Soundprint programming for 2010 Click here to remove program descriptions

December 2010

December 31	Mummers at the Door Long before Santa, Bing Crosby and the Mattel Toy Company stole the occasion, even before Christianity itself kidnapped it, the Winter Solstice was celebrated with seasonal ritual. One ancient solstice custom is Mummering. Still practiced annually in many parts of England and Ireland, this great-grand-daddy of Halloween masquerade died out in much of Canada and the United States centuries ago. In North America today it is a popular part of Christmas now only in Newfoundland and Pennsylvania. On any night during the twelve days of Christmas you may hear a pounding on your door and strange indrawn voices shouting outside: Any mummers allowed? Whether allowed or not, the mummers will tumble in, loud and masked and rowdy and possibly threatening, turning normal household decorum upside down. They may be friends or complete strangers, and unless you can guess their identities you cannot be sure who is behind the mask or whether their intentions are benign. They are certain to track muddy boots across your carpet, play music, demand drink and act outrageously. All over Newfoundland, these rough-and-tumble spirits of the ancient winter solstice have survived despite the religious and commercial hoopla of modern Christmas. Photos courtesy of Paul Turner A Little Before 'Tis Day There is a centuries old caroling tradition that was thought to be lost, but discovered to still exist in a tiny village in Newfoundland. The villagers sing the New Year's carol, brought from Europe with the first settlers, and handed down through the ages in the community's oral tradition. There is no written transcription of the melody or its origin. For generations villagers have walked from house to house, entered darkened kitchens after midnight, and sung the carol as occupants listened in the darkness. Producer Chris Brookes tracks down the village carolers and follows them on their rounds as they sing their medieval melodies.
December 24	Feet First In late August of 2009, an arsonist started a fire that burned more than 160,000 acres in the mountains around Los Angeles County. Known as the Station Fire, it was one of the largest fires in the community's history. Flames reached reported lengths of 300 to 400 feet, and it took more than six weeks to fully contain the blaze. The mountains have long been home to pockets of residents, from miners to nature lovers, but in recent decades neighborhoods like La Canada and Flintridge have boomed with large housing developments. Some residents in the fire zone knew and accepted the risks of living there, but many had no idea they were living so near to danger, or thought they could defend their property. Five months after the Station Fire, residents faced massive mudslides as historic storms washed the unanchored earth down the hills and into their homes. Despite all these troubles, many residents simply won't give up on their properties, and the lifestyle they symbolize. Producer Eve Troeh follows families who evacuate and still return, and the fight they have with public officials who want to shut the neighborhood down. After Katrina: Charmaine Neville's Story Born into the third generation of the legendary musical family, jazz singer Charmaine Neville has always called New Orleans ‘home’. And when Hurricane Katrina headed for the Gulf Coast, she stayed in New Orleans because she didn't have a car or money. She also didn't think Hurricane Katrina would be serious. In fact, she was trapped in water for five days, with great fear that she was going to die. But she survived. She witnessed dire events – death, rape, robbery. Overshadowing all of that, she witnessed a community working together to survive – neighbors, elderly people, children. This is Charmaine’s account of Hurricane Katrina, interwoven with her own music.
December 17	Changing Spaces: Hampden, Baltimore Producer Gemma Hooley profiles the neighborhood of Hampden, in Baltimore. It's a pop culture landscape of pink plastic flamingoes, beehive hairdos, vintage clothing, leopard-skin purses, and cat-eye sunglasses. Then there are the annual festivals like the HonFest competition, and Christmas lights that you'll swear are shining through your radio. Join us as we explore the underlying culture of this blue collar community. The Changing Face of Neighborhood Crime A look at how neighborhoods change as new people move in, and when urban dwellers go to the suburbs. Race and class are issues here, with perceptions that crime rates are rising, fuelled by preconceptions about race. The program profiles the town of Laurel, Maryland, a midway point between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, where Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot and paralyzed during his presidency campaign in 1972. The governor was there appealing to the mostly white constituents. However today Laurel is a town better characterized by its growing minority and ethnic populations, and also by crime. We investigate how the town has changed in the past 30 plus years, and whether crime is actually on the increase, or whether the perception of crime is what is changing. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.
December 10	Who needs libraries? As more and more information is available on-line, as Amazon rolls out new software that allows anyone to find any passage in any book, an important question becomes: Who needs libraries anymore? Why does anyone need four walls filled with paper between covers? Surprisingly, they still do and in this program Producer Richard Paul explores why; looking at how university libraries, school libraries and public libraries have adapted to the new information world. This program airs as part of our ongoing series on education and technology, and is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education. Sneak Out In the 1960's, in California, African American parents set up an elaborate ruse to get their children a better education. Restricted to poor schools in low income East Palo Alto, outside of San Francisco, parents looked across the freeway and devised a way to send their children to wealthy Palo Alto schools. A young mother, barely educated herself, organized the Sneak Out program. Working with white parents, the program was a modern day Underground Railroad. KQED FM's Kathy Baron paints a portrait of conducters and passengers, students and safe houses in the fight to end school segregation.
December 3	Educating Emily Twelve-year-old Emily lives with her mother in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia. Emily has cerebral palsy, and is one of three-quarters of a million children in the United States with developmental disabilities she has impaired hearing, very limited speech and didn't learn to walk until she went to school. Because of Emily's inability to communicate in conventional ways, educators and other professionals initially had little idea of what her mental capabilities were, nor how much she could learn. But advances in communication technology, plus the love and commitment of family, teachers, therapists and community, have meant that Emily is learning not only to communicate, but also to reach her full potential as a human being. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education. Teaching: The Next Generation In conversations about the use of technology in schools, what you'll often hear is: Once we have a cadre of young teachers and administrators who've grown up with technology, computer use in schools will take off. This program examines that premise by following a young teacher, Brian Mason (7th grade American History) as he begins his second year in the classroom. The program also explores Mr. Mason's approach to teaching by testing his theories about "what works" against the opinions of education experts. Producer Richard Paul brings us "Teaching: The Next Generation." This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

November 2010

November 26	The President's Mother In 2010 President Barack Obama returned to Indonesia, where he lived for 4 years as a child, and noted how much it had changed. His first experience of that country was when he relocated there with his mother, Ann Dunham, and her second husband. Dunham was an anthropologist, a micro-financier, and an advocate for improving women's lives in developing nations, especially Indonesia. She did this with incredible charm and charisma, qualities some see in the President. Producer Judith Kampfner spoke with Ann's friends and colleagues, along with Obama's half-sister Maya, to learn all about the President's Mother. Children and God The three major monotheistic religions operate from the assumption that: We have the truth, we have a privileged position, we are above others who do not believe as we do, and we are against others who do not believe as we do. This line of thinking creates strong communities of people with deep, abiding faith. But the dark side of these ideas can be seen in Srebrenica, the West Bank and the World Trade Center. The religious person learns concepts like "God" and "My Religion" at the same time as concepts like "Green" and "Family." By preadolescence, these ideas have been planted quite deeply. This program takes a look at the results by following three 12-year olds - an Orthodox Jew, a Muslim and an Evangelical Christian -- as they pursue their religious education. We hear the songs they sing, the prayers they chant, the lessons they read and how their formal and informal training drives them to believe that, because of their religion, they have a special and exclusive relationship with God.
November 19	Everest and Beyond A tribute to the extraordinary life and achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary. After his memorable conquest of Everest in 1953, this tall, craggy, modest man, added to his worldwide fame with expeditions to remote corners of the world and his activities serving the Sherpa people of Nepal. This New Zealand legend of the 20th century has lived life to the full – surviving personal tragedy as well as achieving historic triumphs and displaying tireless philanthropy. Produced by Jack Perkins of Radio New Zealand, ‘Everest And Beyond’ draws on the recollections of family, friends and colleagues of Sir Edmund Hillary and also uses audio from films shot in Nepal and India by documentary film maker Michael Dillon. In My Father's Dreams Rob Robins has always wanted to learn to fly, but with five kids to feed the former brewery worker’s budget would not stretch to lessons and running up the required number of flying hours to get his private pilot’s license. Now at 74, and Rob is at last living his dream. He’s learning to fly. Rob is fit. Until recently he’d regularly cycle up the winding hills that lie alongside his home town of Christchurch, and a few months ago, he walked the tough Milford Track through New Zealand's Southern Mountains. Yet, it’s taken him almost a year to pass the physical tests required before he can start flying lessons. There’s also another catch - Rob has been deaf since he was five. This means that he has to learn at an airfield that does not have radio controls. So in mid-March Rob and his wife Glenis, packed up their camper van and headed to an appointment with a vintage Tiger Moth bi-plane and the isolated Mandeville airfield, near Gore Rob’s son , Julian Robins , goes along with a microphone to observe his father's progress
November 12	IGY:Weather Report Until satellites came along, weather forecasting was either very local (it's raining) or very general (it's going to be warmer tomorrow). When satellites started sending pictures of the Earth and its atmosphere, a remarkable meteorologist named Harry Wexler, saw the opportunity for long range, global forecasting. In the late 1950's, as head of the U.S. Weather Bureau and chief U.S. scientist for the International Geophysical Year, Wexler not only had the vision, but the means to carry it out. Producer Barbara Bogaev looks at how Harry Wexler changed meteorology from weather forecasting to global climate research. Calling Mr. Marconi When Guglielmo Marconi installed a receiving station at St. Johns Newfoundland in November 1901 he probably never realized the full impact of his invention. Radio is now as remarkable as wallpaper. The people of St. Johns are determined to celebrate this most ubiquitous of mediums on the 100th anniversary of the transmission of the first signal across the Atlantic. Producer Chris Brookes from Battery Radio captures the town's enthusiasm as they move through the day.
November 5	Life at McMurdo The science station called McMurdo has been operating on the southern tip of the continent since 1956. It’s an important research center, attracting geologists, physicists, engineers, hydrologists, pilots, and just plain adventure-seekers. McMurdo Station has grown so much, in fact, that it’s really a town unto itself. It’s got a harbor, three airfields, a heliport, over a hundred buildings, and a bowling alley. After all, if people are going to work in such a bleak outpost, they need some recreation! About a thousand people work at McMurdo in the summer -- 200 in the dead of winter -- and the scientists depend on the non-scientists to keep the place humming. SOUNDPRINT went to McMurdo as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration Pole to Pole to cover a scientific project. While we were there, we met the diverse and colorful group of people who constitute LIFE AT MCMURDO. Gibtown Gibsonton, Florida is the retirement and off-season home for hundreds of carnival and circus show people. Called "Gibtown" by many of its residents, the town was at one time considered the oddest place is America. You could walk into any restaurant and find The World's Only Living Half Girl sipping coffee with her 8 foot 4 inch husband, Giant Al. They, along with The Lobster Man, Alligator Skin Man and the Monkey Girl, among others, made their living touring with carnival sideshows. The sideshows are mostly gone. We take a look back at sideshows through the lens of Gibtown.

October 2010

October 29	IGY: On The Ice “Could anything be more terrible than this silent, wind-swept immensity?” That’s a diary entry written by explorer Robert Falcon Scott, on his journey to Antarctica in 1905. It was, in the end, a disastrous journey. Scott wasn’t properly prepared. He had hauled along tractors, ponies, and even hay to feed the ponies, onto the ice. 50 years after Scott’s expedition, another group of explorers, much better prepared, also took a journey to Antarctica as part of a global scientific effort to investigate the continent, called the IGY -- the International Geophysical Year. Producer Barbara Bogaev takes a look at what it was like for those men to live and work on Scott’s “silent, windswept immensity”. Their discoveries lay the basis for what we now understand about the geology, geography and even ice of the Antarctic region. Southern Ocean Voyage Australian Broadcasting Corporation Producer Margot Foster takes us on a voyage aboard the Aurora Australis, Australia's research vessel. The 7-week trip into the Southern Ocean around Antarctica lets scientists sample plants, animals, and ocean water quality and composition, in an attempt to uncover how climate change is affecting, and will be affected by, the ecology of the Southern Ocean. Producer Sarah Castor-Perry talks to scientists after the trip, to try to decipher the data they collected.
October 22	Hags and Nightmares It's the middle of the night. You wake up with a start. There's a presence in the room watching you. You sense that it is evil. But you are paralyzed and powerless. It's your worst nightmare, or is it? This program looks at a strangely common condition called sleep paralysis in which people are dreaming while they are awake and are unable to move. Psychologist Al Cheyne explores what happens to the body during these episodes and tries to explain why the experience is so terrifying. Sleep paralysis appears to be the source of some of our most terrifying myths and legends, and it has inspired artists through the ages. Hags and Nightmares was produced by Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. Halloween: The Time Between Put on your scariest costume and go trick-or-treating again in this portrait of the personal--and cultural--meanings of Halloween. Derived from ancient beliefs about the the dangers of times of transition--the end of October marks the time between the summer and winter seasons,between earth's time of life and death--and this is the theme of the holiday. Incorporating Celtic rituals with Catholic ones, involving the dead coming back to possess the spirit of the living, and the living trying to hide or scare the spirits away, the modern American holiday has developed its own set of strange rituals. Hear a myriad of voices tell about their memories of Halloween--the tricks, but especially the treats.
October 15	Treasure on Earth Ghana’s charismatic church offers material wealth to its believers. This troubles Kofi Owusu of Joy FM, who while a committed believer in the church, is uncomfortable with the requests for the congregation to make offerings. What is preached is Prosperity Gospel is God will make you rich, but first you must give generously to your church. Some of the pastors in Ghana’s charismatic church are very wealthy. So what is going on here? Is there any control of how the pastor spends the money given to his church? Kofi seeks to learn why the church is emphasising material gain rather than spiritual growth. The resulting program is ‘Treasure on Earth’. This program was produced by Joy FM Ghana and is a part of our special Global Perspective series on belief. Feminism and the Veil Does the act of a Muslim woman wearing the veil affect how she is perceived as well as her family? Does modern feminism and the practice of wearing the hijab conflict with one another? Producer Safaa Faisal returns to her home country, Egypt, to find out why so many women are taking up the veil.
October 8	HPV - the Shy Virus The Human Papillomavirus - or HPV - is a common virus that touches billions of human beings in one way or another - from a tiny wart on the hand to invasive cancer. HPV is a major health threat worldwide, yet mostly harmless. The virus can "hide" for years from a person's immune system - with no apparent ill effects - then awaken and create deadly disease. This is the story of a virus that often doesn't act as scientists expect it to - a puzzling, paradoxical virus. HPV, the Shy Virus is part of the series "World of Viruses". The photograph showing the structure of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), is provided with permission by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/ Angie Fox, illustrator/ 2009. Beyond the Mirror A recent decision in the UK allowed the world’s first full facial transplants. The BBC's Kati Whitaker talks to three people about the impact of severe facial disfigurement and discovers what beliefs have helped them through their despair. The face is our first point of contact with the world. But what happens if you lose your face to injury or disease? Simon Weston suffered from burns in the Falklands war; Michele Simms had her face destroyed by a firework, and Diana Whybrew had half her face removed with a malignant tumor. Their belief in themselves has been challenged to its limits – down to a sense of who they are. This program was produced by the BBC World Service as part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.
October 1	Fatwas When Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989 calling for his death, the fatwa became synonymous in the West with extremism and intolerance. And yet for Muslims the fatwa is the bridge between the principles of their faith and modern life. Thousands of fatwas are issued every month in Egypt by religious leaders dealing with everything from divorce to buying a car on an instalment plan to breast-feeding in public. Presenter Eva Dadrian investigates how fatwas are helping Muslims negotiate their faith in their daily lives. Produced by Katy Hickman of the BBC. This program airs as part of the international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. Durga's Court It's on the verandah of a house in a remote village in West Bengal, India, where one court's sessions are held. Each litigating party comes with a group of supporters who try to outshout each other, and the judge – untrained in formal law – makes her rulings by a potent alchemy of mythology, common sense, a flamboyant personality and a very loud voice. Shabnam Ramaswamy is the only hope for hundreds of people who are too poor to grease palms to make India’s judiciary or police work for them and her court is often the only shot these people have at justice. In Durga’s Court, Dheera Sujan visits what must be one of the more unusual courts of justice in the world. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

September 2010

September 24	Ode to Josephine Josephine Fernandez was Dheera Sujan's 20-something, bow-legged, horsey faced Goan ayah, or nanny. She was about five and her sister two years younger when Josie came into their lives. She stayed with them until they immigrated to Australia a few years later. When they left India for good to start a new life, it was Josie whom they missed more than anything else they'd left behind. This program comes to us from Radio Netherlands and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. Upright Grand A document of the poignant moment in the life of Producer Tim Wilson's own mother, a daunting figure and a once-accomplished pianist, now diagnosed with Alzheimer's, when she is forced to leave her apartment, her pearls, and her 'upright grand' to enter 'a home.' Upright Grand turns into a searching examination of the often ambiguous relationship between a mother and son.
September 17	The Battlers This documentary takes us deep into the experience of Australia's urban poor. We accompany the volunteers of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, past the million dollar real estate, the mansions, swimming pools and harbor views of Sydney's eastern suburbs, into the homes and lives of the real battlers - people unable to afford to keep a roof over their heads, or feed and clothe their children. This program comes to us from Producer Sharon Davis of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. Our Daily Bread An aural picture of a Baltimore neighborhood soup kitchen created through the stories of the lives of several regular customers. We are surrounded by the sounds of the streets that are their homes, and we share a sense of hope, despite the empty routine of merely getting through another day with a stop at the soup kitchen.
September 10	The Lonely Funeral Every year up to twenty people die completely alone in Amsterdam. There are no friends or family to prepare their funeral or mourn over the body. Sometimes these people are illegal migrants, drug mules, or simply people who for one reason or another, cut-off all social contacts. Poet Frank Starik decided that these people also deserved to be eulogized. He contacted the Amsterdam city services and asked if he could take part in these forgotten funerals. Producer Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands Worldwide brings us the story of the Lonely Funeral. It airs as part of the international collaboration, Global Perspectives: At The Edge. Longhair Leung Kwok Hung, or “Longhair” as he is better known, has been an active Marxist for forty years. His political activism has led him to be jailed on several occasions and yet in recent years he’s found enough support in traditionally conservative Hong Kong to have been elected as Legislator, not just once but twice, the second time increasing his votes. His headline grabbing antics, such as throwing bananas and breaking rice bowls in the Legislative Council, are both frowned upon and cheered by the public and his uncompromising stance on everything, from what he wears (Che Guevara t-shirts) to what he believes, is very far from the norm for a Hong Kong politician, yet not only does his popularity grow, but his campaigns are slowly but surely making a difference. In “Longhair” Radio Television Hong Kong’s Sarah Passmore finds out more about the man who has won the hearts of Hong Kong.
September 3	Middle C Tristan Whiston performed for the first time as a solo soprano at the tender age of six. Years of hard work led to an accomplished singing career. But two years ago, Tristan decided to give up the most precious thing a singer has - the voice. As part of our Global Perspective Series At The Edge, CBC producer Carma Jolly brings us Tristan's audio diary of the transition from female to male. Here and Now New Zealand is renowned for its sweeping natural landscape, safe, clean-green environment, and ready access to adventure sports and tourism. But how does the landscape influence the character and mentality of those who inhabit it? With a population of around 4.1 million, at least 1 in 20 young New Zealanders seek opportunities overseas every year to gain experiences that don’t exist back home. Howard Sly was one of those young people who left New Zealand wanting something more. What he would experience was far beyond anything he could ever imagine. Meanwhile, Cheyne Berry’s love of sports and the outdoors keeps him in New Zealand, but it’s a swim on a summer’s day that brings his life crashing to a halt. Produced by Sonia Yee of Radio New Zealand as part of our special international collaboration Global Perspectives: At The Edge, Here and Now explores the journeys of two New Zealanders whose carefree Kiwi attitudes lead to life-changing experiences.

August 2010

August 27	Living in Limbo Almost weekly there are stories in the British press about backlogs in the UK asylum system, and the pressure this puts on asylum seekers. No-one in the UK is more marginalised than asylum seekers who have not had their applications accepted, but not been asked to go, sometimes for as long as 8 years. Jenny Cuffe meets Collen, who thinks his 4 years of asylum claims and appeals may be at an end, but is too frightened to return to Zimbabwe, and Thomas, who is from Eritrea, who doesn’t know yet if he can stay in the UK after originally claiming asylum as a teenager 7 years ago. In Living in Limbo, Jenny Cuffe investigates the impact of this long wait on their lives, when you don’t know for so long whether you are staying or going. At the Edge in Soweto On the South Western edge of Johannesburg, densely populated Soweto is where Freddy and Sibusiso, both young men in their 20s, live and are looking for work. Unemployment among young people there is over 40%, higher than the national average in South Africa and rising. Hardly surprising then that many of them have become ‘discouraged jobseekers’. They feel that living in Soweto is in itself counted against them. For SAFM radio station in Johannesburg, presenter Anza Dali, who was brought up in Soweto and is looking for a job too, finds out how Freddy and Sibusiso are coping with long-term unemployment and the constant temptation to make a ‘fast buck’ rather than an honest buck.
August 20	Feet First In late August of 2009, an arsonist started a fire that burned more than 160,000 acres in the mountains around Los Angeles County. Known as the Station Fire, it was one of the largest fires in the community's history. Flames reached reported lengths of 300 to 400 feet, and it took more than six weeks to fully contain the blaze. The mountains have long been home to pockets of residents, from miners to nature lovers, but in recent decades neighborhoods like La Canada and Flintridge have boomed with large housing developments. Some residents in the fire zone knew and accepted the risks of living there, but many had no idea they were living so near to danger, or thought they could defend their property. Five months after the Station Fire, residents faced massive mudslides as historic storms washed the unanchored earth down the hills and into their homes. Despite all these troubles, many residents simply won't give up on their properties, and the lifestyle they symbolize. Producer Eve Troeh follows families who evacuate and still return, and the fight they have with public officials who want to shut the neighborhood down. Wedge Island A few hundred kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia...on a rugged and secluded stretch of coastline...is perched a settlement that time forgot. Its shacks are delightfully ramshackle; makeshift creations fashioned out of corrugated iron and furnished with mismatched hand-me-downs. There’s no electricity, no running water, and, until recently, it was accessible only by 4WD. It’s a holiday in the finest of Australian beach shack traditions. But it’s all about to end. Put bluntly, the residents of Wedge Island are squatters. And now, despite lifeline after lifeline, the state’s biggest shack community is about to become victim to the government’s squatter removal policy that has already seen more than 600 shacks demolished. But the shackies are shaping up for the fight of their lives. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Kirsti Melville took the long and bumpy trek north to Wedge Island.
August 13	Paris: Heat Wave In August 2003, European suffered the worst heat wave in at least 500 years. Many weather records were set that month. Great Britain reported its hottest day ever. Forest fires raged in much of southern Europe, themselves causing deaths. Crops withered and trees died. One of the cities hit hardest was Paris. Although the high heat started in early August, it was nearly mid-month, after hundreds of people had been killed, before the French government realized that the heat wave had turned deadly in Paris. Before the heat wave was over, the city’s morgues had to requisition refrigerator trucks just to hold the excessive number of dead bodies. More than 1,000 Parisians had died of dehydration, heat stroke and other ailments caused by high heat, a disproportionate fraction of which were single, elderly women. Producer Dan Grossman tells us the story of the Paris Heat Wave, and the signs that other parts of the world, including parts of the U.S. Midwest, could soon face significantly increased climate extremes. Cities of the Plain Urban forests in desert settings -- no, this is not about transferring Central Park to L.A. Arid environments have their own "green" cover, and cities destroy and ignore that vegetation to their peril. Veteran producer Bill Drummond travels out West from mountains to shore to ask: when are trees beneficial and when are they not? This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.
August 6	The Urban Forest Healing Center From the time he wrote ‘Walden – Life in the Woods’ philosopher Henry David Thoreau understood the restorative value of trees to the human soul. More than 100 years later researchers are discovering that a pleasurable walk among trees and green space can calm an active child, refresh a tired mind, and make all of us feel better. The view of a tree outside a window can make an office worker more productive, a hospital stay shorter, or a prison sentence more bearable. Even in the most deprived inner city, trees and green space around buildings reduce crime and violence as well as promote a sense of community and well-being. In our series, Tales from Urban Forests, Jean Snedegar explores the power of trees to restore us, body and mind. Watershed 263 In urban areas across the country, trees and grass have been replaced with pavement and concrete. Storm water runoff from these paved surfaces in cities can be saturated with harmful substances such as gasoline, oil and trash. We head to the inner city of Baltimore where partners have joined forces to clean up the runoff flowing into the harbor and into the Chesapeake Bay, and at the same time to improve the quality of life for the residents living there.

July 2010

July 30	Climate Change College In Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost city in the U.S., a group of people are learning firsthand about climate change. They are face to face with it. Some of them live there. Some are only visiting, and hoping to take their newfound knowledge back to the countries from which they came. They see climate change as a big problem, but not an intractable one. Radio Deutsche-Welle Producer Irene Quaille visited their Climate Change College as part of Pole to Pole, our international media celebration of the International Polar Year. Fire and Ice The Eskimos in Alaska have a legend that they call "The year of no summer". One year, summer never came, winter just continued. No one could fish or hunt. And nothing could grow. The story is a creation myth. A few survivors were left to form what is now the Kauwerak tribe. Scientists are now looking at the legend as another piece of evidence for what they believe was a major climate shift in the Northern Hemisphere. Producer Dan Grossman takes on a journey to discover the truth behind the legend. This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspective: Nature in the Balance. Click on the following link to find out more. Global Perspective
July 23	Meltdown Moving at glacier pace once meant to move hardly at all. No longer. Scientists in Greenland and in Peru are watching glaciers rapidly move forward or retreat, and even disappear at historic rates. Producer Dan Grossman follows several teams as they record the meltdown of some of the world's largestt glaciers. When the Snow Melts on Svalbard Snowy peaks, untouched wilderness as far as the eye can see -- the Svalbard archipelago, at 79° North, is a focal point of the world's Arctic research. Polar regions play a key role in regulating our climate. The are also the most sensitive to change. Just 750 miles from the North Pole, scientists from all over the world monitor what's happening to our climate and how changes affect life on our planet. Join Radio Deutsche-Welle producer Irene Quaile, as she tours Koldewey Station in the Svalbard archipelago as part of Pole to Pole, an international media celebration of the International Polar Year, produced with support from the National Science Foundation.
July 16	Mixed Blessings Elsie Tu came to Hong Kong from Britain in the 1950s as a married missionary. She fell in love with one of her Chinese converts, controversially divorced her husband and married her Chinese love. She later became a very vocal activist in Hong Kong politics, and wrote a book about her relationship called "Shouting at the Mountain". In Mixed Blessings, Producers Sarah Passmore and Clarence Yang from Radio Television Hong Kong compare Elsie's experiences with modern East/West relationships, and they take a look at why, in the 21st century, Asian men marrying Western women is still relatively rare. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series. The United States of Dating A producer's quest for real stories of how people meet each other in the current dating environment, and how they negotiate their dating relationships. Along the way, we'll hear from matchmakers, relationship experts and common-or-garden daters. We'll explore how the written word still rules romance and dating etiquette -- from staccato text-message shorthand to classified ads, postcards and email. We'll meet the Dating Coach who advises clients on putting their best face forward; New York City's own cupid cab driver who tries his hand at amateur matchmaking in Manhattan gridlock; a political activist who runs a booming online dating service for like-minded lefties (motto: "take action, get action"); and a woman who blogs her private dating activities in a public online diary... with some surprising results. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.
July 9	Bean Jumping This is the story of the immigration experience of two sister communities: one in the Ecuadorian Mountains, and the other in Suffolk County, on Long Island in New York. A 2008 hate-crime killing brought to light a pattern of abuse, persecution, and violence that shocked the residents of Patchogue, a quiet coastal suburban "Anytown, USA" -- but maybe didn't shock the residents of the community in the shadows, or their family members 3000 miles away. Producer Charles Lane reported on and covered the local story, and now brings us the international story. He found that the meaning of "American Dream" might be changing, and he discovered a Latino Dream. Running with Atalanta Ten years ago, two young women were studying law – one in The Netherlands and the other in Latvia. Years later their lives would intersect. Ruth Hopkins, researching a European Commission report on the trafficking of women, interviewed Anna Ziverte – a victim who had been forced to work as a prostitute in Rotterdam. The number of women trafficked and exploited in the sex trade annually in Europe is estimated to be as high as 700,000. Nearly a third are trafficked from Eastern and Central European countries. Ziverte escaped her traffickers only to find herself entangled in another nightmare – a Dutch system where victims are perceived as illegal immigrants. Taking matters into her own hands, she founded a support group called Atalantas, inspired by the swift-footed goddess from Greek mythology who could outrun any man. Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands follows the journey of two women trying to find the light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.
July 2	The Busker and the Diva Margaret Leng Tan and James Graseck were boyfriend and girlfriend while they both attended Julliard in 1970. Margaret was offered a place by a Juilliard scout who came to her native Singapore. At the age of 16, she became a piano major in New York. She loved New York, but James who came from Long Island, found it dirty - hating the streets and the noise. That hasn’t stopped him in his chosen line of work -- for the last 20 years he’s been a busker - a street musician, well known in the subway system. Margaret meanwhile has had a long career as an unconventional pianist as a protege of John Cage and in the words of the New York Times "a diva of the toy piano". While at Julliard, Margaret and James drifted apart because they were studying different instruments and had different courses, and they lost touch when they graduated. Their very different musical lives took them in different directions but recently, their paths crossed again, in the bowels of Grand Central station. Their meeting quickly developed once again into an intimate relationship, physically, emotionally and professionally. Producer Judith Kampfner traces their reunion and the obstacles to their relationship, which lie more in their approaches to music making and their polarized positions in the musical spectrum than their bond as individuals. This is the story of both their personal romance, and their professional lives. Kinshasa Story Head off to one of the great music capitals of the world, Kinshasa, on the banks of the mighty Congo River in Central West Africa. This Kinshasa Story is all about music and music makers - from well established stars, to hopeful wannabes with nothing more than a set of empty cans as drums. Our guide is Melbourne musician and some time disc jockey, Miriam Abud. This program comes to us from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

June 2010

June 25	Vietnam Blues Vince Gabriel is a Maine-based blues musician who's written an album of songs chronicling his experience in the Vietnam War. In this program, Vince takes listeners chronologically through his time in Vietnam, with his music leading us into stories about getting drafted, arriving in the jungle, what combat was like, the loss of his closest friend, the relief of finally returning home, and his reflections on the legacy of Vietnam today. Vince's stories give listeners an almost visceral sense of what it's like for those on the front lines. Though it is an account of a war that took place years ago, Vince's observations feel disturbingly immediate and poignant. Producer Christina Antolini brings us the "Vietnam Blues." D-Day Diaries June 6th, 1944 dawned unlike any other day in history. Three million Allied soldiers prepared for months to cross the English Channel and liberate Europe. All along the coast of Normandy machine guns, mines, booby traps and obstacles awaited the invading army. Thousands lost their lives that day. Many more were wounded. The story of D-Day is best told in the words of the soldiers who lived through the landing, words gathered from letters, books and diaries. These are their memories.
June 18	Longhair Leung Kwok Hung, or “Longhair” as he is better known, has been an active Marxist for forty years. His political activism has led him to be jailed on several occasions and yet in recent years he’s found enough support in traditionally conservative Hong Kong to have been elected as Legislator, not just once but twice, the second time increasing his votes. His headline grabbing antics, such as throwing bananas and breaking rice bowls in the Legislative Council, are both frowned upon and cheered by the public and his uncompromising stance on everything, from what he wears (Che Guevara t-shirts) to what he believes, is very far from the norm for a Hong Kong politician, yet not only does his popularity grow, but his campaigns are slowly but surely making a difference. In “Longhair” Radio Television Hong Kong’s Sarah Passmore finds out more about the man who has won the hearts of Hong Kong. Keysville, GA: Old Dreams, New South On January 4, 1988, 63-year-old Emma Gresham became the first black mayor - the first mayor in half a century- of Keysville, Georgia. She won the election over her opponent by 10 votes. In the town courthouse, on a trailer mounted on cinderblocks, a banner reads: Justice Knows No Boundaries. It's a constant reminder of both the town's troubled history and the dreams the mayor has for the town. In this small, mostly black, southern town, Emma Gresham employed education, patience, and political action, along with her famous biscuits, to realize her dream of a better life for her constituents. Producer Dan Collison takes us to Keysville for a look at the struggle for survival in the town that time forgot.
June 11	Birthday Suit Janet Jackson reveals a breast and there is an uproar, a woman breast feeds in a mall and is thrown out, a child of 4 is naked on a beach and the life guard tells him to put his swimsuit on. Around the world there is topless bathing but it is rare in this country. Yet one in four Americans admit to having skinny dipped. Are we hypocrites? We obviously secretly like swimming nude so why don't we do it all the time? The Internaional Naturist Federation says that nudism or naturism is " A way of life in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of communal nudity with the intent of encouraging self respect, respect for other and the environment". I don't know that going naked makes you respect the environment more but surely it must lead to a greater appreciation of the different shapes and sizes bodies come in and that might conceivably make us less body conscious and phobic about fat and imperfections. Naturist camps are almost always in a mixed social setting. Detractors say that naturist is a code for sex but perhaps men and women start to notice their differences less? And what about naked children? Naturists warmly encourage children. Would being at one of these camps cause psychological harm? And then how hygenic really are these places? At the end of summer, before the chill winds blow, reporter Judith Kampfner visits a naturist camp and yes, complies with the no clothes rule. And that's no clothes when dancing, horsebackriding, kayaking, or in the canteen. It's not something that this reporter relishes. She is short and is used to her everyday weapons of stacked heels. Like most women she uses clother to camoflage faults. Baring all may mean feeling vulnerable and stupid. But the nudists who come year after year find it liberating, relaxing, democratic, wonderfully cheap, wildly romantic. Perhaps our reporter will become comfortable in her birthday suit. Now why do we say 'suit'? Summer Triptych Summer afternoon. The two most beautiful words in the English language, according to Henry James. While away the afternoon at a ballgame. Take your kid to the state fair. Go for a ride on a Ferris wheel. It's the one time of year when nature sets out to amuse us. Of course, it's an illusion. You need only be stuck behind a desk and looking out the office window to get a reality check. But if summer is an illusion, at least it's a grand illusion, and well worth the trouble. Producers David Isay, Dan Collison, and Neenah Ellis take us back stage behind the sets, props, facades, carnivals, games and country fairs. We're going to meet the technicians of summer, the people who work to make it happen.
June 4	Every Tree Tells A Story Urban forests provide economic, social and cultural value to neighborhoods and cities. But what are the needs and expectations different ethnic and racial groups have for green space? And how does understanding those needs draw tighter communities? Producer Judith Kampfner compares the cities of New York and London, and the approach new and old ethnic racial and immigrant groups have towards green space. This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests. Photo of Max's cement square from the revitalized New York City park. The Music Boat Man Reinier Sijpkens travels around the world making magic and music for children. At home in the Netherlands, he haunts the canals of Amsterdam playing barrel organ, trumpet and conch. Producer Dheera Sujan meets with this illusive magical character who says his day job is "developing his soul."

May 2010

May 28	Fatwas When Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989 calling for his death, the fatwa became synonymous in the West with extremism and intolerance. And yet for Muslims the fatwa is the bridge between the principles of their faith and modern life. Thousands of fatwas are issued every month in Egypt by religious leaders dealing with everything from divorce to buying a car on an instalment plan to breast-feeding in public. Presenter Eva Dadrian investigates how fatwas are helping Muslims negotiate their faith in their daily lives. Produced by Katy Hickman of the BBC. This program airs as part of the international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. Durga's Court It's on the verandah of a house in a remote village in West Bengal, India, where one court's sessions are held. Each litigating party comes with a group of supporters who try to outshout each other, and the judge – untrained in formal law – makes her rulings by a potent alchemy of mythology, common sense, a flamboyant personality and a very loud voice. Shabnam Ramaswamy is the only hope for hundreds of people who are too poor to grease palms to make India’s judiciary or police work for them and her court is often the only shot these people have at justice. In Durga’s Court, Dheera Sujan visits what must be one of the more unusual courts of justice in the world. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.
May 21	Gut Reaction There is a disease you've probably never heard of, but chances are you have it or someone you know or love has it and doesn't know. Doctors now believe that one in 133 Americans have Celiac Disease, though only one in 4,700 gets diagnosed. Celiac Disease is an intestinal disorder where, when you eat wheat, barley or rye, your immune system attacks the food as if it were a virus. The results are devastating and painful. Celiac is more common than diabetes and hypertension, but because the means to diagnose it are only two or three years old, the disease is practically unknown in this country -- both to sufferers and their doctors. Producer Richard Paul presents the story of how Celiac Disease played itself out in the lives of 10 people. Sunshine and Darkness Xeroderma Pigmentosum is a genetic mutation with a number of implications. It can be life threatening. It diminishes the body's resistance to UV waves. People with XP can't tolerate sunlight. The older they get, the worse the problem becomes. People with XP have to be completely covered up before they go out, and even inside they live with curtains drawn. The disorder also creates a bubble around the person with XP, their family and friends. Often isolated, even in school, their connection to the world is tenuous. Today, that isolation is breaking down. Producer Marti Covington reports on how schools, families and technology are helping people with this rare disorder (only 125 people in the United States have it) connect with the world. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.
May 14	Remains of the Sword: Armenian Orphans Ninety years ago, up to 1.5 million Armenians were deported and died at the hands of the Ottoman rulers of Turkey. But it is believed that Turkish families saved thousands of orphaned Armenian children secretly. Some children who had been adopted were then forcibly taken away from their Turkish families by foreign troops and sent to orphanages in Europe. Until now, the very existence of the children has remained largely an untold story, buried along with those who died between 1915 and 1916. But their family members are slowly uncovering the stories of those Armenian orphans. The issue still remains extremely contentious, and the story of Armenian orphans is now becoming one of most sensitive and emotionally charged issues in Turkish society. Producer Dorian Jones exposes how descendants of Armenian orphans are discovering their family histories. The Long Road Home With no choice other than to leave their home, Chandra and Roy fled to India from Pakistan. They left behind their friends, jobs, and their house. Living in India for the past decade, producer Shivani Sharma takes them back to Pakistan to see if there's anything left coming home to.
May 7	Wedge Island A few hundred kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia...on a rugged and secluded stretch of coastline...is perched a settlement that time forgot. Its shacks are delightfully ramshackle; makeshift creations fashioned out of corrugated iron and furnished with mismatched hand-me-downs. There’s no electricity, no running water, and, until recently, it was accessible only by 4WD. It’s a holiday in the finest of Australian beach shack traditions. But it’s all about to end. Put bluntly, the residents of Wedge Island are squatters. And now, despite lifeline after lifeline, the state’s biggest shack community is about to become victim to the government’s squatter removal policy that has already seen more than 600 shacks demolished. But the shackies are shaping up for the fight of their lives. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Kirsti Melville took the long and bumpy trek north to Wedge Island. Escape To New Zealand Warnings of global warming and climate instability are widespread in 2008. Issues relating to the human influences on the global climate and the imminent likelihood of rising sea levels, the death of ancient forests, droughts, widespread agricultural failure, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and the West Antarctic have set many on a path to find ways to escape these changes. For some, the dire planetary predictions have influenced them to become active environmental refugees, seeking a home on some part of the planet where the global changes can, perhaps, be weathered. In Escape to New Zealand, Radio NZ's Halina Ogonowska-Coates talks to four environmental refugees about their experiences in dealing with the issues facing our planet. This program airs as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

April 2010

April 30	The Intriguing Theremin People fainted when the Theremin was first performed onstage in Paris in 1928. Its haunting sound resembled voices from beyond the grave. It was the first electronic instrument, and at that time, the only one which is played without actually touching it. Its ingenious maker, the charismatic Russian Leon Theremin, was in many ways as mysterious as his invention. Producer Michele Ernsting from Radio Netherlands brings us The Intriguing Theremin. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. Van Gogh and Gauguin Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were two of the greatest painters of the late 19th century. A brief but intense collaboration occurred between the two artists. They met in Paris in the autumn of 1887. Each man tried to learn from the other and admired the other's work. Their collaboration was marked at first by mutual support and dialogue, but there was also competition and friction. The men differed sharply in their views on art: Gauguin favored working from memory and allowing abstract mental processes to shape his images, while Vincent held an unshakeable reverence for the physical reality of the observable world of models and Nature. This is reflected in the very different techniques each artist used. But toward the end of 1888, a series of violent incidents around Christmas Eve brought a dramatic end to their collaboration. This is the story of their personal and professional relationship.
April 23	Living in Limbo Almost weekly there are stories in the British press about backlogs in the UK asylum system, and the pressure this puts on asylum seekers. No-one in the UK is more marginalised than asylum seekers who have not had their applications accepted, but not been asked to go, sometimes for as long as 8 years. Jenny Cuffe meets Collen, who thinks his 4 years of asylum claims and appeals may be at an end, but is too frightened to return to Zimbabwe, and Thomas, who is from Eritrea, who doesn’t know yet if he can stay in the UK after originally claiming asylum as a teenager 7 years ago. In Living in Limbo, Jenny Cuffe investigates the impact of this long wait on their lives, when you don’t know for so long whether you are staying or going. The Grass is Greener Ghana is an African country that is comparatively stable politically and economically, and yet large numbers of the population want to escape overseas to where they think ‘The Grass is Greener’. Ghanaians come back from working overseas and build grand houses and flaunt their wealth with new cars and the latest mobile phones, which makes the poor Ghanaians at home long to get a slice of a better paid job than they can hope for at home. Presenter Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, of Joy FM radio station in Accra, has had his own taste of study and menial work in the UK, and is now content to be back in Ghana. But he meets young people who are still desperate to travel outside the country. This program airs as part of the special international collaboration, Global Perspectives:Escape.
April 16	Here and Now New Zealand is renowned for its sweeping natural landscape, safe, clean-green environment, and ready access to adventure sports and tourism. But how does the landscape influence the character and mentality of those who inhabit it? With a population of around 4.1 million, at least 1 in 20 young New Zealanders seek opportunities overseas every year to gain experiences that don’t exist back home. Howard Sly was one of those young people who left New Zealand wanting something more. What he would experience was far beyond anything he could ever imagine. Meanwhile, Cheyne Berry’s love of sports and the outdoors keeps him in New Zealand, but it’s a swim on a summer’s day that brings his life crashing to a halt. Produced by Sonia Yee of Radio New Zealand as part of our special international collaboration Global Perspectives: At The Edge, Here and Now explores the journeys of two New Zealanders whose carefree Kiwi attitudes lead to life-changing experiences. Survivor In 1942 a US Navy destroyer was shipwrecked off Newfoundland. Of the few who survived, one man, Lanier Phillips, was black. The rescuers, never having seen a black man before, tried to scrub his skin clean and white. This is a story about growing up with fear in segregated Georgia, enlisting in a segregated navy, facing death in the icy North Atlantic, and a rescue which galvanized a man to fight racial discrimination.
April 9	At the Edge in Soweto On the South Western edge of Johannesburg, densely populated Soweto is where Freddy and Sibusiso, both young men in their 20s, live and are looking for work. Unemployment among young people there is over 40%, higher than the national average in South Africa and rising. Hardly surprising then that many of them have become ‘discouraged jobseekers’. They feel that living in Soweto is in itself counted against them. For SAFM radio station in Johannesburg, presenter Anza Dali, who was brought up in Soweto and is looking for a job too, finds out how Freddy and Sibusiso are coping with long-term unemployment and the constant temptation to make a ‘fast buck’ rather than an honest buck. Lost in America Four people living on the edge--drug addicts, a prostitute and a blind woman--recount their journeys to a new life, revealing the connections between home and homelessness along the way. Producer Helen Borten brings us "Lost in America." This program won an EMMA award from the National Women's Political Caucus for Best Radio Documentary.
April 2	Survivors (2009)President Obama has declared that “We have banned torture without exception.” However, some would take exception to this claim. The practice of isolating a prisoner in solitary confinement for extended periods of time causes severe sensory deprivation and has been denounced as torture by the United Nations. But tens of thousands of inmates are locked up in solitary confinement in American prisons today. And the number is rapidly growing. Often prisoners spend years – even decades – by themselves in a cell the size of a small bathroom. They don't see anyone. They don't talk to anyone. They don't touch anyone. What does this experience do to a person's mental state? Claire Schoen shows us what solitary confinement looks, sounds and feels like. The Convict Streak Bernie Matthews was a ‘serial escapee’ - the thought of incarceration too much to bear. Yet every time he escaped (6 in all), his sentence (for armed robbery) was extended, and the punishment made more severe. Until he escaped through the pen. Bernie likens himself to the convict George Howe – one of the thousands of criminals transported to New South Wales between 1819 and 1848. ‘Happy George’, with no formal eduction became the first editor of The Sydney Gazette. But these two men are the exceptions of their times. The life of a convict in early C19 Australia was gruelling and desperate, as it is for those incarcerated today. Punishment for Escaping included solitary confinement and being sent to the harshest of prison environments –Van Diemen’s land then and the Super max prisons now. Yet some still managed to get away… The Convict Streak was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as part of the 2008 international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

March 2010

March 26	Feet First In late August of 2009, an arsonist started a fire that burned more than 160,000 acres in the mountains around Los Angeles County. Known as the Station Fire, it was one of the largest fires in the community's history. Flames reached reported lengths of 300 to 400 feet, and it took more than six weeks to fully contain the blaze. The mountains have long been home to pockets of residents, from miners to nature lovers, but in recent decades neighborhoods like La Canada and Flintridge have boomed with large housing developments. Some residents in the fire zone knew and accepted the risks of living there, but many had no idea they were living so near to danger, or thought they could defend their property. Five months after the Station Fire, residents faced massive mudslides as historic storms washed the unanchored earth down the hills and into their homes. Despite all these troubles, many residents simply won't give up on their properties, and the lifestyle they symbolize. Producer Eve Troeh follows families who evacuate and still return, and the fight they have with public officials who want to shut the neighborhood down. After Katrina: Charmaine Neville's Story Born into the third generation of the legendary musical family, jazz singer Charmaine Neville has always called New Orleans ‘home’. And when Hurricane Katrina headed for the Gulf Coast, she stayed in New Orleans because she didn't have a car or money. She also didn't think Hurricane Katrina would be serious. In fact, she was trapped in water for five days, with great fear that she was going to die. But she survived. She witnessed dire events – death, rape, robbery. Overshadowing all of that, she witnessed a community working together to survive – neighbors, elderly people, children. This is Charmaine’s account of Hurricane Katrina, interwoven with her own music.
March 19	Chung King Mansions: a Work in Progress Hong Kong’s Chung King Mansions is an infamous tenament building, which has a colourful past, present and who knows what future. Built as residential flats in the early 60s, these days it is a haven for immigrants, refugees, travellers and anyone else who needs a cheap place to stay. It is an extraordinary place and stands out as a rather shabby island in its more luxurious surroundings. With a thousand owners and bad past management it has been almost impossible to ever get consensus on what to do with it. Meanwhile it thrives as a business community, appears to be self-sufficient and it is an international melting pot somewhat a law unto itself. But change is afoot with two determined managers trying to tame this apparently unmanageable building and community and its reputation growing as an international business hub. “In Chung King Mansions: A Work in Progress” RTHK’s Sarah Passmore takes a step inside. This program airs as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives on Islands. Little Fish in a Multiculti Pond Not very far from Amsterdam is a neighborhood called the Baarsjes, or “little fish”. The area covers less than one square mile, and houses 35,000 residents from 126 countries. Such multicultural diversity in such a small area has not been without serious problems. Controversy and discrimination are not uncommon in the area. The most recent debate surrounds plans to build a new Turkish mosque. But residents believe they can make a difference by taking initiatives to bring these diverse communities together - through meetings, sport and cultural events. Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands takes to the streets of his neighborhood to find out just how much is changing for the “Little Fish in a Multiculti Pond.” This program was produced by Radio Netherlands Worldwide as part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.
March 12	The Lonely Funeral Every year up to twenty people die completely alone in Amsterdam. There are no friends or family to prepare their funeral or mourn over the body. Sometimes these people are illegal migrants, drug mules, or simply people who for one reason or another, cut-off all social contacts. Poet Frank Starik decided that these people also deserved to be eulogized. He contacted the Amsterdam city services and asked if he could take part in these forgotten funerals. Producer Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands Worldwide brings us the story of the Lonely Funeral. It airs as part of the international collaboration, Global Perspectives: At The Edge. Death Comes Home An intimate emotional portrait of three families who have chosen to fore-go the funeral director and proscribed memorial, and instead care for their dead in their own homes. This is not a story about hospice or green burial; producer April Dembosky introduces us to people taking matters into their own hands: washing and dressing the bodies of their loved ones, building coffins, digging graves, and keeping their loved ones closer to home.
March 5	Middle C Tristan Whiston performed for the first time as a solo soprano at the tender age of six. Years of hard work led to an accomplished singing career. But two years ago, Tristan decided to give up the most precious thing a singer has - the voice. As part of our Global Perspective Series At The Edge, CBC producer Carma Jolly brings us Tristan's audio diary of the transition from female to male. Wrapping Dreams in Lavender Gregory was only five when he knew he should have been born a girl. But it took till his mid-50s to harness the courage to become Susan. The gender he knew he was in his brain was different to the sex of his genitals. This is now known to be a medical rather than psychological condition but is still commonly confused with cross-dressing - where people dress as the opposite sex to fulfil a psychological need. For Susan this diagnosis of transsexualism was a godsend. But for Mary, his wife, it was devastating. This program was a finalist in the Australian Human Rights Media Awards for Radio.

February 2010

February 26	Sleeping through the Dream In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King led the March on Washington and spoke the famous words "I have a dream." Then 18 year-old Producer Askia Muhammad was, as he recalls, 'sleeping through the dream.' Growing up in Los Angeles, Muhammad was far away from the civil rights uproar and any self-proclaimed political consciousness. Now 40 years later, Muhammad revisits his youth with two close friends. Join us for the journey of a young man's political awakening during a time of intense social unrest. Remembering Kent State 1970 When thirteen students were shot by Ohio National Guard Troops during a war demonstration on the Kent State University Campus on the first week of May 1970, four young lives were ended and a nation was stunned. More than 30 years later, the world at war is a different place. However, those thirteen seconds in May, 1970 still remain scorched into an Ohio hillside. Through archival tape and interviews, Remembering Kent State tracks the events that led up to the shootings.
February 19	My World: Officer Candidate School In 1965 and 1966, Producer Askia Muhammad was a star-struck and naive college student who had matriculated from Watts to San Jose State University, while getting college deferments to serve two years active duty in the U.S. Navy Reserve. As Askia began struggles with becoming a Reserve Office Candidate, the country began to struggle with itself with blacks' rights, the hippie movement, the constant protest against the war in Vietnam. In My World: Officer Candidate School, Askia takes us through his path from faithful Naval Officer to conscientious objector. At Home on Cape Cod In AT HOME ON CAPE COD, reporter Alice Furlaud remembers her childhood and adolescence in summers on the Lower Cape. Furlaud has come back, after 26 years in Paris, to live year-round in the 1829 Truro house which her parents bought in l933. She revisits sites full of memories, and talks to friends who remember her early days on the Cape.
February 12	Sam's Story Sam was brought to the United States by his parents as a young child, but his family overstayed their visas. Over the past fourteen years, Sam has grown from a small boy to a young man — taught in American schools and churches, he grew up like any other American kid. But when he was asked to fill in his social security number on a financial aid form, he began to realize the consequences of being undocumented. Long Haul Productions picks up Sam's story as he's graduating from high school in Elkhart, Indiana, and looking to start his first year of college. Citizenship Diary How many stars and how many stripes and what do they mean? You need to know this and many more flag questions to pass the US Naturalization test. Judith Kampfner recorded an audio diary about the process of becoming an American citizen, and about what it was like taking on a second identity. Was it a betrayal of her British roots? Or was it a very logical step to take for someone who thinks of herself as in internationalist? Many more people are becoming dual or multiple citizens today as more countries accept the idea - Mexico, Columbia and the Dominican Republic for instance. Does this dilute the concept of citizenship? Indeed perhaps we are less likely to identify ourselves as citizens today because we are part of a global culture and travel more. Kampfner discovers that going through the paperwork, the test and the ceremony does not help her feel American - that is something she and all the others who are processed have to do for themselves.
February 5	After the Shot On the night of April 14th 1865, in front of a thousand people at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Shouting ‘Sic semper tyrannis’ – ‘thus always to tyrants’, Booth believed that he was striking down a tyrant as surely as Brutus struck down Julius Caesar. Twelve days later Booth himself was shot dead in a barn in Virginia. From the moment Booth shot Lincoln, conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination have flourished – and 140 years later, for both historians and ordinary people, they are still very much alive. Some believe Booth was the ring leader of a small group; others are convinced he was simply a pawn in a grand conspiracy plot. While still others believe it wasn’t really Booth who died in that Virginia barn. Jean Snedegar tries to unravel the truth – and a myriad of legends - about the assassination of a great American president. New Norcia: The Monastery and the Observatory In Western Australia, there's a small and somewhat surreal town called New Norcia. It's Australia's only Monastic town - with a surprising and imposing collection of Spanish style buildings. New Norcia was established in the 1850s as a 'Spanish Benedictine Monastery.' Today, a handful of monks continue the ancient tradition of prayer, work and service in their search for God. Now, New Norcia is also the home to one of the European Space Agency's largest tracking stations. A monastery next to an observatory might seem incongruous, however these neighbors have forged an unlikely understanding. Both groups are exploring the riddle of existence and space, in different ways. This program was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

January 2010

January 29	From Brooklyn to Banja Luka An interesting cross cultural relationship that spans New York, Banja Luka and Amsterdam. Jonathan is a loud New Yorker, a Brooklyn Jew who has been living in Holland for 13 years. He has joint Dutch US nationality, speaks fluent Dutch, and yet remains essentially his boisterous loud American self. He is married to Dragana, a Serbian from Banja Luka, who came here in the midst of the Bosnian war and remains deeply affected by the war and its after effects in her country. They met at a party in Amsterdam ten years ago and have been together ever since. They now have a young trilingual son. The two have much in common - they're clever, loud, extravagant people from musical backgrounds. But she has a Slavic melancholia that contrasts with his wisecracking Jewish humour. In this program, they discuss their different cultures, how they feel being such big personalities living in a country that doesn't seem at first glance particularly suited to their ethnic backgrounds and character, and also the nature of their tempestuous relationship. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series. The Sobbing Celebrant Australian Broadcasting Corporation producer Natalie Kestecher thought it might be useful to have a few options up her sleeve if she ever decides to stop making radio documentary features. So she decided to become a Marriage Celebrant. Natalie enrolled in the first ever training course which, under new Australian legislation, all intending Celebrants must complete in order to be accredited. Being a Celebrant is not just about saying the necessary words (which must always include 'I do') and ensuring the right forms are correctly filled in; it's also about devising meaningful ceremonies for a secular society. Theme weddings, butterfly releases, and quotes from 'The Prophet' are all popular. So what happens if you don't do themes, you hate 'The Prophet' and you think butterfly releases are yucky? Natalie spent a week coming to terms with the modern wedding. It turned out to be a week of introspection. 'The Sobbing Celebrant' offers an entertaining insight into the process that confers upon regular (or not so regular) citizens the right to officiate at the most significant moments in our lives. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.
January 22	Treasure Isle This year the international documentary series Global Perspective has the theme of Islands, and for BBC World Service Radio Nick Rankin travels to Fair Isle, one of the most remote inhabited islands in the British Isles, to see how newcomers find their place in a small and tight-knit community. Fair Isle is rocky and too windy for trees to grow on, one of the Shetland Islands way north of the Scottish mainland, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea. At times in the last century Fair Isle’s population became so low that there was talk of evacuation, as happened on the island of St Kilda. But Fair Isle is an outward looking island which has always traded things like its famous patterned knitware, and its community has survived because of its capacity to absorb newcomers and make them its own. In Sepember 2005 the Fair Isle community of around 65 people advertised for a family to join them, and after interest from all over the world, Tommy Hyndman, a hat-maker from Saratoga Springs, New York, his wife Lis Musser and their young son Henry were the successful applicants. Nick Rankin talks to them and other incomers of different generations to Fair Isle about creating a life there, as well as to the ‘indigenous’ islanders they have joined. My Life So Far The story told by the young people of Alert Bay, a remote island on the west coast of Canada, is both familiar and unique. Like most people who come of age in a small community, Alert Bay’s youth is torn between staying and venturing into the bigger world. What’s unique about their story is the struggle to keep their culture alive. Alert Bay is the home of the Namgis First Nation. At one time it was Canadian government policy to assimilate its aboriginal people, and suppress their language and culture. St. Michael’s Indian Residential School, now derelict, serves as painful reminder of the past, as do the stories of the community’s elders. My Life So Far was created from tape gathered by five young people from Alert Bay, aged 11 to 17. Two CBC producers loaned them recording equipment, gave them some training, and a simple task. They were asked, tell us about where you live. Tell us about your life.
January 15	IGY: On The Ice “Could anything be more terrible than this silent, wind-swept immensity?” That’s a diary entry written by explorer Robert Falcon Scott, on his journey to Antarctica in 1905. It was, in the end, a disastrous journey. Scott wasn’t properly prepared. He had hauled along tractors, ponies, and even hay to feed the ponies, onto the ice. 50 years after Scott’s expedition, another group of explorers, much better prepared, also took a journey to Antarctica as part of a global scientific effort to investigate the continent, called the IGY -- the International Geophysical Year. Producer Barbara Bogaev takes a look at what it was like for those men to live and work on Scott’s “silent, windswept immensity”. Their discoveries lay the basis for what we now understand about the geology, geography and even ice of the Antarctic region. Southern Ocean Voyage Australian Broadcasting Corporation Producer Margot Foster takes us on a voyage aboard the Aurora Australis, Australia's research vessel. The 7-week trip into the Southern Ocean around Antarctica lets scientists sample plants, animals, and ocean water quality and composition, in an attempt to uncover how climate change is affecting, and will be affected by, the ecology of the Southern Ocean. Producer Sarah Castor-Perry talks to scientists after the trip, to try to decipher the data they collected.
January 8	The Bucket When you lower a bucket into the ocean, from a pier or off the side of a ship, it may well seem to come up containing nothing but clear water. But scientists now know that every teaspoonful of that water can contain a hundred-million tiny viruses. That sounds sinister, but without them the ocean couldn't function. Every day, marine viruses invade bacteria and other organisms, releasing their nutrients to the underwater food chain. Only since the late 1980's have marine biologists been aware of how many viruses are indigenous to the ocean, and how powerful and varied they are. They differ radically in size, shape, and DNA blueprint -- so much so that totally novel DNA keeps being discovered, with implications for anything from anti-aging creams to anti-cancer drugs and evolutionary science. Far from being a bad thing, these amazing marine viruses are useful, dramatic, novel, and dynamic; imagine that all hiding in your bucket of clear water! Producer Judith Kampfner travels from the coast of Plymouth in England to Santa Monica to meet with some of the intrepid pioneers who are on the trail of these new natural marvels. Photograph of algae, Emiliania Huxleyi, was provided with permission by The Natural History Museum, London (Dr. Jeremy Young) and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Angie Fox) / 2009. Surviving Extinction Across the United States, ecologists are battling to save endangered species from extinction. Scientists are now joining in the effort with sophisticated models that can be used to predict, and eventually prevent extinction. In this program, we travel to the Florida Everglades to see how the tiny Cape Sable Sparrow is faring despite an over-flooded environment, and to New England to find out how field mice are adapting after their habitat was destroyed. We discover what role scientific models play in the future of these species.
January 1	Changing Spaces: Hampden, Baltimore Producer Gemma Hooley profiles the neighborhood of Hampden, in Baltimore. It's a pop culture landscape of pink plastic flamingoes, beehive hairdos, vintage clothing, leopard-skin purses, and cat-eye sunglasses. Then there are the annual festivals like the HonFest competition, and Christmas lights that you'll swear are shining through your radio. Join us as we explore the underlying culture of this blue collar community. The Changing Face of Neighborhood Crime A look at how neighborhoods change as new people move in, and when urban dwellers go to the suburbs. Race and class are issues here, with perceptions that crime rates are rising, fuelled by preconceptions about race. The program profiles the town of Laurel, Maryland, a midway point between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, where Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot and paralyzed during his presidency campaign in 1972. The governor was there appealing to the mostly white constituents. However today Laurel is a town better characterized by its growing minority and ethnic populations, and also by crime. We investigate how the town has changed in the past 30 plus years, and whether crime is actually on the increase, or whether the perception of crime is what is changing. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.