Beyond Glory - Three short pieces by Stephen Lang
From Playing on Air | Part of the Playing on Air Hour Length Episodes series | 53:00
"As starkly moving as taps at dusk" says the Washington Post about BEYOND GLORY, a powerful tribute to military valor written and performed by stage and screen star Stephen Lang (Colonel Quaritch in Avatar). He portrays three recipients of the MEDAL OF HONOR recounting in their own words the incident that earned them the United States' highest military honor ..
These three stories of Nick Bacon, First Sergeant, US Army, Vietnam; Clarence Sasser, combat medic, Vietnam; and Hector Cafferata, Private First Class, 1st Marine Division, Korea are based on their own words. They are portraits from Stephen Lang's one-man show, Beyond Glory, based on the book by Larry Smith of the same title. Each segment is followed by conversation between Mr. Lang and Playing on Air's producer and host, Claudia Catania.
The Silent Generation: From Saipan to Tokyo
From Helen Borten | 58:57
The final year of World War II in the Pacific, told by men who came back and kept silent about the harrowing ordeal that changed their lives.
- Playing
- The Silent Generation: From Saipan to Tokyo
- From
- Helen Borten
Eugene "Bud" Clark, a pint-sized scrapper from Macon, GA, mowed down Banzai warriors, watched mass suicide on Saipan, and was severely wounded on Iwo Jima.
Howard Terry was traumatized by his accidental killing of an Okinawan boy, returned home angry, belligerent and unable to hold a job.
Anthony Daddato lost his best friend to friendly fire,contracted dengue fever,malaria and tuberculosis, and spent three embittered years in hospitals before a feisty nun's advice changed his outlook.
Giles McCoy went down with the Indianapolis in one of the worst naval disasters in history.
These are just a few of the voices in "The Silent Generation", a one-hour documentary that follows more than a score of men through the definitive year of their lives. Men from all walks of life and all corners of the nation. Men who melted quietly back into civilian life and kept silent for decades. Men who, as time grows short, have been moved to speak with unflinching honesty of events that changed them forever.
Their memories are not for the faint-hearted. Here is a view of war from the foxhole. A side of war as relevant today as in 1945. To listen is to understand why they, like tens of thousands of others, could not speak for so long. "The Silent Generation" closes with their unblinking, often wrenching remarks on how combat later affected their attitudes, identity and everyday lives.
Producer/Narrator Borten knits their stories into a chronological whole, adding archival newscasts, live reports from the battlefield, and little-known historical details that, together with these unforgettable stories, bring a momentous, searingly brutal chapter in history to life.
Isn't it Good: The Beatles' RUBBER SOUL (2 hour and 1 hour NON-NEWSCAST versions)
From Paul Ingles | 01:57:57
To spotlight The Beatles' landmark album RUBBER SOUL, producer Paul Ingles presents another in his acclaimed series of specials on Beatles' history. Over a dozen musicians, music writers and Beatles fans comment on the significance of this 1965 release by the band along with song-by-song notes on the writing and performances of each track. RUBBER SOUL was slotted at #5 in a ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE 2012 survey of the Top 500 Rock Albums of All-Time.
To spotlight The Beatles' landmark album RUBBER SOUL, producer Paul Ingles presents another in his acclaimed series of specials on Beatles' history. Over a dozen musicians, music writers and Beatles fans comment on the significance of this 1965 release by the band along with song-by-song notes on the writing and performances of each track. RUBBER SOUL was slotted at #5 in a ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE 2012 survey of the Top 500 Rock Albums of All-Time.
In the two-hour version, each song in the 14-track original UK version is spotlighted including "Drive My Car," "Nowhere Man," "I'm Looking Through You," "If I Needed Someone," "In My Life," "Michelle," and others.
Commentators include music writers Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone magazine, John Kruth, author of a new book on Rubber Soul , Paul Zollo, Harvey Kubernik, Jim Fusilli of the Wall Street Journal , NPR's Ann Powers, and Scott Freiman. Musician commentators include Shawn Colvin, BJ Leiderman, Jon Spurney, David Gans, Rob Martinez, and Peter Mulvey. Also featured are music teacher Sara Schafer Jones, public radio DJ Scott MacNicholl.
The one-hour version features complete versions of most of the panel's favorites, and excerpts of others.
Bob Dylan: Writers' Favorites
From Paul Ingles | 59:00
Music writers, musicians and Bob Dylan fans were invited to write to music host Paul Ingles with a choice of a Dylan track since mid-1975 that they each believe demonstrates his worthiness for the Nobel Prize in Literature that he was bestowed in October of 2016. Hear their 9 choices in this hour long special.
- Playing
- Bob Dylan: Writers' Favorites
- From
- Paul Ingles
Music writers, musicians and Bob Dylan fans were invited to write to music host Paul Ingles with a choice of a Dylan track that they each believe demonstrates his worthiness for the Nobel Prize in Literature that he was bestowed in October of 2016. Hear their 9 choices in this hour long special.
Contributors included Anthony DeCurtis, Mary Gauthier (go-shay), Jim Fusilli, Paul Zollo, Gardner Campbell, Peter Mulvey, Kevin Odegard, John Kruth, Rob Martinez, Darren DeVivo, and Jon Spurney.
Humankind special: The Christmas Truce
From David Freudberg | 58:59
Produced in association with WGBH/Boston. On the occasion of its 100th anniverary, we take a moving look at the 1914 Christmas Truce, in which opposing soldiers in WW1 risked court-martial by laying down their arms. They actually exchanged holiday gifts and sang carols together during their short-lived ceasefire on the frozen battlefield of Flanders, Belgium. John McCutcheon performs and discusses his Grammy-nominated folksong, 'Christmas in the Trenches', which he sang decades after the war for elderly veterans who participated in the truce. And we hear details from historians Stanley Weintraub and Scott Bennett who have written about fascinating war-time peace efforts.
- Playing
- Humankind special: The Christmas Truce
- From
- David Freudberg
Fraternizing with the enemy was an offense for which a soldier could be court-martialed. Yet on the frozen battlefield of Flanders, Belgium in the bitter first Christmas of WW1, troops on all sides broke the trance of war a century ago and — for a fleeting few hours — became friends. Previously shooting at each other from the miserable trenches, they now sang Christmas carols in different languages. They exchanged boxes of candy and cigarettes and even played a match of soccer in No Man's Land. Until of course, the deadly mission of war resumed. You'll hear folksinger John McCutcheon, whose Grammy-nominated song, Christmas in the Trenches, movingly tells the story. And distinguished historian Stanley Weintraub, who searched through century-old diaries and news articles for his book, Silent Night. The second half of this documentary examines the history of U.S. conscientious objectors in WW1, some of whom were brutalized for their opposition to the Great War, includes rare WW1 archival audio.
A Show For You: A Leon Russell Appreciation
From Paul Ingles | 58:58
Produced the day after Leon Russell's death on November 13, 2016, music host Paul Ingles plays some spectacular Leon Russell performances and reviews his career with guest contributors Steve Pendlebury, Gardner Campbell, Darren Devivo and Scott Freiman.
- Playing
- A Show For You: A Leon Russell Appreciation
- From
- Paul Ingles
Produced the day after Leon Russell's death on November 13, 2016, music host Paul Ingles plays some spectacular Leon Russell performances and reviews his career with guest contributors Steve Pendlebury, Gardner Campbell, Darren Devivo and Scott Freiman.
Songs include:
Jumping Jack Flash / Youngblood - Leon Russell
Stranger in a Strange Land - Leon Russell
Shootout On The Plantation - Leon Russell (not in Newscast Friendly Cut)
Little Hideaway (excerpt) - Leon Russell
This Diamond Ring - Gary Lewis and the Playboys
Sitting Right Here In Heaven - Leon Russell
Superstar - Carpenters / Bette Midler
I Should Have Sent Roses - Leon Russell
The Hands of Angels- Leon Russell
A Song For You (excerpt) - Leon Russell
Back to the Island (excerpt) - Leon Russell
A Bow To Prince: An Appreciation of The Artist
From Paul Ingles | 58:59
Paul Ingles hosts an hour of music and reflections by his friends and fans of music legend Prince who died April 21, 2016.
Paul Ingles hosts an hour of music and reflections by friends and fans of music legend Prince who died April 21, 2016.
Songs featured-
A Case of You,
Pop Life,
1999,
Diamonds and Pearls,
Baby I’m A Star,
Soft and Wet (Break Music),
Purple Rain,
Kiss,
Nothing Compares to U,
I Feel For You (Break Music),
While My Guitar Gently Weeps,
Sign of the Times,
Baltimore,
Raspberry Beret,
Little Red Corvette (59:00 Version Only)
Say it Loud: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity
From American Public Media | Part of the American RadioWorks: Black History series | 59:00
"Say It Loud" traces the last 50 years of black history through stirring, historically important speeches by African Americans from across the political spectrum. With recordings unearthed from libraries and sound archives, and made widely available here for the first time, "Say It Loud" includes landmark speeches by Malcolm X, Lorraine Hansberry, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King Jr., Henry Louis Gates, and many others.
Say It Loud traces the last 50 years of black history through stirring, historically important speeches by African Americans from across the political spectrum. The documentary illuminates tidal changes in African American political power and questions of black identity through the speeches of deeply influential black Americans. With recordings unearthed from libraries and sound archives, and made widely available here for the first time, Say It Loud includes landmark speeches by Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King Jr., James Cone, Toni Morrison, Colin Powell, and many others.
Bringing the rich immediacy of the spoken word to a vital historical and intellectual tradition, Say It Loud reveals the diversity of ideas and arguments pulsing through the black freedom movement. Say it Loud is a sequel to the American RadioWorks documentary, Say it Plain. A companion book and CD set, Say It Loud: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity, is now available from The New Press.
Sound Opinions Presents: Music of the Civil Rights Movement
From Sound Opinions | Part of the Sound Opinions Specials series | 54:00
Sound Opinions explores the music of the Civil Rights Era. From Bob Dylan to Odetta to the Staples Singers, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot remark upon the impact music made on the fight for civil rights in the 1960s.
Professional music critics Jim and Greg discuss influential and game-changning music from the 1960s that provided a soundtrack to the civil rights movement. They analyze tracks by artists like Sam Cooke, The Staple Singers, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone and more. They also chat with former Chicago WVON DJ Herb Kent.
Peace Talks Radio: JFK's Turn Towards Peace (59:00 / 54:00)
From Good Radio Shows, Inc. | Part of the Peace Talks Radio: Weekly Hour Long Episodes series | 58:57
A conversation with James Douglass, author of "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters". Douglass makes the case for his theory that the 35th President was the victim of a murder conspiracy and that he died largely because of his peacemaking policies. Offered in either 59:00 or 54:00 versions.
In an in-depth conversation, James Douglass, author of "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters", spells out his theory that the 35th President was the victim of a murder conspiracy and that he died because of his peacemaking policies. He tracks Kennedy's transformation from a hawkish anti-Communist to someone who helped save the world from nuclear war by establishing back-channel conversations with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. Listeners will also hear much of Kennedy's 1963 speech at American University during which he laid out his vision for world peace, less than 6 months before his murder. Paul Ingles hosts. Language Advisory: A film clip includes the characters saying "Those god-damn Kennedys...." about 18:20 into Part A. If you feel it offensive to your listeners, you may edit it out or contact the producer for a version with that clip stripped out. paul@paulingles.com.
The Obama Years
From Open Source | Part of the Open Source with Christopher Lydon series | 58:30
Re-reading Obama with Marilynne Robinson and David Bromwich.
- Playing
- The Obama Years
- From
- Open Source
What the “Yes I Can” president wanted most of all was to bring together a robust democracy in spirit if not every line of substance. What he ran into was a rockslide of revolt and a singular embodiment of it: a three-ring circus of a successor, Donald Trump, who seems to be the very opposite in tone and temperament of Barack Obama.
Before turning the page on the “next great chapter in the American Story,” we’re re-reading the Obama years for what they meant. While the President’s approval ratings soar to their highest levels since his first few months in office, he leaves behind a checkered legacy–especially around war, trade, and immigration. For our guest David Bromwich, the Obama years were too often characterized by forgotten promises and unrealized hopes. Reconciliatory speech and radical centrism covered up imperial misadventures and neoliberal exploits.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Of course, many of us, like Marilynne Robinson, beloved novelist and personal friend of the president, will miss a lot from Mr. Obama. Robinson says the transnational aspects of Obama embody the very best in us, and, she tells us, “Our refusal to acknowledge him as he was really is a refusal to acknowledge ourselves as we are.” Robinson speaks of Obama as a “saintly man” with an impossible job:
This idea of the transformative leader, I think that that Obama is smarter than that. He knows that change is incremental and that it is collective. But what liberals tend to do–and I call myself a liberal under every possible circumstance, I’d put it on my headstone–but what they tend to do is create some ideal that nobody could live up to and then diminish what is good, what is accomplished by comparison with this almost childlike, supposed expectation. It’s no way to run anything.
Bromwich, Sterling professor of English at Yale, sees Obama differently. Bromwich was a supporter in 2008, but in 2009 became a skeptic who saw serious limits to the man’s gracious style:
…you can’t keep giving that reconciliatory post-war speech with a euphemistic and gentle rhetoric appropriate to a magnanimous victor in a war. Obama wanted to be the magnanimous victor and conciliator before he even fought a contest… and that’s a temperamental quirk so strange…. a fixed, false idea that he could be the unifier.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
Nathan Robinson and Randall Kennedy join us to hash out the meaning of the Obama years in the context of the inauguration.
Illustration by Susan Coyne
The View from Room 205
From WBEZ | 59:00
"The View from Room 205" is a one-hour documentary that takes an unflinching look at the intersection of poverty and education in this country. It tells the story of a fourth grade classroom at William Penn Elementary, a public school in one of the nation’s poorest neighborhoods, North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side. The documentary weaves together human stories in the school, from the children to their teacher to the principal, and pulls back to explain the big picture. It looks at poverty’s hold on school achievement and explores the unintended consequences of a core belief driving school reform today – that poverty is no excuse for low achievement.
- Playing
- The View from Room 205
- From
- WBEZ
The View from Room 205 is a one-hour documentary that takes an unflinching look at the intersection of poverty and education in this country. It tells the story of a fourth grade classroom at William Penn Elementary, a public school in one of the nation’s poorest neighborhoods, North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side. The documentary weaves together human stories in the school, from the children to their teacher to the principal, and pulls back to explain the big picture. It looks at poverty’s hold on school achievement and explores the unintended consequences of a core belief driving school reform today – that poverty is no excuse for low achievement.
Peabody Award-winning reporter Linda Lutton of WBEZ Chicago spent months reporting from Penn and the neighborhood around the school. Her work tackles fundamental questions about how we educate poor children, and whether schools can actually overcome poverty. It documents—often painfully—how we struggle and fail to lift poverty’s burdens off children. It is an hour that is personal, up-close, story-driven, and of far-reaching national importance.
Stations airing this special can find images, audiograms and suggested language for social media in this toolkit. Addititonally, you can download the pdf under the Additional Files section in this piece page.
Can Do: Stories of Black Visionaries, Seekers, and Entrepreneurs
From The Kitchen Sisters | 54:00
From The Kitchen Sisters and PRX, a Black History Month Special: "Can Do: Stories of Black Visionaries, Seekers, and Entrepreneurs," with host, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress, Alfre Woodard. These stories come from The Kitchen Sisters collection -- stories of black pioneers, self-made men and self-taught women, neighborhood heros and visionaries. People who said "yes we can" and then did.
Chuck Berry and His Disciples
From Paul Ingles | 59:00
A rollicking music intensive salute to the music of Chuck Berry, who passed away at the age of 90 at his home in Missouri, Saturday, March 18, 2017. Music historian Paul Ingles focuses on the music presenting a lively hour of Berry's best loved tunes played by himself and by artists throughout rock 'n' roll's history who have treasured and emulated his music.
- Playing
- Chuck Berry and His Disciples
- From
- Paul Ingles
A music intensive salute to the music of Chuck Berry, who passed away at the age of 90 at his home in Missouri, Saturday, March 18, 2017. Music historian Paul Ingles focuses on the music presenting a lively hour of Berry's best loved tunes played by himself and by artists throughout rock 'n' roll's history who have treasured and emulated his music.
Music by Chuck Berry, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, EmmyLou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, The Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley, Electric Light Orchestra and More.
SONGLIST:
Maybelline - Chuck Berry
School Days - Chuck Berry
Rock and Roll Music - The Beatles
Brown-Eyed Handsome Man - Paul McCartney
You Can't Catch Me - John Lennon
Come On - Chuck Berry
Around and Around - The Rolling Stones
Little Queenie - Excerpt - Chuck Berry
Reelin' and Rockin' - Chuck Berry
Carol - Tom Petty and the Heartbreaksers (not in 53:00 show)
Johnny B. Goode - Grateful Dead
The Promised Land - Elvis Presley
Memphis - Excerpt - Chuck Berry
Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry
You Never Can Tell - Emmylou Harris
Back in the U.S.A. - Linda Ronstadt
Roll Over Beethoven - Electric Light Orchestra
No Particular Place To Go - Chuck Berry
Memorial: WW1
From Wind & Rhythm | 58:30
The number of American military deaths in World War 1 was more than 116,500 and as we think about that huge war that went on for 4 years, we grieve for those who died and for those who lost loved ones. 116,500 is a lot of individuals, each with their own personal lives who fought and didn’t return from what was to become known as the "great war." The number of military deaths on all sides of that conflict was 9 million with 7 million civilians as well.
Every year, we set aside a day of remembrance which is celebrated in two ways here in the states. Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer and it is related to what used to be known as remembrance day which is celebrated in November as Veterans Day. But this year is one hundred years from the beginning of the "great war."
- Playing
- Memorial: WW1
- From
- Wind & Rhythm
The mission of Wind & Rhythm is to build a community of individuals who love wind bands; to grow a wider audience for the music bands play; and to provide a venue for band members and directors to speak about their art.
To accomplish our mission we produce both on-air and on-line programming that invites listeners to reconnect with their roots as members of bands; encourages listeners to participate in community music-making; and provides for listeners an opportunity to hear the best bands in the world.
Veterans Day Special
From Al Letson | Part of the State of the Re:Union: Season One series | 53:53
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are sending our veterans home with wounds and obstacles not always clearly visible to the rest of the country. These two current wars also illuminate how veterans of previous eras are still trying to come home years after returning from war. In this episode, State of the Re:Union explores how veterans are serving each other after they come back home from serving the country.
- Playing
- Veterans Day Special
- From
- Al Letson
State of the Re:Union
Veterans Day Special
Host: Al Letson
Producer: Sara Wood
DESCRIPTION: The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are sending our veterans home with wounds and obstacles not always clearly visible to the rest of the country. These two current wars also illuminate how veterans of previous eras are still trying to come home years after returning from war. In this episode, State of the Re:Union explores how veterans are serving each other after they come back home from serving the country.
BILLBOARD (:59)
Incue: From PRX and WJCT
Outcue: But first, this news.
NEWS HOLE: 1:00- 6:00
Segment A (12:29)
Incue: From WJCT in Jacksonville, Florida
Outcue: That's ahead on State of the Re:Union. (music tail)
A. VETERAN'S BOOK PROJECT: Riley Sharbonno returned from a year in Iraq with thousands of digital images that he took, but with no memory of the events the photographs captured. So when artist Monica Haller approached him, the two embarked on a project that ended up as a book of Riley's photographs and writing. This book sparked the Veteran's Book Project, a bookmaking workshop for people who have experienced the wars through many different perspectives. While each book tells a different story, together the books are creating a library of honest conversations about what happens during war.
SEGMENT B (18:59)
Incue: You're listening to State of the Re:Union
Outcue: P-R-X.O-R-G
A. O's GUITAR: Richard O'Connor left for Vietnam with his father's old Montgomery Ward guitar. In between fighting and attacks, he played songs for his fellow marines in order to keep a sense of sanity and calm amidst chaos and devastation. Now, 42 years after returning home, Richard is using his music to welcome back recently returning veterans. But he's also finding his own way home.
SEGMENT C (18:59)
Incue: You're listening to State of the Re:Union.
Outcue: to bring them back together. (music tail)
A. TEAM SEMPER FI: On a foggy Sunday morning in Santa Cruz, California, a team of injured marines take the same camaraderie and strength from the battlefield, and bring it to the competitive sports track.
B. FARMER VETERANS: The country is having a hard enough time dealing with the unemployment rate, so imagine returning home from war, and then having to find a job. But a growing movement of veterans are finding their stride by creating a new mission once they return home: Feeding the country. SOTRU visits two farms that are on this mission.
C. REFLECTION: Al reflects on a country dividing its attention between two wars and their own lives.
D. VOX: A montage of voices of those who have experienced the challenges of coming home, from veterans to family members, of all services, of all eras.
PROGRAM OUT @ 59:00
The Veterans Day Special is available on PRX without charge to all public radio stations, and may be aired an unlimited number of times prior to January 31, 2017. The program may be streamed live on station websites but not archived. Excerpting is permitted for promotional purposes only.
State of the Re:Union is presented by WJCT and distributed by PRX. Major funding for the State of the Re:Union comes from CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
Thanks for your consideration of State of the Re:Union with Al Letson.
We've Never Been The Same: A War Story
From Atlantic Public Media | Part of the The Transom Radio Specials series | 53:28
We've Never Been The Same: A War Story is the story of one night of battle and the decades of recovery that followed. Produced by Adam Piore and Jay Allison.
All wars are the same, it is said; only the scenery changes. And the repercussions are pretty much the same too.
Over the course of five years, Adam Piore gathered the stories of the surviving members of Delta Company, a Vietnam-era paratrooper unit; Jay Allison joined him for the last two years when it turned from a book into a radio story. We’re proud now to feature the finished hour on Transom and here at PRX.
At Fort Campbell before deployment, Delta was a ragtag bunch, the “leftovers” as one of their fellow soldiers put it, but on the night of March 18th, 1968, they became heroes. Their leader received the Medal of Honor and two others were awarded the nation’s second highest honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, for their valor that night when the company endured a long and devastating battle—not as long or as devastating, however, as the years that followed, after the men of Delta Company came home separately to live alone with the memories.
Adam Piore became dedicated to this group of guys and to their common story of trauma, guilt, courage, heartbreak, and reunion. This is Adam’s first work for radio and his notes about the transition from print are at Transom. You’re invited to come talk with him about his process or the finished work and to see archival photos.
Produced by:
Jay Allison is variously the founder, collaborator, and producer of The Moth Radio Hour, This I Believe, Lost & Found Sound, Transom.org, PRX.org, and WCAI on Cape Cod where he lives. He has created hundreds of documentaries and has received six Peabody Awards. More at jayallison.com
Transom.org channels new work and voices to public radio, with a focus on the power of story, and on the mission of public media in a changing media environment. Transom won the first Peabody Award ever granted exclusively to a website. Transom.org is a project of Atlantic Public Media which runs the Transom Story Workshops and founded WCAI, the public radio station in Woods Hole, Mass.
Support for this work comes from National Endowment for the Arts
HV012- For the Fallen
From Hearing Voices | Part of the Hearing Voices series | 54:00
For Memorial Day, the voices of veterans remembering their comrades.
- Playing
- HV012- For the Fallen
- From
- Hearing Voices
Host: Major Robert Schaefer of US Army Special Forces Green Beret and poet, Colonel Robert Schaefer, US Army, hosts the voices of veterans remembering their comrades:
We talk with troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, reading their emails, poems, and journals, as part of the NEA project: "."
We hear interviews from StoryCorps, an essay from This I Believe, and the sounds of a Military Honor Guard, recorded by Charles Lane.
And we attend the daily "Last Post" ceremony by Belgian veterans honoring the WWI British soldiers who died defending a small town in western Belgium (produced by Marjorie Van Halteren).
Mine Enemy: The Story of German POWs in America
From Alison Jones | 54:00
During World War II, some 400,000 captured German soldiers were shipped across the Atlantic to prison camps dotted across the U.S. Suddenly the enemy was hoeing the back garden, and sometimes, sitting at the kitchen table. This sound-rich, hour-long special combines archival sound and period music with voices of those who lived this most unusual moment in history. This program from Backward Glance Productions features host John Biewen. It was produced by Alison Jones together with editor Deborah George, and mixed by Ben Shapiro.
When captured German soldiers showed up to work the Camlin family farm in South Carolina, World War II entered the family's life in a direct and intimate way. Suddenly the enemy was there on the farm, planting tobacco, building fences, and even sitting down for meals at the kitchen table.
Some 400,000 captured German soldiers were shipped across the ocean to the U.S. during the war. The POWS went to work on farms and in factories. And in small towns across America, two warring cultures came in close contact. This hour-long special tells the story of a remarkable and under-explored episode in history, through archival sound and through the voices of those who lived it. Residents of Florence, South Carolina share vivid recollections of the Germans' time there. We learn about Camp Hearne, Texas, one of the nation's first and largest German POW camps, where culture bloomed until ardent Nazi factions seized control. And we travel to Germany to hear former German POWs, men in their 80s and 90s, describe the repercussions of their unexpected stays in states such as North Carolina, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky and Mississippi.
The piece is richly textured, and the tone varies as layers of the story are explored: The arrival of the POWs was a big event in small towns in Texas, South Carolina and elsewhere, and locals were fascinated by the enemy soldiers in their midst. The story takes a surprising turn in Segment C as we learn about secret U. S. efforts to teach German soldiers about democracy. In Segment C, which recounts the end of the war, we also hear about how the POWs are shown films of German concentration camps. Towards the end of that segment, we hear form a former German POW who is now a U.S. citizen. He describes how, decades later, he can't completely forget the Nazi songs of his youth, and shares the disturbing words of one such song. We also hear former POWs describe how their time in America affected their postwar lives.
King Stories: (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
From Dorothy Green Alcorn | 54:26
King Stories is a one hour documentary of captivating stories told by close friends and associates of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Host Julian Bond, along with insiders—Ralph Abernathy, David Garrow, Dick Gregory, Mark Lane and Larry Williams—share rarely documented stories about the personal and private sides of Martin Luther King, Jr.
King Stories is a one hour documentary of captivating stories told by close friends and associates of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Host Julian Bond, along with insiders—Ralph Abernathy, David Garrow, Dick Gregory, Mark Lane and Larry Williams—share rarely documented stories about the personal and private sides of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Notably one of the most significant Americans in the 20th Century, Dr. King is an iconic figure. But who was the man? King Stories offers snapshots into his personality and character. We begin with Dr. King’s precocious teenage years followed by close-ups of behind the scenes accounts of day-to-day life on the road marching and protesting for American black civil rights. We hear a moving account of Dr. King’s last conversation just minutes before he was struck down by a sniper’s bullet, and the disclosures of the investigation into his murder.