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GoodThings on Public Radio
May 17, 2001

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FRIDAY, May 11 | Getting Out of Dodge?
In a burgeoning nationwide effort to turn schools into "anger-free, heartbreak-free, acne-free Xanadus," educators are banning that most dangerous of activities from the playground -- dodgeball. Stephen Lynch calls similar "post-Columbine" zero-tolerance campaigns -- that include turning proms into date-free group hugs -- understandable but short-sighted, destined only to make childhood dull and joyless. [All Things Considered]
Listen (length of clip 3 min 30 seconds).

SATURDAY, May 12 | Caffeine on the Black Market
In creating an interactive critique of U.S. drug policy, an Amherst College art student has forced his fellow students to go underground for their daily caffeine fixes. His performance art demonstration has removed coffee from the school's student cafeterias and driven students to outdoor coffee brokers selling cups of java at a premium. The faculty is exempt from his "social sculpture," adding a compelling layer to his commentary. [Weekend Edition Saturday]
Listen (2:50).

SUNDAY, May 13 | Home for "Aware and Informed" Mothers
This Mother's Day story says there's no such thing as the ideal mom. And Ariel Gore's magazine and Web site, Hip Mama, is out to prove it. When Gore unexpectedly became a teen mother, she faced the social perception that she wasn't fit to take care of her child. While she's learned firsthand about how lonely being a mother can be, she's used Hip Mama to build a vibrant community of women from every walk of life determined to "rewrite what motherhood's about." [Weekend Edition Sunday]
Listen (6:30).

Visit the Hip Mama Web site.

MONDAY, May 14 | Rethinking Dandelions
A green lawn is as synonymous with suburban life as the peer pressure that guarantees those lawns will remain perfectly manicured. But Dick George learned to see his increasingly meadow-like yard in a whole new light. Maybe it was his attempt at justifying his negligence, but he stopped thinking of it as "messy" and instead saw it as "exploding with life and energy." Of course, that didn't last forever. [All Things Considered]
Listen (3:00).

TUESDAY, May 15 | The Poetry of Real Life
Vertamae Grosvenor remembers her life growing up in a Gullah community off the coast of South Carolina as entirely consumed with poetry, both in the sing-song way her friends and family spoke to each other and in the way it fed the African-American musical tradition. Her childhood was full of poetic speech as much "stance and attitude" as anything else and crystal-clear phrases like "her mouth don't know no Sunday." [Morning Edition]
Listen (4:31).

Learn more about the poetry of the Gullah.

WEDNESDAY, May 16 | The Kindest Cut
The current economic downturn is putting a premium on gainful employment, with companies having eliminated half a million jobs since January. But some companies have found that wholesale lay-offs during uncertain times is not always an advisable strategy, creating a long-term negative impact that's difficult to overcome. Employees are applauding "brilliant" approaches that, rather than resorting to lay-offs, trade salary for stock options during lean times. Companies are finding it saves money in the long run and improves morale and productivity. [Morning Edition]
Listen (5:38).

THURSDAY, May 17 | Healing the Wounds of History
Bernie Rosner is more than a Hungarian Jew, and Frits Tubach is more than the son of a former Nazi officer. They're both Americans and, since 1983, have been the closest of friends. They've written a new book together called Uncommon Friendship: From Opposite Sides of the Holocaust that charts Bernie's experience as the only member of his family who survived Auschwitz and Frits' struggles as a youth being trained to become one of Hitler's crusaders. Through the years, Bernie has learned to avoid associating people with evil because of their ethnicity, and Frits has realized the danger in identifying with a group where the source of power is invisible. They concede, though, that the tennis court will forever be a battleground. [Morning Edition]
Listen (8:38).

Order your copy of Uncommon Friendship.

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