Blank on Blank - Airs Mary 22, 2013

Beastie Boys on Being Stupid by David Gerlach

Back in May 1985, the Beastie Boys were fresh on the music scene and on tour as the opening act for Madonna. In between shows they sat in a Washington D.C. hotel room and cracked wise for Rocci Fisch, then a reporter for ABC News Radio.

Pete Seeger on We Shall Overcome by David Gerlach

Folk music legend Pete Seeger explains the history behind the civil rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome", and why this famous song has many brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. And he sings, too.

Jonathan Alter on How to Interview Presidents Obama, Clinton, & Nixon by David Gerlach

We hear from journalist Jonathan Alter on how you interview a President--with rare outtakes from his Oval Office interview with President Obama in November 2009 including his take on "Teabaggers" and the GOP. Jonathan Alter writes for Bloomberg now after spending nearly three decades at Newsweek magazine. He’s interviewed every president since Nixon, except for Ronald Reagan, and we get to hear what really comes out behind closed doors while on the record.

Amber Heard on Not Sitting Pretty and Shutting Up by David Gerlach

"It’s easier to deal with a woman who is compliant and sweet and sunny and nice and non-confrontational." Interview by Jason Feifer // NYC hotel in 2011 // digital recorder Related article appeared in Women's Health Magazine

Journey of the Asian Carp - Airs May 15th

Journey of the Asian Carp from Long Haul Productions
This is the story of a good fish gone bad -- an immigrant brought here with good intentions but who has caught a bad rap. The carp is said to be a tasty fillet but instead lives as a victim of stereotypes. However, if given the chance, this fish might just rock your world... Oh yeah, it's also a fish that can fly! 

The Master by Emily Hsiao
Emily visits a taxidermist on Martha's Vineyard. However, you won't find any deer heads or bears in her workshop -- just lots and lots of fish.Janet Messineo specializes in marine taxidermy and mounts fish of all sizes. For the past 25 years, she has worked from her basement, cranking out critter after critter for her clients. It has been hard work, and Janet is ready to retire. But even as she eases into retirement, Janet still finds a way to breathe new life into old dead things.

The Spring Show - Airs May 8th

When Lenny Met Igor by Jackson Braider
100 years ago this month, the premier of Rite of Spring at the Paris Ballet provoked a riot; six months later, its composer, Igor Stravinsky, was the darling of the Paris scene. As part of WFMT’s Stravinsky@125 series celebrating the 125th anniversary of the composer's birth, producer Jackson Braider tells us some stories from the life of The Rite of Spring.

Le Sacre du printemps by Igor Stravinsky
We'll also be airing a short excerpt of the famed ballet. Our recording was released on Decca Records in 1974 and performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Sir Georg Solti conducting.

Walking Across America - Airs May 1st

Walking Across America by Jay Allison and Andrew Forsthoefel
At the age of 23, Andrew Forsthoefel decided to walk across 4,000 miles across America. He was wearing a sign that read, "Walking to Listen," and carried a tape recorder with him. 
When he started on his epic journey, Andrew seemed to have no solid idea what would become of the audio; but the result was a coming of age radio tale and a sonic portrait of our big-hearted, wild, innocent, and wise country. 
He started talking to people about their lives and, sometimes, what their lives had taught them. He’d ask people about the idea of home, love, being alone, family, death; all sorts of stuff. There was some worry that people would be resistant to being interviewed. Not so. The vast majority wanted to be heard, and they didn't mind the recorder. Nearly every time, they had something they wanted to share.  

Happy Administrative Professionals Day - Airs April 24th

Gladys by Kimberly Reinhardt

Mine Clearer by Sandy Tolan
Long after the fighting ended in Kosovo in 1999, the people of the region are still struggling to free themselves from the legacy of war. Thousands of landmines and unexploded bombs remain in farmers' fields, in forests, along roadsides. Valdet Dule is a Kosovar whose job is to find and detonate those explosives. Until the land is safe, he says, his people won't be able to realize their dream of independence.

Chocolate Tester by Jon Miller
The New York Times called Chloé Doutre-Roussel a "goddess." Chocolate guru Martin Christy compares her to Joan of Arc. As a freelance chocolate expert, she is in great demand around the world—not just because of her extraordinary palate but because of her brutal honesty. "Diplomacy is not one of my known traits," she confesses. Nor is self-satisfaction. Globetrotting chocolate taster may be many people's idea of the best job in the world, but Doutre-Roussel says it has its drawbacks.

Human Smuggler by Gregory Warner
For most Afghan refugees, fleeing the war-torn country is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For Alidad, it's a job. He's spent 30 years smuggling Afghans on a secret nighttime passage through the mountains of western Pakistan into Iran. Sometimes he finds out too late they can't handle the journey. "We go when it's raining, when it's snowing. People fall of the mountain, people die," he says. "I have a lot of sad memories."

More audio and pictures from the WORKING series can be found at Homelands Productions. For information about Administrative Professionals Day you can visit here!

The Lonesome Train - Airs April 17th

The Lonesome Train: A Musical Legend About Abraham Lincoln by Earl Robinson & Millard Lampell
Folk legends Burl Ives & Earl Robinson present this poetic drama in musical form. An amazing large-scale audio cast and choral presentation which tells of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the journey of the train that carried the President's body from Washington to Springfield, Illinois. The story is told from the perspective of a newspaper reporter exploring the strange rumor that Lincoln was not dead at all, but alive and out among his people; at a black church in Alabama, at a square dance on the Kansas prairie, in an Army hospital ward, and in the waiting crowd at the Springfield depot.

Pledge Drive Shows - Air April 3rd + 10th

The first episode of our Pledge Drive marked the triumphant return of the one and only Mr. Todd Melby to our airwaves! He regaled us with tales from the wilds of North Dakota & played us some favorite pieces from his Black Gold Boom series.
In our second Pledge Drive show, Tom & Micah will spin a few of the best stories that we've aired in the last year. You'll hear pieces from Tony Schwartz, a vintage This I Believe, Claes Andreasson, selections from The Third Coast ShortDocs Challenge, and more!
Tune in, enjoy the show, and please make a donation to great storytelling. Big or small, each pledge is important to us. You can contribute online right here or you can give us a call at 612-375-9030 and show your support for member-supported, independent public radio!