This piece provides a behind the scenes look at the WTO protests in Mexico in September 2003, from the perspective of several US protesters; it uses the benefit of hindsight to reflect on the problems and successes associated with the protests and touches on the links made between the disparate groups endure.

This piece could provide some context for the upcoming G8 meeting in Georgia in early June, which is expected to be heavily protested by many anti-global trade groups, and puts a human face, or at least a human voice on the motivations of the protest movement.

A plain-speaking and brief discussion of an ethical dilemma, in this case, the torturing of captured "terrorists". This piece might over-simplify things (if all ethical problems could be solved in 2 minutes the world would surely be a better place) but it does address important issues in a simple and easily understood fashion, and allows feedback through a website, and as such encourages a dialogue, a laudable and essential ingredient in developing an ethical life. If this is part of a series, which I believe it is, it could be aired as a regular spot during ME or ATC and make a good addition to those shows.

The ideas in the work (and this piece) are so many, and so varied, that they do that job for you. In perhaps in the strongest testament to Wagner's musical genius (or the piece's editing?), the ideas are held tightly together by the promise of the music itself, deftly interwoven through key musical passages. The disparate interviews (talking about Food, Jung, Zeppelin, Incest, Answering Machine Messages) and music work together to give a resounding, if impossible to summarize, answer to that nagging question radio listeners everywhere must ask about a piece: "so what?"

A fast overview of the Ring at the beginning might have been nice -- but probably also impossible. This thing is too big to digest in any less time. And the ending is exactly right. Well worth the hour.

Yo-Yo Ma is possibly the most congenial human being on the planet and it shows on this episode of In Their Own Words. I would urge classical stations in particular to find the three and a half minutes in their otherwise relentless walls of music to drop this in.

Lovely, respectful documentary, filled with great sound, interesting information, and vivid details. The producer does an excellent job of weaving the elements into an almost hypnotic portrait of the music house-building project. The Baka live in the dense rain forest and learn to navigate by sound, which makes them a perfect radio subject. Interviews with various Baka, the musicians who are funding the project, and the builder give a strong sense of place and culture. Great range of tape -- everything from the trip ferrying tin into the forest, to Baka voices merging with the birds – engages the ear in a variety of ways. About art, life, honoring ancient ways, and creating community across cultures. An excellent way to spend half an hour. Can be broadcast any season, but feels timely this spring moment as our ears brighten at the sounds of birdsong.

Though we’ve just passed tax-paying day, this will remain timely all the way up to president electing-day. It’s a fairly simplistic look at the pros and cons of tax cuts, but by gum, there are lots of folks who just don’t think about what we lose as a society when taxes are cut. Clear statements pro and con from people who spend their lives thinking about economic matters are bracketed by a plain old citizen’s point of view. At 3:38, a good drop-in for an ATC break, or ME.

Not much production, some background rumble and voices, kinda short and simple. But gosh darn it, this piece stays with you. There's something about a lone person talking intimately into a recorder telling the most personal and difficult story of their lives. Draws you in like no other high tech production can do. This is a successful first person story and I hope that Amy continues producing. It's not easy to be this emotionally engaging and she did a good job....Where to air it? A magazine show that deals in first person diary stuff definitely. Certainly a good piece for stations to air for young people and the parents who love them....Dmae

This piece reflects a nice "letter to my mom" feeling. To assuage his mother's concerns "I worry, are you happy?" the producer literally takes his mother on an audio trip of his neighborhood and the people he meets there. Good idea, and great affection. The stories the people tell are more compelling than the connecting narrative. The voices make the piece compelling, but the idea is not quite resolved. Still a nice addition to a Mother's day programming. At 10:41 a bit long for most stations to use.

Audio production is well done, my only complaints are on pacing; sometimes Thorsen's words are run together and somewhat indistinct, and on breaking up the three distinct parts of the story (the girls' arrival, Thorsen's flashback of his family and Mormon groups he interacted with, returning to the girls at the door), with slightly longer interludes and possibly additional interstitial music to break these parts up a bit.

This should be aired far and wide. Fantastic story and a fantastic telling.

Adam's peice, slowly paced & deliberate, depicts the vantage point of an outsider desiring to be accepted within a majority, and the barriers that make this goal difficult. Recalling his own childhood growing up in Idaho, an athiest among Morman peers, he describes his own attempts to fit in; and ultimately, how he discovered that he could not, without becoming Morman himself.

This story resonated strongly with me: I too grew up in Idaho, and just as in this story, recieved a suprise visit from a couple of young Morman missionaries several years after I had moved away from Idaho. As an agnostic, I found the story accurately described what I saw in my own childhood.