I like the tone of this piece -- the narration is very entertaining as is the background music. You don't have to have lived in Germany to appreciate this. It makes it seem as if the Germans almost have a sense of humor! It's the right mix of bizarre, funny and entertaining -the best part is that the humor exposes the humanity of these people in Krautsand. I hope someone airs this!

Like all great documentaries, the piece offers a subject that is relatable, but doesn't fit into predictable patterns or clean outcomes. When you first hear this piece, there is a nagging feeling that you are about to experience a cliche: showing how "the system" really does work. However, the more time you spend with Cristel, you realize the change she has experienced has nothing to do with the penal system and everything to do with the emergence of her own character. She is the source of her success.

When the piece ends, we see Cristel happy and excited to have a chance at life with her daughter, but everything isn't rosey and resolved. We're left with Cristel commenting on seeing her first sun rise, commenting, "It was so beautiful...it made me think this is what normal life is like. I remember that."

Strangely, it would be a mistake to try to "peg" this piece to a topic or program "theme"--that effort won't serve the piece or the program well--it's too universal for that. Stations should just drop this in as it fits. It is engaging, inspiring, and tremendously human.

I give that story because that's what Harvey can bring with pieces like this. They can slide in a few minutes, but bring interest and spice to a station. While the rest of the station might be the important but sound-alike news or interview shows, Harvey can break up the day.

I can tell the actors are having a good time but really, this material is pretty much meaningful just to themselves. I was so ready to get laughing after the first couple of lines, but this listener never got pulled back in.

I liked this piece a lot. It is visual and honest without being mean-spirited. The speaker is an engaging story teller, and a keen observer of the human condition; the work is well-scored to quirky music that pulls the listener along, it is present but not in your face.

I cant quite identify when this could be aired, but it should be.

A portrait of a moment in a labor movement, not a full report on the issues involved. In this country, labor reporting is scant, so I’m glad to hear or see anything, anything at all, on the working conditions of people you won’t see profiled in Fortune Magazine. Especially in this year of increased difficulties for immigrant workers. Consider this a snack of a report, not a meal. Would work around either ME or ATC reports on labor or immigration.

In the noble course of exposing children's literature to the world at large, there is enough variation in this content to allow for those, not necessarily in the market for such information, to be glad they tuned in. In the discussion of certain themes of development in young people and their books, like creativity, the discussion ignites plenty of thought that is not restricted to just children's books. That said, it IS about young people's literature and it does a fine job of displaying and dissecting that too. A great early morning show for parents, teachers, grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends of kids...let's see is there anyone left?

Most attempts by producers to cover the arts have all the excitement of watching water boil. Those pieces often contain too much polite reverence to offer anything unique or interesting; others come off as didactic or exclusive. In this piece, the producer takes one of classical music's warhorses back to the egg. The results are fresh, engaging, insightful, funny, and fantastic radio. The piece makes one of the most well known works of opera seem new and exciting--which is an off-the-scale accomplishment.

While some classical blue bloods will grimace at the less-than-pious treatment of Wagner's masterwork, others will appreciate its unusual (yet credible) take on a (heretofore) stale and tired subject.

This is one of those pieces that you have to ask why a station (news or classical) wouldn't air this, rather than why it would.

WNYC also deserves accolades for not only supporting this great piece of work, but for providing two (not one, but two!!) promos for stations to get the word out to listeners about this fantastic program.

The theme is great and the movie clips are excellent. The piece twists the knife just the right amount when it mixes in the cheesiest film sound tracks at just the right moment.

That said, the piece suffers from the lack of perspectives from people who remember watching the films when they were kids. Or from teachers who played the films in their classrooms. We hear only two types of voices in the piece; that of the producer and that of "analyst/experts" (in this case, a person who compiled DVD's of the films and a social critic of some sort.)

The problem with this approach is that it filters out a lot of emotional punch. These films remain at a distance from the listener in both time and place. The result is an intellecutal and aesthetic payload in which personal or emotional reactions are implied but not actually felt.

Outside of structure, the writing is interesting and somewhat insightful. It brings you close to understanding her experience, but not close enough to feel complete or satisfying. There are several points (such as taking drugs to deal with the difficulties of making through an evening or the debt system--resembling indentured servitude--in place at many clubs) that beg for deeper treatment, but the narrator/writer is too interested in moving on.

The unpolished, unprofessional delivery should be a positive attribute of the piece, but it isn't. Properly coached and produced, the freshness of the narration should add to its authenticity. However, here the woman sounds unnatural and uncomfortable telling her story--as if she is trying to sound like something she's not.

This story could benefit from a retooling. Add some natural sound and music to break up the narration (so it doesn't seemed so rushed), slow down the pace, and edit the script to focus it better.

When producers and stations move out to engage deeper segments of the public, they deserve commendation. However, when handling the stories of others, there is an inherent responsibility to make sure those stories "translate" well to radio.