A very impressive piece, hard to qualify. A nice merge between story telling and story showing. Sly remarks dot the landscape with narration, actors, and what sound like real interviews. This might not fit any specific area that I know of, but it also isn't restricted to any specific area. It is worth a listen and to find a place to air.

I liked this piece, too, it's a great way to do a commentary on anything -- social commentary, etc. I thought this piece was a little long, but there was an unintimidating creepiness to the caller's cluelessness. This appears to be a series, and I think it could fit just about anywhere because it's not too deviant from a short play format that is somewhat familiar, but it also tackles interesting topics with a unique style and with wit and speed. I would love to hear this coming from my local PR station. It appears that the Tampa station is trying new things, and that's fantastic.

I listened to a few of the installments in this series and think the idea has a lot of potential: setting up a cider stand and interviewing the people who visit about democracy. It's a creative spin on the old "Interviews 50 cents" concept.
These pieces would make for an interesting drop-in during most types of news/info/call-in/discussion programs to stimulate conversation, reaction, or to provide a perspective that’s honest and markedly different from punditry.
The only problem is the open and close of these pieces, which all identify the two producers (twice—and often more often than the interview subject is introduced). There is a lot of information in those opens and closes, most of it completely unnecessary. They cause verbal overload—in the first few seconds!
This piece in particular also illustrates another occasional concern with this series—often the sound clip lacks sufficient punch or drags on too long. Several (this one especially) go on too long, really diluting the impact of what he says. If this piece was half as long, it would have twice the power.
Also, I think these segments would sound great if several were mixed together. As soon as you hear one, you want to hear the reaction of others.It isn't fair to an interested listener to expect them to catch them elsewhere. If you have their interest--deliver! Don't make them wait.

Very interesting piece. Were the descriptions of the pieces of artwork coming from the artist? The direct interaction with the listener was a little assuming. Maybe incorrectly assuming. A less direct approach would have seemed less accusing and more honest. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the prospective on why so many artists like the nude.

This is one of those stories that is so perfectly suited to radio, by which I mean it couldn’t as easily exist as a magazine article… nor do you feel like it’s a frustrated short film that begs for visuals. The story is best told on the radio, and the reason for this is that it is about a mysterious voice. After all the decades of obsession about images of Bigfoot, a tape of its voice feels so out of left field, so counter-intuitive... in the most pleasing, surprising sense of the word. Because of this, I would argue, that the actual three-second clip of Bigfoot “talking” is the heart of the story. And so everything before the talking tape should act as a kind of “setting the stage,” a building of the enigma we are about to be presented with. To this end, I would think that LaMonica telling us that the voice sounds a lot like Yogi Bear shouldn’t happen until after we’ve heard it. It steps on the surprise…. a surprise that I would say is wonderfully funny, and you want to cold-cock the listener with something like that. Afterwards, you can come back in and say, “Jeez, doesn’t that sound like Yogi Bear?” and play the tape again, because, holy Sasquatch, it sounds exactly like Yogi Bear. All the same, this is a really fun radio story. Just hearing that voice alone is worth the price of admission.

A decent look at a range of Republican attitudes toward immigration policy, this piece provides good context for Mr. Bush's recent endorsement of an immigrant guest worker program. More depth would have been welcome, but for a brief report, it does a decent job of introducing many of the concerns around this issue. sl

Told in the terse and unadorned style of Pekar’s better comic stories, “My Father” is a classic tale of filial shame and regret, and it’s a treat to hear Pekar’s grizzled voice telling it. Pekar reads like your frazzled dad who begrudgingly goes up to deliver a speech at some union meeting… in a good way. The matter-of-factness of his delivery feels right… plus I’m sure directing Harvey Pekar’s voice tracks must feel like asking for your salad dressing “on the side” in a prison cafeteria. I can imagine Pekar’s story on a show dealing with immigrants, fathers and sons, coming to the New World (a fourth of July day show, etc), or really any place where you could use a short piece about family or regret.

Maypole brings alive, through music, rich sound, critical commentary and dramatic readings, a time that is usually only made known to us through history textbooks. Maypole takes you to the land where Thomas Morton lived and, through production, makes it feel immediate and timely. It does this while carefully respecting the atmosphere of the time, through its music and thoughtful narration. There are little images and facts contained through out that bring to life the world of the pioneers. For instance, did you know that dandyish pioneers like Thomas Morton wore slashed sleeves so that you could see the high quality of their undergarments beneath? Who would have thought that the pioneers had a pre-envisioned the ubiquity of the peeping silk thong? New research is presented, old texts are re-examined and a story is told that conveys the excitement and change of the period, and for that I felt thankful while listening. It’s a gift when something so educational can be made entertaining, too. It has a bit of the tone of an educational film, but if you’re looking for splash, there’s always Finding Nemo at the local Cineplex.

I can see this playing any time when people can sit and concentrate. I don’t know if it’s drive time. It might be more suited to the evenings and weekends. It requires your attention, but being schooled usually does.

In many ways “Dia’s Diary” is a typical coming-out story, the kind often heard on public radio. What sets it apart, though, is the straight-ahead, unadorned style of the story telling and the sincerity of the voice. What’s nice, too, is that there’s a surprise turn at the end of the story, and good radio is all about surprises.

In listening to Dia talk about the inspiration for revealing her homosexuality to her mother—which happens to come from an episode about gay youths on Phil Donahue-- you realize the built-in importance of having these kinds of forums. I’m sure Dia’s story will inspire others, and that’s a good thing… especially when you think back to other eras, not so long ago, in American life when the drive towards such admissions inspired the kind of self-hatred that pushed William Burroughs to cut off the end of his own finger.

The scoring music is a little unwieldy at times but all in all, it keeps things upbeat and Dia’s voice and story transcend.

Bertha has a wonderful voice and presence. I only wish that this were more visual--that I had a better understanding of her rug braiding process and what her rugs look like. This piece would be appropriate for labor day or for any show that explores the artistic process. It could also work for any kind of interstitial programing.CM