KCCU Public Radio is located at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. We have many students majoring in communications who come from the Caribbean islands of the Bahamas, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and other islands. Roberto's comment that Americans thought he had lived in a hut when he was in the Bahamas rings true with comments I've heard from the Caribbean students here at Cameron. They received similar comments upon their arrival in Oklahoma. I must point out, though, that Roberto did learn that our streets are not paved with gold. The beauty of pieces like this is that it shows how important it is to hear stories from everyone and everywhere. Roberto provides a unique perspective and deserves to be shared.

A beauty shop and a place of worship have a lot in common - usually one comes out of both of these places feeling like a new person. Shana Sheehy introduces listeners to her Muslim hairdresser who tells about her conversion to the Muslim faith, difficulties encountered, and how she handled them. Listeners will hear the sounds of the beauty shop in the background: the snipping of the scissors, the running of the water. They will feel like they are sitting in the chair next to these two women, eavesdropping. I would like to hear it in a newsmagazine setting - morning or afternoon. Interesting take.

Braider's Zen-like piece is beautiful in its simplicity. It would fit in well during an afternoon news magazine when people are driving home from work. As I listened to the measured gongs of the bells and the "make each word count" style that Braider does so well, stress melted away. Listeners will definitely be served food for thought with this piece. It's an excellent thinking piece.

I'm from the generation that did the "duck and cover drills" in grade school. I watched my father plan escape routes from my hometown of Oklahoma City in case the Soviets finally dropped the "big one." The Soviets never dropped the big one, I spent much of my childhood afraid of something that never came to pass, and I see the same things happening again today. At that time, it was Joseph McCarthy's voice that provided the soundtrack for our lives - be afraid, be very afraid. Now it's the current administration - be afraid, be very afraid. Twenty-first century fear has evolved into color coded terrorist alerts and the misnamed Patriot Act. In addition to giving listeners a historical perspective, Brian Bull draws parallels between then and now. Soundclips from that time are included as are interviews with people today who, surprisingly, think McCarthy was a wonderful patriot. This piece is put together well, timely, and worth a listen.

The May 23, 2005 issue of The New Yorker had an article about a temporary move in 2007 of the United Nations from Manhattan to Brooklyn while the UN is being renovated. With that in mind, this piece is about when the UN was still on the other side of the nation, in San Francisco. The listener will hear the memories of Mr. Meister as he talks about being a 12 year old Boy Scout aide at the founding conference of the UN. A worldwide event told from a personal perspective. Even though this piece was done in response to the anniversary of the Founding Conference, because the UN is often in the news, I think this piece would be appropriate in conjunction with other UN pieces.

Add some whimsy to your listeners' day by airing this piece about an imaginative guy named Addi and his friend, Charlie, who travel the world making balloon hats and spreading smiles. The listener will hear the squeaks of balloons being twisted and the smiles in the voices of the balloon hat recipients. (The balloon hat website should definitely be mentioned so listeners can actually see the photographs or make it a web extra like on the NPR newsmagazine shows. Gurian does a great job of describing the balloon hats, but it's fun to actually see colorful examples.) Balloons - a non-threatening entry into diverse cultures - who knew? Great concept and a day brightener.

The human voice can evoke so many more emotions than an image. Does the ear have a direct line to the heart? It must because this piece is an emotional one. This is a well-done piece featuring a little boy and his father, narrated by the little boy all grown up. Perfect for Father's Day. Warning: it's a tear jerker.

Well done piece. Enjoyed the "OZ" comparisons very much. I recently wrote a paper entitled "To PowerPoint or Not to PowerPoint: That is the Question." The original designer of PowerPoint never intended for the program to have templates. The program was to contain blank slides for the creator's ideas. The templates were started when MicroSoft purchased the program. Studies conducted by MS revealed that people were having a hard time coming up with their own ideas and needed a prescribed jumping off point; hence the templates. I liked Braider's comment, "When you have a hammer like that [PowerPoint], everything else becomes a nail." I still contend it's not the program itself - it's the way people use it. Thought provoking piece and still timely as PowerPoint abuse continues.

I was fascinated and absorbed by this piece for the first two minutes. I got goosebumps from the record static - its "almost there" quality really made me sit forward and listen in anticipation. Fire crackled and hailstones plummeted to earth. Having said this, though, I'm not sure where it would fit into a programming schedule. And I kind of felt like my son had come to me and said, "Mom, listen to what I did with your Beatles records." Innovative use of vinyl.

"Why are you listening to that #%! music?" How many generations have asked that question? As one who has been questioned about my own preference for heavy metal while walking, I can only say "each to his or her own." This is a smart piece by someone who knows her music and makes educated choices. This piece would fit in well during news magazine programming. Probably the best time would be mid-September, a couple of weeks after school starts. This piece would certainly start discussions between the generations. Good job.

Flying hogs of Plato? Good summertime piece even though reference is made to the groundhogs' hold on the media which temporarily yanked me back to February. I know the hummingbirds are twittering, hovering and divebombing around my feeders as I'm sure they are around other public radio listeners' homes. The metaphor between hummingsbirds and human beings is apt and showcased well by the poem. This would be a good piece to drop in before or after a piece by the Doyenne of Dirt perhaps? Easy to listen to summertime piece with an ending by Seals and Croft that made me smile. It fit in well with the overall tone of the piece. Entertaining.

Great piece. This piece is very timely for summer, the Season of the Great Lawn Mower. Different voices and different opinions are all presented in an amusing manner. The listener will find himself or herself rooting for David as he searches for an authoritative recommendation that agrees with his viewpoint on the topic of whether or not he should bag his grass clippings. Perfect for Morning Edition or All Things Considered. Enjoyable.

This piece is a diamond in the rough. Media savvy Ben Hyde lays it on the line about local news and what he finds wrong with it. Interwoven with his collage of newsclips are his comments. Everything he says is true, it just needs to be said more clearly and succintly. The piece brings out the powerful ability of the media to hone in on a trivial subject and give it more credence than it's due. The clip of the news station that had people strip an SUV in its studio is especially interesting. Is the news really news, or just entertainment? Good stuff. Just needs to be tightened up.

One can hear the amusement in Curtis's voice as he talks about his mother and her great adventure with changing her style of personal waste management. The listener gets to hear Curtis's mother as she calmly explains how and why she has chosen to revolutionize her life in such a way and the laughing Kelsey as she explains her reluctance to use the system. I am old enough to remember trips outside to my great-grandfather's Kansas outhouse when I was very small and the memories are not especially pleasant, but maybe that was because there was no sawdust. One wonders how this method would work in the southern climes. I note that Curtis's mother lives in Maine. This piece would work well during the "Think Global" campaign or perhaps as a companion piece to one about the environment. Really! Not everyone living on this blue planet has a porcelain throne upon which to sit and maybe somewhere out there there is a piece about human waste disposal as handled in other countries.

One can almost feel the heat and smell the smoke as the listener is drawn into this piece. I originally heard it on Day to Day and enjoyed it very much. The people interviewed described their jobs well - the equipment and the clothing that are used are described so well that the listener can see them. I especially liked Catherine's comment that the landscape reminded her of a Dr. Seuss story. Great piece.