The guts of the piece is the interview with the author of "The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty" by Caroline Alexander. The interview flowed well and was interesting and last from about 6:30 to 21:30. This piece would fit in any historical show, especially history maritime or perhaps a show about works of literature and oft-told stories.

The book sounds interesting. Caroline put this into context that I hadn't heard before.

Other things in the show -- how the French lampooned LBJ the way they are dealing with GWB.

"i don't know if i have anything smart to say about teen pop, the host says in the beginning of this-I honestly don't care" why does she go to the trouble of pondering over the "teen" pop phenomena, using N Sync songs and "the Britney and Christina A. debate" as examples-- isn't this old news? (N Sync isnt even a band anymore.) The host claims to be too young to remember the Madonna and Cyndi Lauper phenomena, but how young can she be if she is calling her married friend ("the fairest glitter princess in the land"--yuck!) and analyzing Britney and Christina, who haven't even been teens themselves for over five years? who is the audience for this drivel? i'd love for a real young person to share their insights and passions-- now that would be a show. But i guess for this audience, a middle aged person is young.

There seem to be a lot of folks confused about what this "piece" is. Let me give you my thoughts as a musician.
This is a piece of music.
Eno has done stuff like this. Zappa too.
You use snippets of speech to act like lyrics and melodies. When repeated these sound bites take on many of the chartcteristics of melodies. Pitch, rhythmic content,words.
Use it as you would use any other offbeat music.

I'ma gonna hafta disagree a little with the above review. I'm of the younger generation that has at least nodding acquaintance with pop culture icons like Outkast. In fact, I've given the very same "Hiphop History and Culture 101" talk contained in the Pop Vultures Breakbeats episode to my mother and her middle-aged friends. And there, they do a great job.
But this episode is what it purports to be, basically 30 minutes of unabashed fawning. Even if you feel like the middle-aged guy getting let in on a cultural secret here (didn't Outkast play the Superbowl halftime show, though? hmm.) you'd get pretty bored about halfway through. They relate Outkast's image to white glam rock and black funk freakiness a la P-Funk. Other than that, it's heavy on the superlatives and light on the content.
How about some context on the development of the Dirty South as a 'third coast' in hiphop, or Outkast's association with Cee-Lo and the Goodie Mobb in the Dungeon Family, or the backlash against their boundary-pushing (Rosa Parks lawsuit, Indian uproar over Superbowl attire), or even the Andre 3K/Big Boi split on the double album?
I haven't listened to any other shows than the above mentioned, but if Vultures tries to ride too far on its enthusiasm and its youthful cache without some substance, it's going to...
naw, take that back. Public radio is so starved for young voices that this show will do well, even with the occasional weaker show. And hey, the PR demographic probably won't even know the difference as long as it sounds hip and convincing, right?

Information-packed, engaging piece that makes you want to head straight for the Alaskan wilds. Alongside our host we visit fishing grounds, old-growth forests and caves and meet a variety of naturalists full of unbridled enthusiasm for the natural world. An excellent addition to any show focusing on environmental issues, it is like taking a mini aural field trip from the comfort of your own home.

If you tuned in to something other than public radio in the last 25 years, this show might be a little basic for you. But if you missed the birth of hip-hop, now you don't have to wait until the Ken Burns doc comes out.
I liked that they picked out Sinead O'Connor as an example of a breakbeat with a groove -- pubradio should be ecumenical!
Kate and Garth are charming, intelligent, descriptive, lively. But at times they sound like a dirty old man, trying to impress the gushing under-age host: "Hey baby, wanna come up to my Bronx pad and listen to some vintage vinyl?"
Full disclosure: I hate the Strokes and I like the White Stripes. I'd love to hear more people my age on pubradio. But I'm skeptical... I don’t want a history lesson about what I saw live on MTV.

...and you too can deconstruct ATC’s Norris/Sting interview!
The Asian fetish/Madame Butterfly insight is a valuable addition to my collection of pop trivia. But here’s the dilemma: listeners will hear Kate’s approximation of Puccini’s plot as either charming, or culturally illiterate.
P.S. Maybe I heard this wrong... but you might consider an advisory on the rapping-is-like-giving-head thing. You almost slipped it by me! But I just don’t think it’ll fly... I’m jealous b/c it’s super-cool to say something dirty and get beeped on the radio. What an honor!

Great production- how can you lose with such fun music and a fabulous interview subject like Jay McShann? Steven Rosenfeld has produced five short sound portraits that can be aired as one whole mini-doc or five individual drop-ins for news magazines or during music shows. I could listen to this music all day. The recordings are crystal clear and clean as Jay McShann reminisces over his long and varied career. Segment #3 with Maria Muldaur is a kick and appropriately sensual. And I loved #5, the official story of how Charlie Parker got his nickname. Rosenfeld says he has more than 350 of these music profiles on his website so seems like there's more than enough for any station programmer to start thinking about making use of drop-ins during the day... Dmae

This is a noble portrait--and worth listening to for the music alone. Having grown up in Chicago the Blues was the enforced sountrack of my life--as soon as I had a say in what I listened to Blue was banished from the spectrum. BUT this piece leaves me thinking that was a big mistake. Captain Luke's singing is lyrical--his remembrances of the 50's and 60's music scene are compelling. And, like a great song, a world is revealed in about 4 minutes. This is perfect for "All Things Considered," a show about music, or the artistic process, and so on.--Chelsea Merz

Most of the pieces in this series offer more than a glimpse into the life of a musician, and many treat the listener to stories and reflections that reach well beyond the music itself. We listen to Gillian, and come away (at least I did) with a sense of a strong, thoughtful woman who deeply understands the value and power of the people's music, someone with something important to say about how we live.