Being a fan of Ms. DiFranco and knowing a bit about her may somewhat bias my opinion of this interview. However, I believe any person off the street would be intrigued and drawn in by the intimacy, information, and pacing of the interview. The background information was sufficient and left room for answers not to be redundant; and the choice and lengths of music pieces were just right. I would very happily listen to this piece again if I came across it on the airwaves!

An excellently produced piece. The mixture of music and interview keeps the piece moving at a nice clip, while the alternate live versions of the music add interest for people already familiar with DiFranco and with Educated Guess. In particular, the live version of the title track is golden.

As a fan of DiFranco who has heard her dismissed time and again as "an angry chick rocker," I especially enjoyed this piece. It offers an intimate view into her sense of humor and artistry that doesn't deny the anger in some of her songs, but underscores her humanity and makes her an ultimately likeable person.

This hour-long piece offers an intimate and friendly view of one of the most intriguing and revolutionary artists of indie music. Unfortunately, one of the problems with DiFranco as a subject is the speed at which she moves. While she goes through periods where years pass without an album, at other times she can release three albums in three months. The focus on Educated Guess is appropriate as it's what she was promoting at the time, but it dates the piece and makes its value ultimately more retrospective than current.

This intimate look into the life of Ani Difranco is inspiring to musicians and audiences alike.
Her review of life on the road is visual and captivating and paints a portrait of a woman who is still evolving.

Questions were well thought out and asked at the right time. Repsonses from the artist were honest and straight forward. This piece is worth another listen!

I really enjoyed this interview.

I liked the interview but the engineering/editing of the first part was a little odd.

The attempt to reduce the interview into a few teaser segments didn't work too well, came off clunky and heavy handed.

Beyond that I enjoyed the interview very much. Nothing else constructive could I say.

Been a fan of Ani for nearly ten years, and i loved the entire show. i learned some news things about Ani, as well as more details about older things i've been familiar with (the Church's status). Overall i highly recommend this for old fans, as well as folks who have only heard the name but not the music.

This hour-long program mixes interview segments, music, and host commentary to create an interesting and in-depth portrait of an unusual and interesting artist, singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco. Many hour-long interview programs don't work very well--they either devote too much time to a subject, aren't paced well, or don't frame the discussion in ways that works for listeners. This program demonstrates that a little production finesse and an attention-grabbing subject can create an interesting and engaging hour-long program.

The producers are very focused on keeping the program moving, keeping interview segments short and well edited (one of the strongest elements of the program is that the interviews were recorded in DiFranco's home). If they had been studio recordings, I'm sure they wouldn't be so dynamic. In between, there are reflections, written by the interview host, on DiFranco's career and the significance of her music and work. With the exception of the first few minutes, the program flows very well and it's easy to get lost in time while listening.

There are some small problems with the program that could be made better--but are not significant enough that they would negatively impact the usefulness of the program for stations.

First is the aforementioned first few minutes. The program takes too long to get started. There is six minutes of set-up before the interview starts. There are several teaser clips from later in the interview and a narrative history (from the host) about Ani's career. After several listens, I think this could probably be cut down to 2-3 minutes without sacrificing any depth. There are too many teaser clips and the history could be abbreviated or moved elsewhere. Listeners want to hear Ani--get to her quicker.

Also, the host is great with Ani, but a little too reverent. The host obviously has a great deal of respect for DiFranco, but there is never any conversational tension, no probing discussion, and no drilling down into answers. Not that an interview has to be contentious or uncomfortable, but this feels too polite.

Also, the host's delivery occasionally sounds stiff (she's reading) and the writing of her contextual/background narratives/commentary includes some unfortunate cliches and hyperbole. For example, when introducing one segment, the host reads:

"Buffalo--home of the Sabres and record setting snow falls--is probably as well known as being Ani DiFranco's home town as anything else."

Frankly, this statement is difficult to believe, because it simply isn't true. It may make for an easy segue, but it's too easy. These narrative missteps wouldn't be a problem if the rest of writing--as well as the entire program--weren't so promising.

This is a great effort--and with a type of programming that isn't easy to make sound this good.

A intimate moment of inspiration, creativity and thought-provoking. An interesting insight, affecting and delicate. I love it!

What does it mean to be creative? If that question is burning in your heart, explore it with Ani...