As a last tip of the hat to the Holidays, families from Kentucky, Virgina, the Carolinas, and other southeastern states. give their greetings to incarcerated loved ones through the airwaves of WMMT-FM in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

Theirs lots of longing and care in the voices of family, as well as the in-studio hosts as they read letters from those on "the inside".

This is pretty specific to Christmas,but there's a lot to be said for the sheer rush of feeling that the callers emote as they sing, chant, and send good wishes.

I wish more radio stations would devote this kind of time and space for those who find themselves in prison. It reminds one of old radio days, combined witha real community radio mission: to reach out and touch those in need.

The White Before Christmas is a brilliant take-off on the the classic seasonal poem. Imakhu Mwt Shekemet's "urban legend" has a dreadlocked Santa meeting a true grinch and proving that Christmas magic works anywhere, no matter what color your holiday.

Great to air any day before the end of the year, Christmas, Kwanza, Channukah, Would make a great suprise insert into your news magazine as a seasonal treat, or into a segment of ATC for the drive home, or even in a newshole at the top of the hour. It come in at just over 4:00, but with a nimble engineer, it will fit.

All Coming Years of Peaceful Love is the self-narrated life story of 81-year-old Miklos Emhecht & Miriam Osfeyer. This twilight years love story is filled with good stories, good humor, and good spirits, and leaves a pleasant afterglow and solid affirmation of the possibilities of human affection and compassion.

This feature would be great around Valentine?s Day, and even greater on Purim, the Jewish Holiday of Joy which falls on March 14 March 15, in 2006.

"A Prohibition" is a tone poem voiced by three young people who look at identity, race, and the use of the word "nigger". Terin Mayer skillfully weaves music and word here to support the speakers sentiments and heartfelt expressions, though I long for the day when we can feature sensitive portraits of African Americans that do NOT feature saxophone as the default backdrop.

That having been said,they happen to be perfect in their application in this feature.

Note to PD's and programmers :

The word nigger appears several times in a poem featured in the piece. Please resist temptaions to bleep out these references. They are vital to the overall effectiveness of this feature.

Scott Carrier's "Turkeys" is an entertaining, and frank look at the life cycle of the farm turkey, from trough to table. Though one should be warned that after you take this journey, you may take the next exit to Vegetarian County.

This is SlaughterHouse 5, Turkey Hell, Abu Ghraib for Galliforms, A Fryer Freakout....ok you get the idea.

A great piece with a dubious furture. Do you play this on or near Thanksgiving?; Listeners make get more than they bargain for with details on what happens to a turkey to after the lights go out. It ain't pretty.

You want the truth? Scott Carrier thinks you can handle it.
The moral of the story is: be nice to people.

If not, well, you might just come back as a turkey.

This feature on the Newark Museum's exhibit "Power Dressing, African Style presents lots of informative facts in a nicely paced rhythm, with bright engaged delivery, and well chosen interviews.
It's very visual, describing well the exhibits artifacts and attractions.

A special feaure for Kwazza as suggested may be in order, but let's hope a clearer narrational setup for the piece will be provided.

Marti Em's exploration of her mutiple personality disorder in this first person narrative is both touching and terrifying in it's poetic portrait of her personalities or "altars" as she call them.

Her voice & story are stirring as she guides the listener through this house of her personalities and as she moves towards a sense of wholeness.

This would be a piece to close a show or an hour. There's really not much that could be said afer listening to these 14 minutes; it wields that kind of power.

Sometimes there's no better way to explain a situation than in song, on stage, or by story. This eloquent exposition on one woman's struggle with Multiple Personality Disorder is quiet in tone, but devastating in effect.

This piece is interesting to listen to, but a bit confusing. The mix is beautiful, a blending of first person recollections and reminiscence, but my confusion came as the featured musician, a young hassidic jew who is a reggae musician talks about his musical inspiration from the band Phish. Is the music in the background by Phish? Or is it the music of Phish by the young musician? This is not made clear in this presentation, and I'm not enough of a "Phishhead" to know.

I like this format of narrationless music features, but the onus is on the producer to craft a more focused story.

Bill Schiebler's tales of his days as a young officer in Vietnam is war storytelling of the first order: deeply personal, graphic in detail, and highly compelling. His stories are presented in a very matter-of-fact manner, with some "soundtrack" music added on occasion and for pacing. Perfect for for Veteran's Day. The added dimension of the Schiebler's spirituality makes for a satisfying listen.

The show is broken up into 3 sections, and aired as a whole, might be overwhelming, especially given the moments when Schiebler gets emotional, which happens a few times, sometimes in close proximity. It's not that the moments aren't moving, but they may dampen their overall effect iveness, like eating something sweet and the next sweet thing you taste soon after doesn't have as the same effect.

This program, good as a whole, could be aired over a few days or spaced out between day parts, so listeners will have something to look foward to, especially Schiebler's POV of a young white officer dealing with race relations, encounters with the enemy in the battlefields of Vietnam, and facing spiritually challenging situations with a reassuring sense of humanity a rare grace under fire.

This intriguing narrationless piece traces the journey of the stuff we buy , told by some of the people involved in the shipping, transport, and delivery of all those things labeled " Made in anywhere but the USA".

This would be a good lead in feature to a discussion on import export / trade issues, though it could benefit from some editing to tighten its pacing.

What is the truth about what happened to folks in New Orleans in the aftermath of Huricane Katrina? Many are asking as we listen to the radio, watch TV. For myself, I always wonder, what must it be like? To be there ...in a devastated city whose name is known to nearly everyone around the world.

"After the Flood" from This American Life provides a rare glimpse into those moments of panic and confusion from people who were there.

There's been the helicopter aerial shots, the computer graphic maps of the flood areas, pictures of looters...but the camera never stops for long. A quick clip to set the scenario and then it's on to the inevitable reporter standing next to a flooded street.

After the Flood is a gathering of stories from few of the people who were trapped in New Orleans: a tourist, a young high school student, a woman who stayed in the Superdome, and more.

These stories may change your mind about what the definition of truth is, what a looter is, what an authority is.

It's a compelling hour from the belly of the beast, doing what radio does best: listening and letting those who lives were turned upside down tell their stories, and those stories are our stories, our truths, our feelings of helplessness, and hope for our basic humanity.

Stations that have been devoting time to the Senate FEMA hearings should run this as an immediate chaser. 12 noon or early evening following the news would be great times to air "After the Flood" from This American Life. It's a hour that packs a weeks worth of experience, and quite a punch.

Sandra Htyte's self portrait of her life in the US as a political asylee, after coming from Burma / Myanmar, and subsequently discovering her place in " the new world". Between modern rock music clips, family interviews, and archival tape, Sandra's intimate portrait of self discovery and Mynamar's political history is suprisingly moving, and skillfully balanced.

In the wake of the recent hurricanes, many here in the US will have forgotten about Darfor, Sudan. In this half hour Voices of Our World highlights the human rights disaster in Darfor, Sudan.

The information presented isn't easy to listen to. The ongoing genocide in Sudan is given an unflinching centerstage in this piece.
After all the producer of VOOW is Maryknoll, a Catholic mission organization. They have a network of priests, brothers, lay missioners, and sisters living and working with communitites around the world, many in "troubled areas, like Sudan. They are soial justice advocates and make no bones about it.

This half hour in its two parts is a call to action & awareness. The hosts and guests are of one purpose: getting the listener to "see" Sudan, and also to help motivate the listener to take the next step and do something like supporting a human rights organization.

Just a touch more of background explanation up front would help to setup facts that are covered. There is an assumption that the listener knows all the players in the Sudan situation.

There's an odd contrast of sobering facts and upbeat music, and an emoitional "soundtrack" that at least in the beginning makes the piece sound like an Ad Council production, but by the end of the half hour, the listener will have been given some hard facts.

It may feel like too much after the domestic disasters here in the US, but in airing this show, say in proximity to a show like THE WORLD, or ALTERNATIVE RADIO, stations, can do their part by shining light on this oft forgotten part of Africa

These two hours, lovingly rendered by Nick Spitzer's American Routes is the soul of New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf region singing from under the waters like a nostalgic echo slowing rolling down an empty street. The music Spitzer presents is refreshing, melancholy, proud, ironic, and more. I felt I was listening to a favorite radio station that kept suprising me with one great tune after another, the songs nicely seasoned with commentary, facts, and recollections that never over-powered the ingredients.

I think any station that can carve out two hours should do so for this special program. As the images of this beloved city flood our minds even as its own streets remain filled with water, it's important to commemorate the incredible music that the region has given the world.

In one of the many compositions featured, Louis Armstrong sings:

" ... Do you know what it means, to miss New Orleans?...".

Listen, and treat your listeners to AFTER THE STORM, and you will know the obvious answer to that question.

Poets Nikki Giovanni & Lucinda Roy explore very different takes on African-Americaness in this lyrical discussion with host Sara McConnell. The featured poems by Roy & Giovanni give much food for thought on issues as seemingly incongruous as the Middle Passage and its lessons for a journey to Mars, to a tratise on curly hair and childhood taunts.

Host McConnell knows when to let the conversation flow and guides it well through this intelligent half hour . Listeners will enjoy this exploration in thoughts and dreams of two great poets.