"I am an idealist. I don't know where I'm going but I'm on the way."
-- Carl Sandburg
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"I am an idealist. I don't know where I'm going but I'm on the way." -- Carl Sandburg
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Get Involved
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August 29, 2008 | |||||||
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 GoodThings on Public Radio November 1, 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 26 | Trying Not to Cry What's the cultural glue that unifies people during times of crisis? Throughout World War II, when London faced the Nazi Blitz, Dame Myra Hess single-handedly ensured that the city's rich cultural heritage did not disappear. Between 1939 and 1946, she organized nearly 2,000 lunchtime concerts -- five each week -- in Trafalgar Square, bringing music to the ears of Londoners and, more importantly, bringing Londoners together as people. Commentator Sarah Fishko compares what Hess did in the UK to the current role of late-night comics in the US, saying television is bringing people not only what hurts, but also what heals. [All Things Considered] Listen (length of clip 7 min 12 sec). SATURDAY, October 27 | Voices Carry During the late 1970s, Hans Fenger, a Canadian elementary school music teacher, gave his students a unique opportunity to learn to appreciate music and to understand life for all its possibilities. He let them sing current pop songs, perform instruments on cutting-edge arrangements of those songs, and share recordings of their music with their families. Now, 25 years later, those old recordings have been released on CD as Innocence and Despair: The Langley Schools Music Project. The voices of sixty students grace the recording with renditions -- sometimes astonishing -- of songs like the Beach Boys God Only Knows and In My Room, the Beatles' Long and Winding Road, and the Eagles' Desperado. [Weekend Edition Saturday] Listen (16:50). :: Learn more about the Langley Schools Music Project. :: Get your own copy of Innocence and Despair. SUNDAY, October 28 | The Secrets of Life Last week, the MacArthur Foundation awarded its annual "genius grants" to 23 people. The grant pays recipients $500,000 each over five years, no strings attached. For many winners, the award changes their lives immeasurably, not only in terms of the opportunities it affords their research and pursuits, but also for the fame it brings. One of this year's winners, David Wilson, is founder and curator of the Los Angeles-area Museum of Jurassic Technology, which house an eclectic collection that more closely resembles museums of old than its modern-day counterparts. Until now, Wilson and his museum have struggled in relative obscurity. But he believes his desire to bring things on the cultural "periphery" -- "things not seen" -- to the mainstream is as fundamental as life itself. [Weekend All Things Considered] Listen (7:00). :: Learn more about the MacArthur Foundation awards. :: Learn more about the Museum of Jurassic Technology. [more] MONDAY, October 29 | Somebody to Lean On A new program developed by the human rights advocacy organization Global Exchange is showing Muslim-Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area that, despite the intolerance of a few, there are friends all around them. The program trains non-Muslim volunteers to be protective escorts for Muslims -- everyone from schoolchildren to office workers -- who fear for their safety and for their rights in today's tense climate. Sixty volunteers are already participating in the program, and dozens more are being trained to provide this service. [All Things Considered] Listen (4:45). :: Learn more about cultural awareness programs at Global Exchange. TUESDAY, October 30 | A Miracle World Series Disabled children in Conyers, Georgia -- near Atlanta -- have their own field of dreams. Children unable to walk, talk, hear, or see can now experience the joys of baseball on a field designed and constructed solely for them. Funding almost entirely from private donations, the $850,000 complex is the site of the games of the Miracle League, where every child crosses home plate with dignity -- often with the help of enthusiastic family and friends -- and no one loses. People come from all over the Atlanta metropolitan area to take advantage of this extraordinary place. [Morning Edition] Listen (4:30). :: Learn more about the Miracle League. [more] WEDNESDAY, October 31 | Celebrating Life Few recall the cultural origins of Halloween. But Chicago's Red Moon Theater Company annually invites the people of Chicago to spend All Hallow's Eve building shrines to those who have died as a way to celebrate their lives. The event has the whimsy and visual energy of a Day of the Dead celebration from another time and place and culminates in a marvelous potluck feast, shared by 10,000 Chicagoans at a three-block long table. Children lovingly remember lost playmates and adults creatively remember the quirks of their departed friends, all to bring positive energy to the mourning process. [Morning Edition] Listen (4:16). :: Learn more about Red Moon Theater Company and its annual All Hallow's Eve celebration. [ : 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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