This is not a piece. The major problem is it's a cut of a phone interview. While the story is interesting and it might have made a great piece, it's really unusable as is. Phone interviews are only okay on a local level for a talk show or for breaking news on a national level. Sometimes a producer might want to use a phone interview for dramatic effect. Say you want to call someone while telling the story to check in or if it's phone messages or if the piece is about the phone. But this is something that many producers on PRX have to understand. Why would a station license a phone interview? They can do their own phone interviews if needed. I'm sad to say this because I listened to Jenny Asarnow's other pieces and she shows promise. I just can't recommend this piece to stations.

This is top-notch theatre. Not radio theatre but stage theatre though it's great radio theatre too. There's just nothing better than a script by Arthur Miller, gifted veteran actors and engaging taut direction. What a treat. I never knew that Ed O'Neil (from Married With Children fame) could pull off such a riveting performance as an uncle obsessed with his neice. Mary McDonnell, the Greer Garson of the 21st century, is phenomenal as the tormented wife. This production of "A View From The Bridge" is like listening backstage on Broadway. It moves, draws you in and spins you around inside. Sometimes it's funny and it's a bit disconcerting to hear the audience laughter. But this is the stage. You never know what's going to happen. I can't imagine a better staging for radio of this prize play. Yes, it's two hours, but find a time in the evening and promote the heck out of it. With the two other productions, "The Crucible" and "Broken Glass" make an Arthur Miller festival. I can't believe that no media has honored one of America's greatest playwrights this way. Let radio accept the clarion call and honor this great writer with airing these productions.

This is definitely not for children. Producer Jonathan Mitchell has created a funny and kinda sick incredibly slick piece out of the Sponge Bob shows. It's the kind of the thing you'd see on the Daily Show and I wish there were an outlet on public radio for it. Made me laugh in a disturbing "am I going insane?" kind of way. Maybe college stations would be daring enough to play this piece. Great sound and well put together. Stations if you can't air this one, check out other pieces by Mr. Mitchell. He's one of our best....

This piece really didn't come alive till midway when the actual sound of the foundry and the sculpture creation started happening. It's really much too long for an arts feature with so little happening. The piece could really be cut in half the amount of time and start with the sound of the foundry to tease us into listening to the rest of the info about how to create the sculpture. The producer has a good voice and genuine delivery so it wasn't a matter of the reporter but of the content being too lengthy when we really needed to be "shown" more the process of the artist going about his work. That is the most interesting. I'd rather hear the artist talk about their creation and hearing the sounds while they're working rather than a reporter describing it. At this point, I don't hear this on stations without another edit unless it's a specific art program that would have 13 minutes to spare. I would encourage the producer to do a shorter version because he obviously has talent and it would be worth it to make this piece appealing to other stations.

These are two-minute meditations in spirituality done in a completely inviting and non-invasive approach--almost a module form of New Dimensions. The Open Door has cool music and a warm host and honestly the cuts of the featured speakers do give you a lot to think about as you go through your day. I listened to the three modules and found each one thought-provoking. What a great way to start off the day after the plague of bad news we listen to every morning. One little module that gives hope and introspection would make heading out through that door more what? Open? I encourage stations to listen to The Open Door modules and use them as drop-ins, and I encourage the producers to start making a lot more modules so stations can start programming them!

You're either gonna love or hate this piece. You'll either make room on the radio for it or not know what to make of it. Producers such as Seth Lind are good for us to hear. His film background urges him to play with sound differently than we do as radio producers. To the casual listener this piece makes no sense. It's full of rich evocative underscoring and stream of consciousness narrative that doesn't have a beginning, middle or end. It's more of a rich layered soundtrack for a film that we need to visualize in our minds. We're not told what we're supposed to be thinking or hearing - it just is. And because of that, I don't hear this having much airplay for most radio stations. Perhaps a college station. Perhaps a late nite drop-in between Echoes and Hearts of Space. This is the kind of piece you used to like to get drunk or (dare I say it?) do drugs to listen to like Dark Side of the Moon to make up your head movies. Are we past all that on good "old" public radio? I wonder...

A piece about sound should start off with sound. Instead this piece saves its best sound for a montage at the very end. A piece about a sound recordist might have been more creative and make use of collage and montage more within the piece. Reporter Angela Kellner shows promise but this piece needs one more edit and restructuring. Right now it's a straight forward report that almost puts the subject on a bit of a pedestal rather than examining the nooks and quirks of a man whose hobby is recordiing unusual sounds. The actualities are also a bit hissy, and the ambience hiss is clipped. The montage at the end would have been better mixed into the piece rather than ending with the non-stellar slide show. This piece could have been cut down to a seven to eight minute story at most with more creative use of sound. There is a minute of music at the top and a host intro that needs to be edited out if any station wants to air this piece.

Producer Karen Brown has created a well-thought-out documentary from varied perspectives updating the experiences of Cambodian refugees from the Killing Fields to present. This award-winning half-hour examines in great detail the post-traumatic stress of refugees who survived the genocide of the Khmer Rouge. Most Americans know little of these horrors beyond the movie the Killing Fields. This documentary not only gives voice to the survivors but sheds light on the attempts to heal through Western mental health care and Buddhist spirituality. There isn't any other documentary or piece about Cambodia or Cambodian Americans on PRX. I highly recommend this important piece to air any time.

This series of thoughtful essays by Ali Berlow would work as drop-ins during morning edition or weekend programs especially during the holiday season. An intro and outro would be needed because there's no tag or outcue. These are well-written and softly spoken reflections using food as metaphor for life and living.

A great non-holiday winter piece. This piece would work well anytime in December though it's suggested for Winter Solstice. The music is lovely in this solid arts feature featuring Paul Winter
elaborating on his music and use of animal sounds. The five minutes flew by for me and I wanted more. I would suggest following up this piece with another cut of Paul Winter music and ending a local magazine show with that tail of music for it's closing credits. Or as a drop-in between Paul Winter songs.

This is the second time I've listened to this piece and it's still fresh. A lovely, lovely piece. Moving and poignant amid the post 9/11 reality. This originally aired on NPR's All Things Considered for Valentine's Day but this piece could air during the holidays as well. It's about love after all. Enduring and memorable. I could see famillies gathered around the radio listening to this during Thanksgiving or the winter holidays. There is an intro and outro that would need to be edited out for local broadcast. But it would be worth taking the time...

I really can't see stations running this piece. It's a phone interview and though the interviewer is skilled, it's just a basic phone interview that could use another round of editing. Nothing stellar. The subject doesn't warrant an eleven minute phone quality piece. While this could have made an interesting feature with sound (we're talking about jingle tones for cell phones here) this just isn't all that interesting as is and I can't see a station paying to run this as opposed to conducting their own phone interview.

An unusual and thought-provoking Thanksgiving special. I love the sound of the fire crackling while people are talking reflectively about the meaning of giving thanks and the relationships between Indian and white communities. This holiday I usually call "Genocide Day" but this program brings about the true meaning or what should be the true meaning of what ought to be a day of reflection rather than feasts and football. The producers did an admiral job of creating a native talk circle for the radio, and I encourage stations to run this instead of a more traditional Thanksgiving special. This is the kind of thing you want playing while families are sitting to dinner. Very inspiring....

To dismiss this series as a youth or student production would be a great disservice to the talented producers of B-Side. This is clearly a creative labor of love with the highest production values. The stories are intriguing and I applaud the artistic use of sound. Some of the stories however are better than others and the pieces move so quickly from one to the other that it can be jarring. Most of the stories are engaging though I think I've heard too many Elvis as a joke stories. The blood and guts clean-up guy in particular should not be played at any mealtime. These shows are crying out for an editor. A decision needs to be made either to take us on a journey with depth, meaning and some sort of throughline or to do away with the magazine structure entirely and give us the scavenger hunt adventure. The show uses structure and a theme but without a clear purpose or intent. We are left wondering why we want to listen to these stories. If we're meant to hear oddball stories then go for it. If there is something to be gained from the people we are encountering in this production, then helps us understand what that is. That said I eagerly await more productions from the B-Side. This is refreshing radio and a station could choose to pair two of the half-hours (of which there are many) to make a special you aren't likely to hear anywhere else.

A solid political essay if you don't mind a BBC-type voice commenting on American politics. Stations could air this on news magazines. There are commentaries offereed on all the swing states so it might be interesting to stations to hear one on their state and possibly air a local essay as a comparisan and alternative perspective. The producers offer this piece with/without music and intro to make it easier to include in local news magazines or as drop-ins.