"The happiest excitement in life is to be convinced that one is fighting for all one is worth on behalf of some clearly seen and deeply felt good."
- Ruth Benedict
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"The happiest excitement in life is to be convinced that one is fighting for all one is worth on behalf of some clearly seen and deeply felt good." - Ruth Benedict
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Get Involved
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December 1, 2008 | |||||||
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 GoodThings on Public Radio October 18, 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, October 12 | A Policy Mind, A Musical Soul Frederick Starr, a Central Asia expert from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, has something of a secret life. When he's not conducting one of scores of interviews shedding light on the current crisis surrounding Afghanistan (he believes he's been interviewed over 200 times since September 11) or consulting for government departments and foreign diplomats, he performing to packed concert houses as an accomplished, world-class jazz musician. He and his Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble entertain adoring fans throughout the world with long-forgotten 1920s jazz arrangements, using all but obsolete jazz instruments. His life busier than ever, Starr says he'd drop everything for the music. [Morning Edition] Listen (length of clip 7 min 18 sec). SATURDAY, October 13 | Alternative to "Closure" As many people are gaining a new understanding of what it means to grieve, a book by Anne McCracken and Mary Semel has new significance. In A Broken Heart Still Beats, these two women -- both of whom had children die unexpectedly -- have collected a diversity of voices from literature from every genre and throughout history. They have found most of what they read in the realm of self-help to be "too optimistic" in its insistence that with time would come closure. Still, in rejecting the idea of closure when loss is too profound, McCracken and Semel have collected powerful words in literature that themselves were inspired by loss and offer great solace. [Weekend All Things Considered] Listen (7:51). Get your copy of A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies. SUNDAY, October 14 | The Evolution of Conflict Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 14, 1964. In his acceptance address, he furthered his message of nonviolence with words that have relevance today. He urged the world to resist responding to violence with violence, believing that rejecting acts of revenge offered a powerful, moral alternative to a world in crisis. A world free from violence, King suggested, could more effectively pursue true human needs: sustenance, education, and freedom. [Weekend Edition Sunday] Listen (3:40). MONDAY, October 15 | Between Friends Musicians David Grisman and Jerry Garcia were friends for almost thirty years. And while during that time, Garcia made the Grateful Dead one of the most successful tour bands in history, he also collaborated with Grisman on many bluegrass and old-time music albums. Garcia died in 1995, but not before Grisman's daughter had filmed hours of video footage of her father and his musical friend working together. The result is a new documentary called Grateful Dawg that demonstrates the special bond between the two men and how much they relished sharing music together. Gillian Grisman says the movie captures the moments their eyes would "light up" over music they both loved. [Morning Edition] Listen (7:10). Learn more about the film Grateful Dawg. WEDNESDAY, October 17 | Accidental Explorer Dr. Alan Rabinowitz is the heart and soul of New York City's Wildlife Conservation Society. He grew up in the city but, throughout his career, has found himself venturing into some of the most uncharted parts of the world in search of our shared natural heritage. His newest book Beyond the Last Village describes his recent journey into the most remote corners of Myanmar (Burma) to document what he believed to be astonishing biodiversity. In the process, he discovered an almost forgotten village and its people, essentially unchanged by the outside world, where the only currency was salt, the only weapons crossbows. He connected with these people to develop a conservation strategy for some of the region's hunted wildlife that offered their tiny village clear human benefits. [Morning Edition] Listen (8:18). Learn more about Alan Rabinowitz' explorations. Get a copy of Beyond the Last Village. WEDNESDAY, October 17 | New Home, New Life A full 80% of the people of Afghanistan tune into a radio program broadcast every week from Pakistan by the BBC. The show -- called New Home, New Life -- is one of the only sources of such entertainment available to Afghanis, since music, films, and television are no longer permitted in their country. The program and its vivid characters have an astounding influence on local culture. The show's executive editor Shirazudin Saddiqi says he has reason to believe it even reaches the Taliban. Saddiqi says the show's undeniable humor has become a welcome respite for listeners facing an uncertain future. [Morning Edition] Listen (6:42). THURSDAY, October 18 | The Big Picture A new Smithsonian exhibit on the National Mall in Washington DC really puts humans' relative insignificance in perspective. It's a scale model of the solar system, featuring not only the sizes of planets with respect to each other and the sun but also their distances from each other. The model is spread out across the Mall at thirteen stations, each with graphics and a 3-D representation of the celestial body. The sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars make up something of a cluster, but beyond Jupiter, the system begins to seem vast. The station for Pluto is some six blocks away from that of the sun. From there, the nearest star (other than the sun) would be somewhere in California. [Morning Edition] Listen (3:09). Learn more about the exhibit. [ : 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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