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The Story with Dick Gordon brings the news home - through passionate points of view and personal experiences. The program brings together ordinary and extraordinary people to provide perspective on the issues which affect us all. Our goal is to inspire conversation, thinking and understanding. Produced at North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC.
30 Years of the Breaks
Friday, September 03 2010
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30 YEARS OF THE BREAKS
This year is a major anniversary for hip hop. It has been thirty years since Kurtis Blow got people break dancing with his hit song The Breaks. Kurtis was the first hip hop artist to get a major record deal and he went on to have numerous number one hits. Kurtis is celebrating the milestone with a European tour. He joins Dick Gordon to talk about hip hop, rap, and his latest initiative: bringing music to the masses in his Los Angeles hip hop church.
- Learn more about Kurtis Blow
- Get info about the tour
The Bikini TeamÂ
 (top) Ann Haley(bottom) Nancy Gardner <<bigger
Labor Day weekend -- many of us will head for one last time to the pool. Today -  Dick speaks with a group of women who have a special relationship with summer and swimming. They call themselves The Bikini Team. They are friends, now in their late 50s and early 60s, who’ve made a pact to make bikinis a way of life. Most of them spent many summer days at the community “swimming hole.” It wasn’t until years later that they met back up and made a deal that no matter how old they got, they would forever hold true to the bikini state of mind.
Don't Ask Don't Tell on Campus
Thursday, September 02 2010
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Don't Ask Don't Tell on Campus
Sara Isaacson
Sara Isaacson has dreamed of a military career since she was 13 years old. When she enrolled at the University of North Carolina on an ROTC scholarship, she identified as straight. During her senior year, three months away from graduation and a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army, she came out as a lesbian to her commanding officer. She was de-enrolled from the ROTC program and was asked to pay back nearly $80,000 of her scholarship. Sara talks with Dick Gordon about how she made her decision and whether, if given the chance, she would still serve.
next chapter: the dung sisters
Top: Linda Lehmann  Bottom: Anna Bliss
The Dung Sisters are a group of women who supported each other in the midst of unemployment. We first met two of the group's members: Linda Lehmann and Anna Bliss last year. Both were unemployed for a long period of time. Now, things are looking up for the women, and they still lean on each other for support.
- Hear the Dung Sisters first interview with Dick.
Remembering Jill Hollis
Jill Hollis
For the past 4 years, we've returned quite regularly to the story of Jill Hollis. Jill was diagnosed with ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease - in 2004. Like everyone with ALS, Jill's life ended far too soon. She died surrounded by her family on Tuesday night. On today's show, we remember what Jill taught us about facing death with courage, and living deeply every moment we're alive.
- Read Jill's blog, Altered.Â
A Principal Left Behind
Wednesday, September 01 2010
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A Principal Left Behind
Joyce Irvine
Joyce Irvine was the principal of H.O. Wheeler Elementary School in Burlington, VT. During her 6 years there, she made a great impact on students, families, and teachers. Her superintendent agrees that her work has been phenomenal, that she's a good principal, and a strong leader. Yet, last July, Joyce was removed from her job so that the Burlington School District could qualify for federal stimulus money. The funds are desperately needed by Wheeler, which serves a high poverty population. A model principal, Joyce was caught in the fine print of the Obama administration's "Blueprint for Reform." She talks about her experience, her kids, and the challenges facing low-performing schools in an age of reform.
Cross Country in a Model t
Walter and Forest Fousel
The end of summer often marks the end of new family memories and life-changing experiences. That is certainly true for Walter and Forest Fousel. This summer they embarked on quite an adventure - they crossed the country in a Model T. The trip is one that changed them both and gave them a few laughs along the way.
- Music in this story: On the Road Again by Willie Nelson from the album Honeysuckle Rose.
Cooking for Boy George
Lisa Carter
As a struggling artist in England in the late 1980s, Lisa Carter was always on the lookout for good part-time jobs. A friend called and said singer Boy George was looking for a personal chef. Lisa applied, and got the job, though she knew very little about cooking. Lisa talks to Dick about faking her way through macrobiotic cooking for the pop culture icon, and how that's led her to now being able to whip up delicious seaweed dishes for her vegan daughter.
TP for Change
Tuesday, August 31 2010
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TP for change
Syron Smith
Chicago is seeing the murder rate steadily climb. More than three hundred people have been killed this year. Just this weekend alone, 5 people lost their lives. Syron Smith runs a non-profit in Chicago that works to fight the escalating murders and crime from the grassroots level. He tries to raise money in different ways to give kids a chance to get off the streets. Syron doesn’t apply for grants or federal money. Instead he asks residents to donate small bills and change, and buy the toilet paper he sells, in an effort to put community money behind its young people.
- Learn more about Syron's program to overcome crime in Chicago.
- See Syron's work in the community.
- Music in this story: So Many Tears performed by 2Pac from the album 2Pac: Greatest Hits
RECEIVING HIS MEDALS
Les Ward and Jesse Laflamme
Les Ward is 92 years old. This month, he finally received all the medals he earned in World War II. More than ten medals were awarded to him more than sixty years after the fact. Les and his grandson Jesse Laflamme join Dick to tell their story.
- Learn more about the family farm.
- Music in this story: Star Eyes performed by Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra from the album Hollywood's Best: The 40's
the View from the driver's seat
Benjy Downing
College students across the country have been moving into their dorms and apartments in recent days. For freshmen, this is their first introduction to life away from home. Benjy Downing is a late-night bus driver for the University of North Carolina. This past week, Benjy welcomed the Class of 2014 to campus.
- Music in this story: TiK ToK performed by Ke$ha from the album Animal and Young Forever performed by Jay-Z featuring Mr. Hudson on the album The Blueprint 3.
The Floods in Pakistan
Monday, August 30 2010
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THE FLOODS IN PAKISTAN
Ali Abbas Zaidi <<More
The flood waters in Pakistan are still forcing people from their homes. There are millions already who have moved to safe ground or into camps for the displaced. The work to get aid to the needy continues. Ali Abbas Zaidi lives in Islamabad, where he works as an aeronautical engineer. But every weekend like many other Pakistanis, he’s helping deliver that aid.
- Find out more about Pakistan Youth Alliance
NEXT CHAPTER: DARRYL MONTANA
Darryl Montana
Darryl Montana grew up in New Orleans. We first met him shortly after Hurricane Katrina. He was mourning his dad and his community. Darryl’s dad Tootie was a well-known master of elaborate Mardi Gras costumes. Tootie died unexpectedly shortly before Katrina hit. Today: an update on the story.
- Listen to Dick's original conversation with Darryl here
RECOVERING A MILLION IMAGES
Donn Young Photo Courtesy: Michael Sokol
Donn Young made a life as a successful photographer in New Orleans. He nearly lost all of his work when Hurricane Katrina struck five years ago. More than 1.5 million images were under 10 feet of water. Dick Gordon talks with Donn about how he recovered his life’s work in the five years since the storm.
- See some of Donn's photos from after Hurricane Katrina.
- Find out more about Don's work, and his project 40 Days and 40 Nights
The Florestine Collection
Friday, August 27 2010
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THE FLORESTINE COLLECTION
Helen Hill and Paul Gailiunas
This Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina coming ashore. People who watched that storm said they’d never seen such violence in nature. Those who came back to New Orleans after the storm, would soon discover a kind of street violence that was well beyond anything the residents had ever seen.  Helen Hill was a victim of a random killing in January 2007. She was a filmmaker, killed late one night in her home by an intruder. Her husband Paul and young son survived that night, but fled the city. Now Paul is making good on a promise, to finish Helen’s last film, an animated movie about an elderly woman from New Orleans named Florestine.
- Find out more about Helen and the film
HOT 8 BRASS BAND
(Above) Dinerral Shavers (Below) Bennie Pete
Dinerral Shavers was the drummer and singer for the New Orleans-based Hot 8 Brass Band. He was also a victim of the post-Katrina violence. He was shot during what would turn out to be one of the most violent weeks in post-Katrina New Orleans. Dinerral’s band mate Bennie Pete remembers when the two met. Dinerral was just 12 years old -- a skinny little live wire with big glasses, eager to perform with the band. As the anniversary of Katrina approaches, Bennie talks about his friend Dinerral, the city that struggles to rise again, and the music that holds it all together.
- Listen to music from the Hot 8 Brass Band
NEXT CHAPTER: RUBY SLIPPERS
Amy Cyrex Sins
Amy Cyrex Sins was first on the program a year and a half after Katrina hit. Amy had lost her home, but written a new cookbook, Ruby Slippers, to replace recipes she lost in the flood waters. The recipe book has since won some awards - but the best update is that Amy is now settled into her rebuilt home.Â
- Check out Amy's cookbook Ruby Slippers
- Hear Amy's original conversation with Dick here
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