Lovely to break up the radio day with this extraordinary voice singing and sharing thoughts on her instrument. Could be aired any time, but happily Bartoli is touring the U. S. this February and the producers helpfully provide her tour schedule, so this piece is timely to air soon, up and down either coast and in the Midwest. sl

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

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

Part one is engaging testimony and first person account of the education and political/racial/personal awakening of an afro-american in a formerly uninvolved mainstream environment (L.A.). Askia Muhammad has a disarming approach - mild-mannered and humble but evenly frank. Part one is especially engaging and surprisingly impartial as participant and observer of the civil rights surfacing in the young urban afro-americans. Part two focuses on Black Nationalism - and is much less an observation but more of an explanation of the tenets as well as vicissitudes of black nationalism. Certainly worthy of programming for black history month.
vm

What is not to like about this portrait ? A salty old character, who tells it how it is, mocks city-folks' ideas of romance, and reveals that it is possible to get bored of fishing. Short and airable by any coastal station anywhere, at anytime! For the land -bound stations out there, the ambiant sound of seagulls and the gentle rolling sea should be enticement enough!

I almost didn’t make it through the introduction of this compilation of excerpts from a local series because the opening tone felt, to me, so saccharine it made me cranky. But I’m glad I persisted because there’s a good amount of practical, useful information contained within a few of the segments, especially for folks who’ve never had any kind of psychotherapy.
For parents, good tips for dealing with conflict, some ranging from word choice to tone of voice, to simply being a kind presence near another’s conflicts. The segment on middle school includes a young woman recalling bullies and other conflicts in her middle school years, and two dispute resolution mediators. A meditation teacher offers some basic Buddhist concepts for creating inner peace and dealing with people who could care less about inner peace, yours or their own. He shares a terrific antidote to fear meditation he practiced heavily after 9/11. A trainer in non-violent communication explains what empathic connection involves. Two work place mediators give a brief and not very illuminating report on improvements in postal service culture. Who can imagine “going postal” becoming anachronistic? The final segment features three African Americans, a city administrator, university student, and diversity trainer, in a frank and instructive conversation about instances of white privilege and injustice. Race is still such a complex, difficult and under-discussed topic, I’m grateful for any public conversation on the seemingly endless need for improving race relations in this country.
The trouble with compiling excerpts is you sometimes have to stretch to fill an hour, and the hour may lack a true unifying integrity. It’s a well-intentioned piece, uneven in quality, that I wish had been split into two half hour segments – perhaps one addressing people, parents, kids, one addressing work place, school, race, the more outer world. As things stand, different people will respond to different segments, some to none, and all in all, it’s on the whole, less than fully satisfying. sl

This report does a great job of capturing a day on the job--of illustrating the hardships and rewards of working on the Healthy Babies Project. The sound is great too and there are some colorful, memorable actualities. This would be best to boradcast on a news magazine, All Things Considered or Morning Edition. It would be a good addition to any show on community, healthcare, inner city culture. cm

Good balance of narration and regular folks’ voices, including some young people. Narrative provides context and moves things briskly along, with occasional music underscoring or providing segue space. Production notes accurately describe content. Some segments are stronger than others, but basically all are good. Any programming offering thread with which to patch our weakening democracy is good programming, and this is well-produced, interesting, and uplifting to boot.
The program is definitely in the public interest and could be aired any time, or in conjunction with programming on housing, justice, education, community, activism. sl

Interesting premise making me want to know more, imagine more about creating dance for the disabled. I was listening for dancers but you hear from directors/organizers and choreographers so the dancer's chairs were noticeably empty. The conversation about whether to use disabled dancers or not was curious but could have been fleshed out some more. Engaging sound bed. vm
notes to producer

Her voice is lovely, the violin is beautifully recorded, and it's just great to hear this brief communication about holding and playing Paganini's violin. Always make me happy to hear people talk about work, and when the work is creating great sound, ahhhh.... sl

Excellent approach to issues vital to immigrants anywhere in the US but often specific to California. (This would probably limit it being picked up by stations outside California).
The two subjects of this roundup were both engaging and a little different - (the threat of extinction of Mariachi bands !)
The objective of representing immigrants in the news packaged for the mainstream is a good one and NCM does of pro job of that.
America is made of immigrants and if this news roundup were perhaps less focused in California, I could imagine it being heard weekly anywhere. I would certainly listen.

vm

If there's a PD out there doing last minute shopping consider this for Morning Edition or All Things Considered on Christmas day ...the 24th will do too.

In this commentary Duffy traces his family's Christmas traditions. Although personal, this essay will likely strike a chord with most listeners as they are prompted to reflect on their own holiday traditions.

A well-woven, deep and prismatic look at this tragedy and the issues it raises about the space program’s value. So very poignant to hear the voices of the astronauts and spend time with them as they discuss the work they’ve set out to do. The tape of the astronauts and mission control as trouble becomes apparent is wrenching, suspenseful, despite the known outcome. We’re brought close to the aftermath through the voice of the forest ranger that found the flight recorder, and engineers discussing their efforts to figure out went wrong. A down-to-earth human angle is touched on in a visit to the hometown of the female astronaut who will command the next space shuttle. As she speaks of the practical pre-flight concerns and of their space station tasks, I find myself saying a quiet prayer for their well-being. Discussions about safety and cost concerns, and alternate ideas for space exploration, as well as the opinions of some plain old citizens about space carry us to the end of the program. This fascinating piece reminds us what a mistake it is to ever be blasé about space travel.
Air around the anniversary, or in future, around the time of any launch. sl

It's a privilege to be so deep inside someone's head and in this case,
inside the heads of two people on opposite sides of "the bar." I like the
way the material is organized. We meet Matthew first and get a sense of him
before we actually know everything he's done wrong, and we get to know the
judge a little before we hear them together. It's very moving to hear the judge's journey from compassionate hope to resigned disappointment, and to hear Matthew's parallel journey from hope to despair. I wanted to put my head down and cry as this piece drew to its close. Knowing Matthew is dead makes the close of this piece that much more heartbreaking. It's beautiful, respectful and could air any time, but certainly when there is big news on youth crime. sl

This one has a wonderfully lively style. The editing is pure pleasure and the narrative voice is smooth and real. I had a moment of wondering if it was going on too long, and the ending isn't quite the payoff I might have hoped for, but I was engaged all the way through and would air it on our station without hesitation as an ear refresher. -JA