The Story from American Public Media - Archive

Give My Poor Heart Ease

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00

GIVE MY POOR HEART EASE

Bill Ferris photo by Dan Sears

Bill Ferris is one of this country's leading folklorists. His new work, Give My Poor Heart Ease, includes a book, a CD and a DVD. It is a collection of original recordings that Bill made in his native Mississippi.

As a boy, Bill began going to church with his family's housekeeper, Mary Gordon. He fell in love with the music and the drama of the church. As a teenager, he hit the road with recording equipment. Soon he was capturing music in lots of different African American communities. Bill soon discovered the blues, and the recordings he made in the 60's and 70's capture the roots of the Mississippi blues. Bill Ferris joins Dick Gordon to tell about his passion for the people and the stories behind the Mississippi blues.

See video clips of BB King and the men at The Parchman Penitentiary
Find out more about the one strand guitar
All archival recordings are from the CD/DVD included in the book
All music is from the CD included in the book. Musicians include: Going Down to the Station by 'Sonny Boy' Williams; Going Away Blues and Boogie Chillun by Lovey Williams; Lazarus and Oh, Rosie by Inmates at the Parchman State Penitentiary; There are Days by Southland Hummingbirds; You Shall Be Free by Mary Gordon; Highway 61 Blues and Cairo Blues by James 'Son' Thomas

Combat Bunny

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 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 in their teens and 20s. One day her convoy was approached by an Iraqi boy selling bunnies. Carolyn tried to dissuade one of her fellow soldiers from buying one, but 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, for short. Soon it became Carolyn's job to care for CIB. And before long she 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.

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. In an attempt to find an activity they could do together, 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.

A Dispute Over Solar

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00

A Dispute over solar

Doug and Karen Kitt

Karen and Doug Kitt live in a lovely Victorian apartment building in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco, one of the most progressive communities in the country. For the past four years, the Kitts have been saving up to go solar. They've recently installed almost 50 panels on their rooftop, which will provide power for all three flats in their building, and an electric car.

Two days before installation was completed, neighbors complained about the panels blocking their view. The Kitts' permit was pulled by the city, and a court date was scheduled. The Kitts talk to Dick Gordon about neighborhood politics, and the clash between scenic views and green energy in the city by the bay.

Read about the conflict in the San Francisco Examiner

Growing Up SOlar

George (top) and Linnea Lof

Larry Lof was 14 years old when he and his siblings moved into their newly-built home in Denver. His sister Linnea was 5. The home was an architectural showpiece, down to the two tall red tubes in the foyer. But the really unique thing about their home was that the tubes were filled with rocks that were heated by solar panels on the roof. It was the 1950s, and their father George was a leader in solar energy innovation.

Larry and Linnea talk to Dick about their father's legacy and what it meant to grow up at the beginning of the solar power age. They say just before he died last month, their father George was saying the time for solar energy may finally be here.

See a photo of George in his home.

GM's Electric Car

Bill Buhl

What's your story about alternative energy?

Teri Buhl wrote to us about her dad, Bill Buhl, who once built an electric car for General Motors. Bill says that electric car was very fast and very heavy. Eventually, GM canned the project. Bill was so disappointed he walked away from electric cars and has never gone back. This story originally aired on April 1, 2008.

See photos of the electric car Bill worked on

Since the Election

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00

Since the election

Curt Moody

It was a year ago this week when Americans went to the polls and elected Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States.

Curt Moody knows that the election of a black man to the highest office in the land is a pivotal next step for the country. Curt faced an uphill struggle trying to gain legitimacy as an architect. He didn't know any black architects when he was a kid, and he has faced specific examples of racism throughout his career. Early on, Curt was surprised to have to convince people even in his own community that a black architect could be every bit as good as a white one. But earlier this summer, Curt won the competition to design a major new museum: The International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C. He joins Dick Gordon to talk about race and architecture.

My Cairo Cousin

Margo Massoud Marver

Margo Massoud Marver has heard the series of stories we call "Your Story" and she decided to write about the one time in her life she will never forget. She was leaving war-torn Lebanon for a much needed vacation in Egypt when her grandmother gave her the name of a long lost cousin to try to find in Cairo - no number, just a name. Margo reluctantly took the name, and then unwittingly ended up at the office of the very cousin she had been asked to find. She joins Dick Gordon to tell her story.

See Margo in Cairo

A Difficult Defense

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00

A difficult defense

Steven Kay

The former Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic is now being tried at the International Criminal Tribunal at the Hague. Like Slobodan Milosevic before him, Karadzic is defending himself. Till now, he has boycotted the proceedings. At the time of Slobodan Milosevic's trial, attorney Steven Kay was appointed to the former leader's defense team. Between delays, lack of funding, and his client’s courtroom antics, the case was even more difficult than Steven imagined. But during the several year trial, Steven also came to know Milosevic in ways he never expected. Steven Kay talks with Dick Gordon about what really happens in a trial of this nature. This story originally aired on March 4, 2009.

hedging Bets with the Swine Flu

Edwin Kilbourne >> more photos

Each day we see new developments with the H1N1 flu vaccine: who has it, who doesn't, who wants the vaccine. 1976, the U.S. vowed to fight off a potential swine flu pandemic with an unprecedented vaccination campaign. Dr. Edwin Kilbourne developed the swine flu vaccine that year, and he was one of the people who advocated for a mass vaccination program. The pandemic never happened. What's more, doctors reported new cases of a rare illness that the public feared was associated with the vaccine. Dr. Kilbourne's name hit the papers and he defended his position repeatedly. Dr. Kilbourne, now 88, talks to Dick about the time in his life that he calls his "fifteen minutes of infamy" - and what he'd advise now that we're in the midst of another outbreak. This story originally aired on May 12, 2009.

Nurturing Monet's Garden

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:00:00

Nurturing Monet's Garden

Elizabeth Murray

Elizabeth Murray quit her dream job to volunteer in Monet's garden in Giverny, France. Her family thought she was mad to leave her cushy horticulture job in California on a verbal promise for free room and board. But Elizabeth says her urge to work there was unbreakable. She talks to Dick Gordon about what it meant to her to toil in Monet's garden, and how she came to more deeply appreciate the scenes of abundance in his art.

Visit Claude Monet's garden at Giverny
Learn more about Elizabeth
Find out more about Elizabeth's book, Monet's Passion
Music Heard in this program: Clair de Lune (Moonlight), and Girl with the Flaxen hair, by Claude Debussy

Brush with Fame - Wicked Witch of the West

Kathy Hopwood holds dear her memories of hanging out in Washington, D.C. one day with the Wicked Witch of the West, actress Margaret Hamilton. Kathy met the famous thespian unexpectedly and spent close to 24 hours with her.

They began their day by searching out collectible dolls and finished by eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at 3:00 a.m. in "Maggie's" hotel room. Kathy says she has never forgotten the lesson she learned from her new friend - trust.

Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West - more >>

See Kathy's signed photos from Margaret Hamilton
Kathy showed up for the interview in costume. See how she scared Dick
Listen to Dick's first conversation with Kathy, about her career teaching self-defense
Music heard in this story: Main Title and Delirious Escape /End Title from The Wizard of Oz , Soundtrack from the Motion Picture

Caring for Aunt Mary

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:00:00

Caring for Aunt Mary

Mary Bonamo >>More

Lots of people are caring for aging relatives and their own children. There's even a name for the caregivers: the sandwich generation. On a visit to Florida to visit her dad and his sister, Sue Perna realized her 98-year-old aunt needed more daily help, and that her dad couldn't look after her anymore. Sue's father asked her to take care of Aunt Mary, and sent her a check to build a bedroom onto her Vermont home. Two days after the check arrived, Sue's dad died, and the mother of four took in her 98-year-old aunt. Seven years later, Aunt Mary is 105 and still thriving. Sue talks with Dick about how that decision affected her family's life - the challenges and the unexpected benefits.

Music in this story: Young at Heart. One version performed by Dean Martin, one performed by Jonathan Miles Freeman for the album Journey to Piano Land.

The Pumpkin Chase

The Hutchins Family - larger >>

Zach and Alana Hutchins were brought together by a pumpkin.

It started days before Halloween of his freshman year in college, when Zach and some friends broke the rules and serenaded a girl after visiting hours. It was an adrenaline-pumping experience, and for some reason, when Zach was running off with his friends, he stole a pumpkin from the girls' dorm hallway.

The pumpkin belonged to Alana, who wasn't pleased when Zach returned it later, already carved. The two tell Dick their unlikely Halloween love story.

Music in this story: Great Pumpkin Waltz performed by Vince Guaraldi for the album Oh Good Grief

One Broken American Dream

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:00:00

ONE Broken American Dream

Zed Chang

Zed Chang is trying to figure out how his American dream got derailed. He moved to the U.S. from China in hopes of securing a bright future. Zed says he eventually realized his dream when he was offered a good job as an engineer at a major high tech company. Zed was there 9 years, but was laid off this summer. Zed and his wife love the U.S. Their twins were born here. But now the family faces a tough choice - stay in America in a rocky job market or return to China for work.

A boy and a balloon

Dan Nowell

Dan Nowell has been inundated with calls from around the country these past two weeks to comment on the international story of the boy who was thought to be stuck in a balloon.

In 1964, Dan was accidentally lifted 3,000 feet in the air by a hot air balloon. He was 11 years old, and with his buddies went to watch a balloon take off from the local high school football field. Dan was asked to hold a rope, but didn't hear the call to let go. Dan tells us Dick Gordon about that harrowing ride, and how he became a celebrity overnight.

Read an article about Dan Nowell in the San Francisco Chronicle

A Place to Belong

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:00:00

A Place to Belong

Seth Best

Last winter, Seth Best searched high and low for a job in Ann Arbor, but the Michigan economy had sunk too low. Seth ended up on the street and found a homeless shelter that would take him, but as a transgender man he ran into many challenges there. After a few months of encounters with drugged out shelter dwellers, Seth left the shelter and was back out on his own - in the middle of a Michigan winter.

Seth soon found a drug-free tent community of fellow homeless people that welcomed him. It wasn't an easy scenario. With few ways to stay warm in his tent, Seth almost didn't make it through the Michigan winter. But Seth tells Dick Gordon that finding this group helped safe his life - and gave him a sense of belonging he was yearning for.

Learn more about the tent city, Camp Take Notice

The Search for Codex Cardona

Arnold Bauer

Arnold Bauer has been hunting a cultural treasure, a Mexican "painted book," for decades.

Arnold first saw the Codex Cardona in 1985 in the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, where scholars from Stanford and the University of California were attempting to establish its authenticity. Allowed to gently lift a few pages of this 500-year-old treasure, Bauer was hooked. By 1986, the Codex had disappeared from public view. Bauer's curiosity about the Codex and its whereabouts led him down many forking paths, from California to Seville and Mexico City, to the Firestone Library in Princeton, to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and Christie's in New York, and it brought him into contact with an international cast of curators, agents, charlatans, and erudite book dealers. He joins Dick to tell about his passion for the Codex Cardona.

Learn more about the The Search for the Codex Cardona

Paying for Health in the U.S.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:00:00

Paying for Health in the U.S.

Anne Bajou

Anne Bajou has an unusual perspective on the U.S. health care system. She married a doctor and spent years as the administrator in a family practice, dealing with insurance claims. She also fought a serious illness - without insurance - and returned to her native France when things got really bad. Anne talks with Dick Gordon about the good and bad of what she's seen both here and overseas and why she's so convinced the U.S. health care system needs reform.

One Broke Doctor

Dr. Andrew Johnstone

Dr. Andrew Johnstone also sees the need for reform, but he thinks the best solution is the free market. He says he's practically broke because insurance companies are dictating what he can charge, what drugs he can prescribe, and what tests he should run. Sometimes, he says, rather than go through all the hoops insurance companies put in place, he'll prescribe a drug the company recommends, even if he knows a better drug is out there. Dr. Johnstone talks to Dick about what he's seen in his general practice and what he thinks would fix the problems.

Listening for Amelia

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:00:00

Listening for Amelia

Amelia Earhart

A new movie "Amelia" opens nationwide today. It honors the life and courage of Amelia Earhart. One little known part of Amelia's story is that of Betty Brown.

On a July afternoon in 1937, 15-year-old Betty Klenck Brown was listening to her family's shortwave radio. She was writing down lyrics to popular songs when she turned the dial and heard the unimaginable: "This is Amelia Earhart. This is Amelia Earhart." Betty jotted down everything she heard over 3 hours.

Betty Klenck Brown - see her then >>

No one took Betty seriously, until her diary finally made it into the hands of Ric Gillespie. Ric works for The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery. Ric has used the information in Betty's diary to lead a new search for the remains of Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan. Ric says their search is uncovering some tantalizing clues. This story originally aired June 6, 2007

See a diagram of Earhart evidence on the island of Nikumaroro
Find out more about Ric's organization, TIGHAR ("Tiger")
See Betty's notebook
See the only film known to exist of the takeoff
Music in this story: True Story of Amelia Earhart and Following Amelia performed by Plainsong for the album New Place Now

happy birthday Le Cirque

Sirio Maccioni

This week is the 35th anniversary of the landmark New York Restaurant Le Cirque. With all the turmoil on Wall Street, it is something to note that "the restaurant to the stars" is surviving.

Sirio Maccioni first opened the restaurant in 1974. In 2004, Sirio closed Le Cirque in order to re-open it in a new location. Filmmaker Andrew Rossi documented the closing and the re-opening - capturing scenes such as Sirio getting advice from Henry Kissinger on where to locate the new restaurant. Sirio and son Marco talk food and restaurant manners with Dick Gordon. A longer version of this story aired June 8, 2007

Find out more about the film
Find out more about the Maccionis' restaurant

Travel by Train

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:00:00

Travel by Train

Audrey Hunter - larger >>

Audrey Hunter was 17 the first time she hopped a train. The 23-year-old pre-nursing student now admits it's a dangerous thing to do, but for three years of her life, Audrey courted danger and traveled the country by train. She took odd jobs and "squatted" with other kids her age. New Orleans became the closest thing to a home, and after Katrina hit, Audrey headed back there after finishing her migrant farming job up north. She recalls helping clean up the city, the impact those images had on her, and she talks with Dick Gordon about how all of these travels showed her what she now wants to do with her life.

Music in this story: Freight Train, performed by Laura Veirs for the album Two Beers Veirs; Asleep in Nawlins performed by Dead Man Street Orchestra for the album Where's Corey; City of New Orleans performed by Arlo Guthrie

HERBIE HANCOCK AND A SYNTHESIZER

Pat Gleeson - with Herbie >>

We love to hear the stories of the one thing - or one person - that changed your life. Pat Gleeson was a 34-year-old 18th century lit professor at San Francisco State in the mid-60s. But one day, he decided music was where his heart was. Even though he had no formal musical training, he quit his job and started working in a studio, making "electronic" music with a Moog synthesizer. His life changed when jazz pianist Herbie Hancock came into the studio one day and listened to what Pat was doing. For the next couple of years, Pat found himself center stage with Herbie and at the center of a controversial time in jazz history. The two parted ways, but Pat went on to have a career in music - a career that he says began when Herbie Hancock walked into his studio.

Love and Race Relations

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:00:00

Love and race relations

Erin Aubry Kaplan and Alan Kaplan

Alan Kaplan teaches history at a public high school in Los Angeles. He talks a lot about race in America, the history of slavery and civil rights. Ten years ago, that talk got Alan into trouble. A group of black parents claimed he was a racist. They called Erin Aubry, a reporter who wrote about race issues, and she was eager to investigate. When she finally landed an interview with Alan, they talked for over five hours. Erin's article explored the complexity of race relations at the high school, but cleared Alan of racism charges. Soon after, the black reporter and white teacher were flirting with each other, and an unlikely romance began. Within a year and a half the two were married. As an interracial couple, Erin and Alan don't claim to have solved America's race issues - grappling with race relations is actually a big part of their marriage.

Read the LA Weekly article that brought them together, and a piece Erin wrote about their romance for Salon.com.

REHABBING FORECLOSED HOMES

Kevin Chandler is a former state legislator with a new job: he is rehabbing foreclosed homes. He works with a friend from high school - a furloughed pilot - to bring the homes up to code. He says that when he first walks into a home, there is almost always a wall punched in near the bedroom, testament to the stress the former owners were under. He has seen a lot of changes in his work, even in the last year. He used to work on inner city homes, borrowers impacted by adjustable rate mortgages. These days he is working regularly on suburban homes. It's a business that's booming these days. He joins Dick to talk about his silver lining to the recession.

Terror in Lahore - Again

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:00:00

TERROR IN LAHORE - AGAIN

Faizaan Peerzada

More than 25 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks in the Pakistan city of Lahore last week. Faizaan Peerzada runs an art center in Lahore. On the evening of the day when the attacks took place, Faizaan drove through the city to the BBC studios to speak with Dick Gordon. Faizaan says he was willing to take the risk because his arts organization depends on international support.

In fact, on the day of the bombing Faizaan was in his office, putting the final touches on a children’s festival, an international celebration of peace that was to have taken place the next day. He had coordinated 600 children on both sides of the Pakistan/India border to work on a mural together. That project has now been postponed, and the future is uncertain for a larger event scheduled for next month, The World Performing Arts Festival. Faizaan Peerzada joins Dick to discuss the state of the arts in his country, and what that could mean for the future there.

Listen to Faizaan's first interview with Dick Gordon

AHMED’S DIARY - Building a home in baghdad

Ahmed's self portrait

Ahmed Abdullah files another in his ongoing audio diaries. Ahmed is now back in Iraq, and he says Baghdad has changed dramatically. It's so dangerous he's considering schooling his two children at home. Ahmed also has some big personal news: his wife is expecting a baby.

Listen to more from Ahmed's Diary

An Original Roller Derby Girl

Judy Sowinski

The sport of roller derby is getting a lot of attention this fall with the new movie, Whip It. Roller derby has a proud history as an American sport that's been played since the 1920s. It's one of the few high-powered contacts sports that put women in the spotlight. Judy Sowinski, also known as the Polish Ace, coaches the Penn-Jersey She-Devils in Philadelphia. But Judy had her own storied career in roller derby in the 60's when she was known as the Polish Ace. She joins Dick to talk about the sport then and now.

See pictures of Judy in action
See Judy with her current team, the Penn-Jersey She-Devils.
Judy and arch-rival Judy Arnold then and now

Some Good News

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:00:00

Some Good News

Lisa Snell

Lisa Snell was laid off from her graphic design and layout job at a small newspaper last year. Lisa thought the owners would call her begging her to come back, but instead they called her with an offer: to buy the paper.

After a lot of deliberation, Lisa took the plunge and bought the small Native American Times. As the paper's only employee, she has been writer, photographer, graphic artist, advertising salesperson, and even newspaper delivery person on occasion. And she did all that during the worst recession and most dismal times for newspapers in memory. Lisa talks with Dick Gordon about how she kept the paper going and even watched it grow - and how she's found a deeper connection to Native American culture in the process.

Read the Native American Times
Learn more about Lisa

Joe and JT

Joe Sullivan

Joe Sullivan has been building houses since he got out of high school. He poured everything he had into his company and proudly gave it his own name: JT Sullivan Custom Builders. Like so many other builders, Joe took a hard hit in the housing crisis. He's now facing the loss of his business. And that's what prompted Joe to write in. After he heard Dick talk with Eric Gaskins, who has lost his fashion design company Eric Gaskins Design, Joe realized that part of why this hurt so much is that his name and his business are so closely intertwined.