- Archive

Combat Bunny

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00

Combat Bunny

Carolyn Schapper

Carolyn Schapper was a 30-something Army sergeant serving in Iraq, and the only woman in a unit full of men. One day her convoy was approached by an Iraqi boy selling bunnies. Carolyn was soon reluctantly holding a white rabbit on her lap as the convoy headed back inside the wire. The bunny was a hit as soon as it arrived at the base - the soldiers called it Combat Infantry Bunny, or CIB. Before long Carolyn realized the bunny was saving her from her loneliness and isolation. Carolyn talks with Dick Gordon about how her unlikely connection with a rabbit changed her experience of the war.This show originally aired November 5, 2009.

Meet CIB, Combat Infantry Bunny

RuNNING TOGETHER

Nancy & Tim West, larger >>

Nancy West felt like her son was growing away from her, immersing himself in video games and baseball, things that Nancy had little interest in. So Nancy, an avid runner, invited her then 8-year-old son to take on a challenge: see how many consecutive days they could run. Called streak running, Nancy and Tim started out with no goal in mind, and ended up running at least a mile per day for two years. Nancy talks to Dick about her mother-son experiment, and how it brought them closer together, which was the point all along. This show originally aired November 5, 2009.

Reuniting the Kinks

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00

REUNITING THE KINKS

movie poster for "Do It Again"

Geoff Edgers is a staff writer at the Boston Globe. A few years ago, he had a mid-life crisis and decided that he had to get the rock band The Kinks back together again. He reconnected with a high school buddy who’s now a famous filmmaker. And the two set out to film Geoff’s attempts to get the band to reunite. Trouble is, the two brothers who fronted the group more than 40 years ago can’t stand each other. Lead vocalist Ray Davies and lead guitar Dave Davies haven’t spoken in years. Geoff talks with Dick Gordon about his oddball quest, and the memorable moments he had with each Davies brother. The movie, Do It Again, is now on the film festival circuit.

Learn about the film
Read Geoff's blog
See pictures of Geoff with two of his favorite musicians

Surviving Obama

Nicole Anderson Cobb

Nicole Anderson Cobb is a history professor, born and raised on the south side of Chicago. Her family and friends are die-hard Obama fans, supporting the President come hell or high water – dissent or disapproval out of the question. Nicole has wrestled with this strange silence, and as an emerging playwright, turned her frustration into a one-woman show. On the heels of her first public performance, Nicole talks to Dick about her true feelings about the President, and what it was like to get up on stage to air them publicly in Obama’s old stomping grounds.

Health Care from the Inside

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:00:00

Health Care from the inside

As the debate over health care reform continues we take a look back at the long debate over the establishment of Medicare. Ted Marmor spent one unforgettable summer working as a Washington insider and helping to establish the Medicare rules before the landmark act was implemented in 1966. Though he went on to a successful academic Ivy League career, Ted always wanted to be back in government and making change from the inside. Ted talks with Dick Gordon about the lessons he learned in the 1960s and how those lessons can be applied to today.

Learn about Ted's book The Politics of Medicare

Ripped Off

Kristen Edsall

Kristen Edsall moved to Boston with high hopes. She landed in a hip neighborhood and she had a nice neighbor - or so it seemed. Kristen became friends with the neighbor - her daughter watched Kristen's cat when she was away. But the relationship turned sour when the neighbor asked to borrow Kristen's car. Kristen said no…and later found out the neighbor scammed her and keyed her car in revenge. Dick talks with Kristen about how easy it is to be conned, and not realize it, till much later.

Walking Away

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:00:00

WALKING AWAY

Steve Walsh

Arizona is one state that's really feeling the effects of the collapse in home prices. One in every 163 households got a foreclosure filing last month. Steve Walsh is one of the many who may soon see his home put up for auction. What makes Steve's story different is that he could have continued to pay his mortgage, but he is choosing not to. It's a choice that a growing number of people are considering. Steve decided that it just wasn't worth it anymore to keep making payments on a place that wasn't going to regain its lost value.

Hear Dick's interview with a couple who fought to save their home

DEAR STARBUCKS

Christine Ferrera

Marc Tasman was a guest on the program a few weeks ago. He took a Polaroid photograph of himself every day for ten years. Christine Ferrera wrote in response to that program. Christine is conducting an "endurance art project" of her own. She's been filling out and submitting the comment card at Starbucks - daily. She joins Dick Gordon to share some of her letters, and the coffee company's responses.

Special thanks to the storytelling program The Stoop for the audio from Christine's public readings of her letters. Listen to Christine's public reading here.

Avoiding Foreclosure

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:00:00

AVOIDING FORECLOSURE

Frank and Judy Viola, larger >>

The threat of foreclosure is not just a problem for Frank and Judy Viola - across the country, more than one in every 500 homeowners are facing it. The Obama administration has a new plan which could force banks and mortgage companies into short sales, meaning the home would be sold even if no one (the owners or the banks) gets their money back. Judy and Frank came close to that step. They were struggling to save their home of 22 years after Frank was injured and lost his job. They turned to a non-profit housing adviser to negotiate with their mortgage company. They talk with Dick Gordon how their children and community - and ultimately their lender - helped them avoid foreclosure.

Learn more about the foreclosure prevention program the Violas used
Hear another perspective on foreclosure

reconsidering the profession

David and Jill Alvarado

Despite efforts to stimulate the economy, unemployment still leaves millions without the means to support their families. And for many families, even having a good job isn't enough to make ends meet. Jill Alvarado is a first-year teacher in Las Vegas. She's fallen in love with her new job, but with her husband out of work, she's struggling to support her family of four on her current salary. Jill and her husband David talk with Dick about the financial and emotional adjustments they've had to make in the face of economic uncertainty.

Chilean Crush

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:00:00

Chilean Crush

Derek Mossman

Yesterday, Chileans paused in their clean-up efforts. Two things happened. There was a frightening series of aftershocks - the largest since the quake - and they happened to coincide with the swearing in of a new president. Derek Mossman is among those in Chile hoping things will soon get back to normal. Derek runs a small winery in the hills near Santiago called the Garage Wine Company. As he tells Dick Gordon, when he made his way to the vineyard after the quake, the spilled wine on the floor looked like blood. He and his wife Pilar Miranda lost four barrels, a fortune for a small business like theirs. But they're already seeing signs that they and others in Chile's growing boutique wine industry will bounce back.

Learn more about the Garage Wine Company
Learn more about the Movement of Independent Vintners
Music in this story: Gracias a la Vida by Gracia Parra for the album Violeta Parra: Las Ultimas Composiciones

THE ORIGINAL WASPS

Deanie Parrish

Earlier this week, the surviving members of the WASPs - Women's Air Force Service Pilots, were honored in Washington with the Congressional Gold Medal. Deanie Parrish was one of over 1,000 women who flew for the U.S. military during World War II. They helped train male pilots for combat, transported officers around the country, and allowed more men to serve overseas. They weren't recognized as veterans until decades after the war. Deanie has only recently begun to tell her story. She talks with Dick about her adventures in the air and the importance of remembering the past.

Learn more about the Wings Across America project
Read more about Deanie and see her World War II scrapbook
See Deanie then and now

Malagasy Homecoming

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:00

Malagasy Homecoming

Razia Said

Razia Said grew up in her grandmother's home in Madagascar, dancing and singing on the table as her relatives clapped. When she was 11, her mother came and took her away to live in West Africa with a French stepfather. Razia eventually went even further, to New York City, where she was singing R&B and jazz: she'd never felt so homesick. It wasn't until Razia had a baby that she began writing and singing in Malagasy, the language she grew up with. She ended up returning to Madagascar to record traditional music. The environmental devastation she saw there became the subject of her album.

Learn more about Razia and her music

Remembering Granny D

Doris "Granny D" Haddock

When she was 90, Doris "Granny D" Haddock walked across the country to lobby for campaign finance reform. She became an instant hero, but that walk was nothing compared to her 2004 run for the US Senate - at age 94. Granny D died earlier this week. She was 100 years old.

Today we remember "Granny D." On October 17, 2007, Dick Gordon talked with a still feisty "Granny", her son Jim and Marlo Poras, who made a film about her unlikely campaign called "Run Granny Run."

Learn about Granny D's autobiography
Find out more about the film Run, Granny, Run

Marriage and the Army

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:00:00

marriage and the army

Yvonne L'Abbe and Mark Harrell

Last week, Dick Gordon spoke with Courtney Cook. She had written the essay "How to Leave a Soldier." Courtney and her husband John decided, through letters, to end their marriage while John was deployed in Iraq. A lot of listeners wrote in about Courtney, some congratulating her for talking honestly about the stress of a military marriage, others accusing her of being unpatriotic or disloyal or generally a bad person.

Yvonne L'Abbe's letter stood out. She wrote that her husband had also left the military to be at home with her. And he also chose to go back to war, to Afghanistan. Yvonne and her husband Mark Harrell talk to Dick about how they got through their wartime estrangement, and what finally led Mark to work he finds almost as fulfilling as what he once did in the Army: making and selling high-end saws for woodworkers.

Learn more about Mark's saw company

THE PRICE OF GOLD

Debra Graham

Every time the price of gold heads towards $1000 an ounce, Debra Graham is reminded of the adventure she had back in the 80s. It all began when she was unemployed and took out an ad offering a reward for information leading to a job. She got much more than she bargained for, buying gold in small town hotel rooms for a generous salary paid in cash…no questions asked and no receipts required.

The Corner Office

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00

The Corner Office

Ping Fu

As a rule, female entrepreneurs are rare, especially in the high tech field. But CEO Ping Fu has experience breaking the rules. She was expelled from her native China in the 1980s for writing a paper about infanticide. She studied computer science in the U.S. and now runs a successful 3-D imaging company. Despite the rough economy, her firm, Geomagic, is still hiring employees. And, she was Michelle Obama's guest at this year's State of the Union Address. Dick Gordon talks with Ping about her journey out of China, and on to success in the U.S.

MY STRANGEST JOB - OCCULT BOOK EDITOR

Meg Bratsch

Meg Bratsch's ears perked up recently when she heard Dick's conversation with a "hooker booker." That conversation made Meg think about the strangest job she ever had. She was an out-of-work book editor when she read a job posting for a local publishing house. The only catch - the job was with a New Age and Occult publisher. Once Meg started work, the magic and witchcraft began. Meg tells Dick that despite the hexes and ghost jars, she managed to keep her sanity and even learn something about herself.

She's In Charge

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00

She's in charge

Lt. Col. Jody Nelson is on her second tour of duty in Afghanistan. She’s responsible for more than 750 troops and is working daily with Afghans in an attempt to bring security to her area. Col. Nelson talks to Dick Gordon about her work providing Afghans with economic viability, something she feels is key to creating a safe and secure environment. Her most recent project is helping to build a carpet factory, where Afghan men and women injured in the war can earn money - which hopefully will lessen the chances that they’ll accept day jobs from the Taliban instead.

See pictures of Lt. Col. Jody Nelson in Afghanistan

TEACHING DOCTORS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

There have been a number of attacks on civilians in the Afghan capital recently. One recent attack targeted doctors who were there to help impoverished kids. That news hit Dr. Randall Williams hard. He's made several trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to train doctors. He's faced danger during these volunteer trips, but he says there's nothing more rewarding than helping the brave doctors who stay in these regions, even though they have the money to leave.

Becoming Fluff Chance

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:00:00

Becoming Fluff ChancE

Eric Gaskins

This weekend at the Oscars, one of the best parts will be seeing what the stars are wearing. Eric Gaskins used to design for actresses, but last year he embraced his alter ego Fluff Chance and began blogging about the fashion world full-time.

When Eric started writing about the ups and downs of the fashion biz, he wanted to be brutally honest, so he invented a pseudonym, Fluff Chance, a hairless cat that raked the industry over the coals. He caught almost everyone's attention. In the meantime, the recession was sinking his label, Eric Gaskins Design. Eric decided to go out with a bang. He outed himself as Fluff Chance just days before his business closed doors. It was then he learned that Fluff's blog was getting more attention than Eric's gowns. Eric talks to Dick Gordon about clawing his way into the fashion world, what it's like to dress actresses on the red carpet, and how he transformed into fashionista blogger extraordinaire. This story originally aired on September 29, 2009.

Read Eric's blog
Look through Eric's design site
Music in this story: Fashion performed by The Lovemakers for the album The Lovemakers (Australian Edition)

The Cove

Mandy-Rae Cruickshank and Kirk Krack

One of the films in the running for an Academy Award this weekend is the documentary The Cove, which captures the slaughter of dolphins off the coast of Japan.

Free-diving wife and husband duo Mandy-Rae Cruickshank and Kirk Krack have always felt a connection to the water. But it wasn't until they got involved with the filming of the documentary that they became environmentalists. Mandy-Rae and Kirk talk with Dick about the dangers they faced diving into dark waters to capture footage of a dolphin net operation. And the dangers they faced on land from officials determined to continue their lucrative practices. This story originally aired on August 28, 2009.

Learn more about The Cove
Listen to the full interview here

Deep Undercover

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:00:00

DEEP UNDERCOVER

Most police departments have people who work undercover. Often that means little more than coming to work in civilian clothes. Not in Memphis. There's a well-known school there that trains officers to go deep undercover. Many graduates go on to work for the Memphis Police Department. The officers take on a completely new identity and go undercover for months or years gathering intelligence on drug dealers and other criminals. Detective April Leatherwood went undercover as a drug addict for nearly a year. April says she severed all ties with family. She was so deeply undercover as "Summer Smith," she began to question her real identity. April talks with Dick Gordon about the high price of catching the bad guys.

Read more about April

COUNTER CULTURE

Sammi DeAngelis has been a waitress for over 40 years. These days you'll find Sammi at the Omega Diner in North Brunswick, New Jersey. It is a classic Jersey diner, about 45 minutes from New York City. Sammi is one of the waitresses featured in a new book called Counter Culture that celebrates the work of America's coffee shop waitresses. She joins Dick to discuss the economy (tips are still down) - and what she loves about working in a diner.

Music in this story: Cheeseburger in Paradise performed by Pickin' On for the album Pickin' On Jimmy Buffet: A Bluegrass Tribute

This show originally aired on October 15, 2009.

A Long History of Quakes

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00

A long History of Quakes

Francisco Valenzuela

As the death toll from Chile's earthquake continues to rise, many are remembering the country's long history of devastating quakes. Francisco Valenzuela was a young boy when the ground shook in the city of Chillan and killed 30,000 people. More than 70 years later, Francisco still has nightmares about the experience. He talks with Dick Gordon about his memories of that time, and his confidence that, in time, the resilient soul of the Chilean people will prevail.

Saving UC

Zac Taylor

The California budget crisis is hitting the state's universities, hard. The University of California, once a model for public universities around the country, has been told to cut their budget by 20% next year, over $600 million. For weeks now faculty, staff, and students have been mobilizing, calling for a statewide March for Public Education on March 4th. Dick talks with Zac Taylor, a student at UC Berkeley who has struggled since day one to afford the school. Zac is from out of state, his parents lost their home in foreclosure, and now massive tuition hikes loom. Zac has been out among the protesters, and to save money, he's decided to graduate in three years.

A view from Santiago

Macarena Urzúa

The earthquake in Chile grabbed the headlines for much of this week. We wanted to get a sense of what it's like in the capital city there, so Dick connected with Macarena Urzúa. She's a graduate student living in Santiago. Macarena says that even though she saw a man rob someone in front of her, her hopes for her country are high.

Contaminated Well Water

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00

Contaminated Well Water

Ron and Kari Craton thought they were buying their dream home for retirement. It's in the small town of Fennville, Mich. They liked the rural setting. But soon after they moved in, their neighbor, Birds Eye Foods, came to the door. They asked to put a test well on the Cratons' property. Months later, it became clear their water was contaminated - the Cratons say the water stains clothing, damages pipes and kills wildlife. Birds Eye is providing them with bottled water to drink. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says it's testing the water and looking at solutions. The trouble is, Birds Eye Foods is the major employer in the area, and no one wants to see those jobs lost - and the Cratons say things are moving far too slowly.

THELMA & TAMIKA

Thelma Harris

Tamika is a teenager who grew up with drug-addicted parents and ended up in the foster care system in Atlanta. Thelma Harris is a retiree who lost her own mother as a young girl, and was looking for a way to help kids in trouble. When Thelma was assigned to work with Tamika, she knew she'd have to earn Tamika's trust. But the close friendship that developed was one that neither of them expected.

On Leaving a Soldier

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00

On Leaving a Soldier

Courtney Cook

It’s no secret that military service puts a great strain on marriages. In recent years, the divorce rates involving soldiers and Marines have spiked up, at the same time as civilian divorce rates are going down. Courtney Cook is a writer who recently tackled the taboo subject of leaving a soldier in wartime. Shortly after they met at Dartmouth College, Courtney and John were in love, pregnant, and married - in that order. Courtney can chart the major events of her twenties by her husband’s deployments - Haiti, Somalia, Korea and eventually Iraq in 2003. Before he left on that tour, Courtney told John it would probably mean the end of their marriage. They broke up through a series of letters while John was at war. As Courtney tells Dick Gordon, it’s an uncomfortable topic - but if we talked more about the effects of war on families, we might better understand the costs.

Read Courtney's article in Salon
Learn more about Courtney's work

Booming Business: Iowa Wine

Ron Mark

We’ve been doing an occasional series of stories on parts of the economy that are working. Ron Mark’s business fits right in. His wine business is booming these days - but he is not located in Napa, Calif. He’s in Iowa. When Ron was a teenager growing up on an Iowa farm, a friend told him he could add yeast to the grapes his parents grew and make wine. That made Ron popular at parties, but it didn’t seem like a career. After a trip to Italy, his passion grew. In the late 80s, he started planting grapes. The result is Summerset Winery, a booming vineyard and one of Iowa’s first since prohibition.

Learn more about Summerset Winery