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"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." -- Helen Keller
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August 28, 2008 | |||||||
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 GoodThings on Public Radio August 30, 2001 We want to hear from you. What's the best public radio story or show you heard this past week? Share. If you want to listen, you'll need RealPlayer on your computer. (If you don't already have it, it's a FREE download.) Visit Real Networks. FRIDAY, August 24 | The Hard Way Up Barry Yourgrau's stories offer a sometimes bizarre, understated, always striking look at the simple and often mundane ways we live our lives. In this story, from his book Haunted Traveller, Yourgrau depicts the inconvenience of life in the city without common piece of machinery we all take for granted. [All Things Considered] Listen (length of clip 2 min 30 sec). Check out more of Barry Yourgrau's work or get your copy of Haunted Traveller. SATURDAY, August 25 | "Smooth Tight Skin" When you shop for fresh produce, do you know the secret of ripeness? According to author T. M. Gorman, every fruit and vegetable has its own way of showing it's ready for your stomach. All you need to have is a willingness to use all your senses and to think outside of the box. Ever thought of shaking a cantaloupe? Burying an avocado? Adding salt to citrus? With apples, it's all about the skin. If you know what to pay attention to, the results could be delicious. [Weekend Edition Saturday] Listen (5:30). Get a copy of T. M. Gorman's book Fruit: The Ripe Pick. SUNDAY, August 26 | The Bonds of Distance When his brother committed suicide, New York Times reporter Kirk Johnson had never run more than five miles. A year later, he ran his first marathon, and then set out to tackle the Badwater, a 135-mile epic race through the desert of Death Valley. Johnson thinks races like Badwater reveal a deep human need to test ourselves amidst a world of modern conveniences that make life relatively easy. During the 52 hours he spent running Badwater, he encountered twins, amputees, veterans, and others, none of whom had frivolous reasons for wanting to finish, and all of whom discovered shared human motivations. [Weekend Edition Sunday] Listen (5:42). Get a copy of Kirk Johnson's book To the Edge: A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance. MONDAY, August 27 | A Different Diva Call Cristina Saralegui the Oprah of the Spanish-speaking world, and you may have missed the point. Her wildly popular El Show de Cristina reaches 100 million people each day in 18 countries. Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Cristina has just won an Hispanic Heritage Award, not only for her influence but for her commitment to AIDS education and research. Unlike Oprah's show, Cristina's program is very international, attempting to address issues of importance throughout the world's extremely diverse Spanish-speaking communities. She's never afraid to take risks on her show and addresses many hot-button issues. Says Cristina: "I rattle a lot of cages. It's important that people think." [Morning Edition] Listen (7:19). Learn more about the Hispanic Heritage Awards. TUESDAY, August 28 | From Shower to Choir A white British guy with a knack for gospel singing? Well, maybe not a knack, but certainly a passion. Martin Stott explores the heart of gospel singing in Harlem, first by watching perhaps the only Japanese gospel choir anywhere. He learns from the choir's black director how gospel singing originated when black slaves began to infuse old Anglo songs with a new spirit. He also gets to experience gospel singing in an actual Harlem church service, and goes through an audition that morphs into a lesson and a rehearsal that liberates him. [Savvy Traveler] Listen (8:12). WEDNESDAY, August 29 | Justice Served When Sergeant John Rice, a Winnebago Indian who served valiantly in World War II and was killed in the Korean War, was denied burial in a Sioux City, Iowa cemetery reserved for whites, it opened deep wounds and created a national outrage. Even President Harry Truman got involved, giving Rice's family the opportunity to have him buried honorably in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington DC (he was ultimately returned to the Winnebago reservation in Nebraska). His story gave life to the American Indian rights movement and a passionate voice to many Native Americans. Now, a permanent memorial may stand in Rice's honor in Sioux City. [Morning Edition] Listen (3:34). THURSDAY, August 30 | An Intense Beige As part of the NPR series on emerging Southern artists, this profile of Melanie Sumner, author of the new book The School of Beauty and Charm, explores her transformation from a child raised amidst all the traditional expectations of life in the American South into a defiant citizen of the world, spending much of her adult life living in other parts of the country and the world. The experience defines her writing and shapes her critiques of the Southern perspective on religion, race, sex, and gender. Now, living back in her hometown of Rome, Georgia, Sumner is confronting all the reasons she left in the first place and the reasons she's forever bound to it. [Morning Edition] Listen (8:59). Get a copy of Melanie Sumner's book The School of Beauty and Charm. Read an excerpt. [ : previous week : ] WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. Did we miss a good public radio story this week? Want to recommend one for next week? Share it with us! |
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