her window sewing while listening to French jigs.
The producer did an excellent job of breaking terms down, like Franco-American, which I think makes this listener friendly no matter how much you know already know about other cultures. Yet, with her simple explanations, I never felt talked down too.
I also think there is a story within this story that could be explored further on its own. I was intrigued about the church that was turned into a Heritage Center and that the process was recorded and filmed by the youth of the town. I would love to hear more about this effort taken on by 8th graders in Lewiston.
Listeners get a sampling of many different people in the town, and I appreciate that. The producer did a great job brining in the many aspects of the history of these people and their community – without being topic-jumpy or leaving something out. I feel like I got a glimpse into another way of life, which is one of the experiences I look for when listening to Public Radio.

I am having a hard time really putting what I thought about this piece into words. The photo developer, who is also a photographer himself, is not someone that I really liked. I felt like this piece was sort of trying to justify who this guy is, and why he feels the way he does about processing pictures. He seemed mildly judgmental about the pictures he develops everyday and I am not sure I like that perspective. The listener is taken back to his childhood, when he was first given a camera, yet I never really felt the connection the piece was trying to make. We also get a glimpse into why he did not like his photography program in college and how that has skewed his vision and philosophy of photos in general today. But again, I didn’t make a connection. This piece was something I would continue to listen too if it was on, but I am not sure I would be happy about the time spent when it was over. I think the idea is a good one, but something about the guy who was interviewed just didn’t sit right with me.

Wow. I am 30 or so years old, and all the information I had stored in my brain about Lenny Bruce was mostly gleaned from Kid Rock and REM songs. I had no idea about the struggle Lenny Bruce went through. For the most part I knew he was a junky and a comedian. I guess these days it is easy to take free speech for granted (more or less). The clips of his act that were included in this piece seem so tame compared to what I hear on my local rock station in the morning, not to mention what anyone can hear when watching the television at any time of the day. I feel like I have learned something, and that I have a lot to think about (and be thankful for) now as well. The sound in this piece was excellent and the music at the end moving, and was the perfect backdrop to the sadness I felt. It has a historical feel too it and I greatly enjoyed it.

EDIT: I could not stop thinking about Lenny Bruce all day and spent most of my working hours trying to learn more about him over the internet and checking to see what my local library had available on him.

I adored this piece. Everything about it. It is compelling, touching and makes me want to write Josh and the interviewer both letters thanking them. The content is moving, the story is unique, and I gave it my attention the whole way through. If I had any critique, it would be that the interviewers voice sometimes fades, and the overlap of Josh talking once, and only once, seemed to overlap too much and the last bit of music at the end ends abruptly and was a little distracting.
Overall, outstanding.

I really like the topic of this piece. I love learning about the oddities that make up my own community as well as those of others. However, I felt this story was lacking. The interviewer did not do a good job of making me FEEL the car or what it was really like. Plus, the commentary often sounded too scripted, and didn't flow easily into the interviewed segments. Also, the interviewer sounded very animated at times and then very somber at times which I found distracting. I ended up focusing more on the tone of the interviewer's voice and the way she pronounced her words than on what she was saying. I could have used more background into why the owner of the car wanted her car to be this way - why she drove a hearse in the first place, and how she got the things she used to make the car unique. Where did all those dentures come from? Why is she fascinated with death? Again though, I think the story behind a 'carthedral' could be very interesting.