Last Night in Studio 3A

Voters cast their ballots in the presidential primary in Butler, PA, yesterday.

Source: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

 

Late last night, Neal hosted a live Election News Special. It was my first time working such a show, and I gotta say, it felt like we were at radio camp and this was the culminating project at the end of the summer. We had to constantly think on our feet in order to deal with last minute guest cancellations and the candidates' unpredictable speaking schedules. Adrenaline was high. At one point, I literally hugged the wall in the screening room out of nervousness as Neal vamped up to the start of Clinton's victory speech. Live radio is all about timing, and I thought he was going to talk over her since he was watching the feed on TV, which is on a delay. But, my worries were quickly put to rest -- Neal's a pro, and his timing was perfect. It was an amazing experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Our post-primary analysis included input from pollsters, strategists, NPR's political editor Ken Rudin, and Congressman Jason Altmire (D-PA), who talked about why he's still an undecided superdelegate. Best of all, we heard from you, the listeners. One caller, Liz, said she drove all the way from Brooklyn to Philadelphia to help campaign for Clinton. She described the atmosphere there as "electric" and "thrilling." When people from the street honked and yelled out, "Go Obama!" her group of Clinton supporters yelled back, "No, Chelsea's mama!" Another caller, Sky, an Obama supporter, went door to door in Allentown, PA, encouraging people to vote. He said most of the working class people he talked to were very excited about Obama. So tell us, if you were in Pennsylvania yesterday, what was the atmosphere like, and how busy were the polls?

Ashley Grashaw

10:33 AM ET | 04-23-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Spring Cleaning on Craigslist

Who knew this crazy internet thing worked so well? I worked from home yesterday, thanks to a bit of a plumbing emergency. Of course, I did all of my work-related duties, thank you very much. But more interestingly, I tried out Craigslist for the first time. A little background: For the last 6 months or so, I've had an old, 1999 vintage computer monitor in my basement. I didn't want to throw it away, wasn't sure if I could somehow recycle it, etc. So, sitting on the computer yesterday morning, I figured why not give it away online. I posted the ad by 10am (FREE CRT monitor!!!), got two email replies by 2pm, and the giant paperweight/monitor was out of my hair before 4pm! All in a day's work, I suppose. And now that old bookshelf I've been dying to get rid of (and half the junk in my attic) is looking ripe for the giving. I know I'm behind the curve on Craigslist (and in my defense, I have bought and sold on eBay), but anyone else unload something in record time, or get a really great deal on something online?

Scott Cameron

10:22 AM ET | 03-18-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Favre's Finished

Brett Favre.

Source: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

News just crossed that the Green Bay Packers' quarterback Brett Favre is leaving football. Although I've never been a Packers fan, per se, I'm a Favre fan, for reasons I can't really explain. There's just something classy about the guy. As soon as I saw the news I knew I had to blog about it, and not five minutes later Neal came up behind me, "Sarah, you're my barometer on this: Brett Favre retiring?" To which I responded, "Yes. I think it's a big deal." So now, faster than I can type this, it looks like we're going to try to get a segment together to talk about the man and his career. Clearly, he's one of the best quarterbacks to play the game, winning MVP trophies and a superbowl, and playing through countless injuries with incredible heart. The Southern-born Favre thrived in the snow, and made Lambeau Field a treacherous place for visiting teams in the frigid postseason. He's also a cultural touchstone -- when his once-unpronouncable name became a laugh line and star turn in There's Something About Mary, (Brett Fah-vruh) -- he achieved the kind of fame that transcended sports. So stay tuned for more on Favre, and get ready to share your favorite Favre moments.

Sarah Handel

11:38 AM ET | 03- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

A Show in Progress

A poster of Fidel Castro in Havana.

Source: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images

Crazy day around here with the news that Cuban President Fidel Castro announced his resignation (and the ongoing construction work/drilling on the outside of the building, but that's another story). The first hour is a bit up in the air for now as we try to find people who can talk about Castro's resignation, and what it might mean going forward, if anything. For as long as I can remember, Fidel Castro has run Cuba and been a thorn in the side of American administrations. Now, there's a new Castro in charge in Havana: Raul. Keep an eye on this page for Gwen's update on how things come together. One way or another, we'll get at this story, and your thoughts on what happens now... In Cuba and the US.

Scott Cameron

10:54 AM ET | 02-19-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Mix Tape Love

Wind up for the TOTN mix tape of love.

Source: e.c.

Few things inspire as much passion as a mix tape. On the one hand, it's an artifact virtually guaranteed to arouse emotion in both creator and receiver. But on the other, the rules are absolutely unclear, though every serious compiler has her own gospel, inviolable and inarguable. True devotees of the mix can argue the minutiae for hours -- the best songs on a theme, the best format, the benefits of surprising the listener vs. keeping the flow, the most esoteric artist included... It's never-ending. I've been going through my old mix tapes recently in an effort to cull my belongings in advance of my planned move, and that combined with a request from a friend for my "Best of 2007" mix, which would be third in a series started in '05 if I'd actually made it, has the mix-itch agitated. Oh yeah -- and Valentine's Day. Love mixes can be both the most inspired and the most tortured in the game, and it's been awhile since I made one. So here's the challenge, BOTNers: help us compile the Talk of the Nation Valentine's Mix. And fear not, this isn't just for the lovers: We want all your best love songs, be they songs of absolute devotion, chance encounters, loves lost, scorned lovers, whatever. We want them all... and in tomorrow's first hour, we'll talk about them all and let you know how you can get the mix for yourself!

Sarah Handel

10:04 AM ET | 02-13-2008 | permalink | comments (34) | e-mail post

Time to Forget Flipping?

Another sign.

Source: Getty Images

Driving into work today, I was struck yet again by the number of "For Sale" signs outside houses along my route. It feels like they're all over the city, and their numbers are growing. I've been in the home-hunt for a while now, and although my fingers are crossed for a successful closing at the end of the month, it's hard to get my mind out of the chase. I've been actively looking for more than two years, and now my brain's just wired to the market and I can't seem to disengage (and, honestly, I probably shouldn't until I have keys in hand).

The closer I get to my prey, the more a related obsession grows: TLC's Flip that House. I'd never watched it until recently, and I know I'm late to the game, but those house-flipping shows are addictive! It's tempting, of course -- you can make more than you make in a year in a number of months; but at the same time, the risks are huge. For every flipper you see raking in cash, you see a handful mired in a quicksand of untrustworthy contractors, failed inspections, and mounting mortgage payments that cut into their bottom line. I have to say, while I may not be ready to stop eyeballing properties for sale, there's no way I'd get into flipping, and I don't understand how anyone who watches those shows can think a first-timer can flip a home in a month for $15K. It's ludicrous!

Anyway, the continued bad news on the housing front made me wonder: are folks still flipping these days, or are these old shows? Financing is a lot trickier these days (sidebar: tune into our first hour to hear about how FICO may have benefitted from the no-money-down mortgage heyday)... Is that tempering the flipping market? I'm sure there are still good places to get into it... Do you flip houses? What's it like? Is the stress really worth the payoff?

Sarah Handel

11:00 AM ET | 02-12-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Campaign Mix Tapes

The remains of the post-NH party.

Source: Chris Nelson

Today's my first day back at NPR HQ after nine days on the road in Iowa and New Hampshire. It was a pretty incredible gig, doing field production with some absolutely amazing reporters, and holding down the NPR fort at both of Hillary's post-polling parties. It was both exciting and terrifying -- even though I'm relatively old-school TotN, I was a complete newbie on the road, and politics is not my regular beat so, I was pretty out of my element. I learned a ton -- everyone was so helpful and patient -- and I definitely have a clearer view of the race than ever before, plus some nascent field production skills I hope to nurture in the future. I'm not going to opine on the race -- we have professionals who do that -- but I do know about music, and boy, if I never hear Mitt Romney or Hillary Clinton's mixtapes again, it will still be too soon. Don't get me wrong, their soundtracks feature plenty of good stuff, but the mix is never long enough to sustain the event without starting over at the top three or four times. Romney's is all about the remix of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation." I heard it so many times I will link it with the candidate forever . I also heard Brooks and Dunn's "Red Dirt Roads" more than a few times at Romney events, and while the song is about redemption and compassion, I couldn't help but notice the lyric, "It's where I drank my first beer..." While at first it just surprised me to hear, I now think it's actually a nice gesture, intentional or not. On the Clinton side of things, her mix kicks off with Tom Petty's "American Girl," for which I have nothing but praise. That song always gets me, and it's a great way to open an album and a mix. I think I've even done it myself. Rock and roll expert Carrie Brownstein picked up on the music too, to no surprise, and challenges folks to recommend appropriate but unconventional titles for the candidates to play. I echo her call. Surely each campaign could spring $50 for some iTunes shopping and a couple of blank CDs. What would you want to hear? I didn't hear too many female voices over the PA system, so I'll go first, and nominate one I think would be funny for Sen. Clinton, sung by the awe-inspiring Neko Case: The New Pornographers' "Letter from an Occupant." The first lyric? "I'm told the eventual downfall/Is just a bill from the restaurant/You told me I could order the moon babe/Just as long as I shoot what I want." I'd laugh, anyway, and think she was pretty cool for it!

Sarah Handel

11:00 AM ET | 01-10-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

BotN Got Elfed

It's elfing hilarious

Elfyourself.com

 

There's something hilarious about seeing your highly respected co-workers' heads dancing atop the body of a dancing elf. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself (don't worry, it's free)... and here's a little holiday hilariosity from all of us at BotN.

Scott Cameron

2:06 PM ET | 12-14-2007 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

All Hail Annapolis

It's in Maryland, not Indiana.

Source: edwardaggie98

Hailing from Annapolis, Maryland is both a blessing and a curse. Before I wax nostalgic about my hometown, though, let me explain that curse bit. Growing up, whenever I met gradeschool-aged kids like myself, I could never quite seem to convince them that Annapolis is, in fact, the capital of the state of Maryland. Everyone knows it's Baltimore, duh. When I went away to college, I thought things would improve, but I couldn't have been more wrong. At the University of Georgia, most of the students are from that fine state or nearby*, and when I'd tell them where I was from, I kid you not, the most frequent response was "Oh, you mean Indianapolis?" I even had to argue with someone once that Annapolis was a completely separate place, not located in Indiana... an argument that left me feeling simultaneously righteously outraged and temporarily depressed. So thank goodness for Condoleezza Rice and the Peace Conference. You'd have thought George Washington, Bill Belichick, and Travis Pastrana would be enough to put Annapolis on the map, but it took a Secretary of State and a handful of heads of state... hopefully sparing future college-bound Annapolitans the countless annoying conversations I suffered. And on to the many blessings... If you ever need tips on great coffee, the best dining with a view of the harbor, where to dig into a reuben and a Guinness or, of course, pick crabs, or how you can sit down with Alex Haley, you know where to find me.

*This is in no way a slam on Southerners. I had fellow Annapolitans, at schools all over the country, relate similar stories.

Sarah Handel

8:41 AM ET | 11-27-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

What's the Talk of YOUR Nation?

Every morning at 9 o'clock, the TOTN staff gathers 'round to take stock of the day's news. Heaven help the producer who overslept and failed to even catch the headlines... on rare occasion when this happens to me, I feel behind all day. Once we get the major stories covered, we like to dig a little deeper to see what's going on that people are truly talking about at the dinner table, in the morning carpool, and queued up at the grocery store. We have various strategies for it -- our executive producer seems to host and/or attend an immeasurable number of dinner parties stocked with interesting people, which always get the gears in her brain grinding on new topics, whereas I like to go online to check out the local papers in places I used to live, and places where my friends and family still reside. We can't cover the entire country every day, however, which is where you come in. You, our loyal TOTN listeners, literally DO span the country and the globe. So we want to know: What's going on in your town? What is everyone talking about? Maybe you live in Dubuque, Iowa, where the noise levels in the city's only dog park grate on residents' nerves. Or maybe you live in Memphis, where the death of famed photographer and local legend Ernest Withers is the talk of the coffeehouse or barbershop. We want to know about these stories, and even if they seem of limited interest -- geographically, demographically, whatever -- if people are talking about it, there's generally a nugget in there that speaks to a broader human discussion or truth. So tell us: what's the buzz where you live? We want to turn your stories into on-air content, so if you've got links, please send them along...

Sarah Handel

10:06 AM ET | 10-23-2007 | permalink | comments (132) | e-mail post

The Future of Bluegrass is Bright

If I were pressed to pick my favorite song of all time, there's a good chance that Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" would be on my short list. I've been mesmerized by '52 Vincent ever since Thompson released it on his album Rumor and Sigh when I was in college. I've even labored to master it on guitar, though at this rate, I'll probably be retired before I'm decent enough to let anyone else hear me playing it. So when Del McCoury and his band began playing the song yesterday, while I sat in the front row of the small audience assembled in Studio 4A, I briefly assumed it would be the highlight of their visit to NPR.

Yet it wasn't.

I loved every moment of their performance - I've been replaying it all day today - but the band actually managed to be upstaged by a 10-year-old caller from California named James.

Continue reading "The Future of Bluegrass is Bright" »

Andy Carvin

1:25 PM ET | 10-19-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

The Show Goes On, Without A Hitch

If you listened to our second hour yesterday, you probably noticed that it wasn't the program we'd promised. Christopher Hitchens, who was supposed to talk with us about The Rights of Man, by Thomas Paine, never made it to Studio 3A. We're still trying to figure out what happened. A miscommunication? An act of God? (Probably not, with this guy). So, what happens here, when a guest doesn't show, for whatever reason? We scramble. Tuesday is, of course, "the day we read from your emails," so we went to that segment first. (That bought us a little time, at the top of the show). We called columnist Meghan Daum, of the Los Angeles Times, to ask her if we could move her interview, about child prodigies, scheduled for the end of the hour, to the beginning. Very graciously, she agreed. At our morning meeting, we talked about the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary's hearing on the Jena 6 and the role of federal intervention in hate crimes and race-related violence in public schools. At 2:30 p.m., we reached Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree, who testified at the hearing, at the airport. (Luckily for us, he missed his return flight to Boston). On similarly short notice, reporter Howard Witt, of the Chicago Tribune, who broke the Jena story, joined us by phone. We rounded out the program with Alan Schwarz, of The New York Times. He and Neal are always game to talk baseball. So, how did it sound? (Honestly, we were all too busy to listen).

David Gura

11:00 AM ET | 10-17-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

More William Elliott Whitmore, Please

Whitmore brings rural soul to the rock club.

Source: pieter.morlion

Music is in the air at Talk of the Nation this week... we started with Pinback Monday, and today we've got a fantastic collection of American songs featuring a couple performers who are -- or will be -- familiar to Talk listeners (remember Andrew Bird? He's got a song on the compilation. And stay tuned... we've got comp-contributors and bluegrass legends the Del McCoury Band coming to our air next week.). Last night I saw William Elliott Whitmore perform here in DC (while Barrie saw Josh Ritter... another TOTN alum), and was so blown away I just had to share it here. He's a young, white guy who grew up on a horse farm in Iowa beside the Mississippi river, and he sings American folk music (part blues, part country, part southern) with the voice of a man wise and weathered beyond his years. Listening to him makes me think of cornfields, smoky run-down honky-tonks, blackbirds, and whiskey, though if I saw him on the street I'd probably make up a backstory that was more about skateboarding and punk rock (and, yeah, whiskey). You've got to hear him to really understand, so here are a few songs, and stay tuned... I'm hoping to bring him to our own NPR HQ on his next tour in the Spring of 2008.

Sarah Handel

10:51 AM ET | 10-10-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Day 2 from the Hill

Day two of the Petraeus/Crocker testimony looks a lot like day one, though the faces on the dais have changed. The charts and graphs, the photographers in the pit, the witnesses... all appear the same. There's a lot more star power today, though, with '08 presidential hopefulls all over the place (which is not to draw attention from three yesterday (Tancredo, Hunter, and Paul), especially Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), who declared in January and joined us twice during our coverage yesterday. Thanks, sir!). First into the room was Senator Biden (D-DE), chair of the Foreign Relations committee. Close on his heels, Chris Dodd, Senator from Connecticut. Senator Obama (D-IL) walked in a bit after the hearing got underway to much hullabaloo -- heck, even I stood and peered down into the hearing room for a glimpse of the superstar Senator. Later today, when the room flips and instead hosts the Armed Services committee, we'll get to see another couple of bigwigs: Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Clinton (D-NY). Even as the faces change, though, one thing remains the same: the hand soap in the House bathrooms smells lovely, like citrus... in the Senate, not so much. It smells like, well, puke. Don't get me wrong -- I'm still happy to be here. I'm just packing my own soap next time!

Sarah Handel

10:19 AM ET | 09-11-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Goodbye, Gonzales

According to the New York Times, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned from his position, and he'll be making an announcement to that effect later this morning. We'll be allotting a portion of our staff for special coverage of the announcement at 10:30am, and we'll follow up on the show. Stay tuned!

Sarah Handel

8:47 AM ET | 08-27-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

On Vacation with Hurricane Dean

I mentioned yesterday that our boss was stuck in a hurricane. TOTN's Executive Producer, Sue Goodwin, left on vacation a week and a half ago with her family. Unfortunately, she picked the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, and Hurricane Dean followed her there (she's safe, and doing some reporting now that Dean has moved on). Lucky for us, she also has a digital camera with her, and has been emailing us a first-hand look at Playa del Carmen, before and during Hurricane Dean.

Continue reading "On Vacation with Hurricane Dean" »

Scott Cameron

3:19 PM ET | 08-21-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

NPR Sing-a-long

I always suspected our listeners were way ahead of the curve. Back in February, a listener named Jeff Davidson sent us (and sang (audio link) for us) his suggested lyrics for our theme song... You know, (sing along) buh, buh, buh, buuuuuuuuuuuuh. Remember this email:

Dear Talk of the Nation. Do your listeners ever put lyrics to your theme music, or am I the only one? Here's my version.

Banana split, banana split. Why do you call to me? Banana split, banana split. Banana spliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

Yours in weirdness, Jeff Davidson.

Well, now everybody wants lyrics to their songs. Spain is looking to put words to their (currently wordless) national anthem, and is holding a contest to come up with the best lyrics. Sticking with our food theme, maybe something tapas-related, or sangria-filled would be popular. And now, our own All Things Considered wants a few syllables for their tune, too. So come on, give 'em a hand. But we already lay claim to the rights to banana splits, so you'll have to come up with a different dessert.

Scott Cameron

11:33 AM ET | 08-13-2007 | permalink | comments (13) | e-mail post

Video of Michael Moore's NPR Visit

If you've been following the blog or listened to yesterday's show, you probably know already that documentary maker and public provocateur Michael Moore came by the NPR studios for a 20-minute interview with Lynn Neary. During his video, I got a chance to shoot some video of him, including his entire interview.

I showed up about 20 minutes prior to the scheduled interview time and soon found Talk of the Nation executive producer Sue Goodwin meeting up with Moore and his two assistants in the hallway. We had some time to kill in the green room, time which I had hoped would include me capturing some extraordinary sound bite from Moore. Instead, he dropped hard on the couch, sporting his trademark t-shirt, shorts and baseball cap ensemble, and slouched as far back as humanly possible. "Look at me," he said. "Seven weeks straight of this - exhausted." So any video would have to wait until he went on air. (He did, however, let me take a group photo of him posing with Sue, Sarah, Barrie and other members of the TOTN crew.)

The remaining time in the green room passed quickly, talking about a range of things, from Keith Moon, drummer of the Who, crashing his car into the Flint Holiday Inn swimming pool nearly 40 years ago, to taking his screaming infant daughter to DC's Uptown movie theatre because he and his wife couldn't afford a baby sitter at the time.

Soon enough, it was time to go on air. I slipped off my shoes - so they wouldn't creak as I walked around the live studio - and followed Moore inside, where he met Lynn Neary and did his sound check with less than a minute to spare. As you'll see in the video, they talked about healthcare, his new film and documentary making in general, taking several questions from listeners as well. Then faster you can say "Dr. Sanjay Gupta" the interview was over, with Moore saying his goodbyes before being whisked away to his next interview.

The video displayed here is just over five minutes in length, and covers some of the highlights of the interview. We've also posted a copy of it on YouTube, where we'll also be uploading other video clips representing the full length of the interview.

Andy Carvin

2:40 PM ET | 07-24-2007 | permalink | comments (14) | e-mail post

Stay Tuned: Michael Moore Video

Coming soon to Blog of the Nation... video of Michael Moore's chat with Lynn Neary yesterday on Talk of the Nation, thanks to the ever-fabulous and creative Andy Carvin. Stay tuned!

Sarah Handel

10:19 AM ET | 07-24-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

My Baked Goods Enabler

I have a slight problem... namely, a sugar problem. And here in the office, we have what I'll playfully call our enabler (sorry, Susan). Though, I'm really not complaining, I've already grabbed four or five (or six or seven, but who's counting) pieces of ginger peach cake that she brought in this morning. Last week, it was some cinnamon concoction, cheese, breads, crackers, even a great chunk of steak that I couldn't help but combine with the cheese and bread. Yes, sometimes it is healthy; yesterday it was blueberries, raspberries, and a strawberry. All of which makes me wonder, does every office have its "enabler"... that person who spoils everyone else with baked goods and fresh fruits?

Scott Cameron

10:12 AM ET | 06-27-2007 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Dad's Day... HELP!

Somehow it just hit me that Sunday is Father's Day! (Luckily, dad is happily vacationing for a few weeks, so I bought myself a few extra days before the "bad son" label sets in.) Flipping through the papers, morning TV shows, and this internet thing... everyone has a good idea for what to give a father, except me. (Though, somehow I don't think my father would appreciate a Playstation 3.) Everybody says digital cameras, but he has one (three, actually). There's meat by mail, but that seems silly. Beer of the month, a little odd, too. All the talking heads have people telling me what a dad would want, but I'm not buying it. Are there any dads out there who actually know what a father might want for Father's Day? (And if you dare suggest a tie...)

Scott Cameron

11:32 AM ET | 06-15-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Locked Up

Earlier this year I had the distinct pleasure of working with Michel Martin and her staff on the show that has now become Tell Me More. My absolute favorite project up there (they're located upstairs from Talk, so it's an easy shorthand) was a package of interviews they put together for their Rough Cuts page that dealt with teens and sex in light of the Genarlow Wilson case. Now, thanks to yesterday's news, you may now have heard of Genarlow and his plight, but when I went upstairs in early winter, the only place I'd read about him previously was on the blog of a high school teacher (and friend) in Georgia. Michel was all over the story, though, and with good reason -- it's quite a story. If you're not familiar with the case, Genarlow was an accomplished high school athlete with a serious shot at playing football in college, when he got caught on tape at a New Year's Eve party receiving oral sex. He was 17, she was 15... and in Georgia, that was a problem -- a ten-years-in-JAIL kind of problem -- due to the age discrepancy and the type of sex, even though it was completely consensual, and the girl wasn't inoxicated and didn't want to press charges. Genarlow is now 21 and still sitting in his jail cell, even though a judge overturned his sentence yesterday, because the state is filing an appeal. There's so much more to it than I can get to here, but if you're a teenager, or the parent of a teenager, this is a story that should have your full attention... check out ESPN's incredible profile, and the Rough Cuts treatment.

Sarah Handel

8:46 AM ET | 06-12-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Conan O'Brien Gets Serious

OK, so I may a little slow on the uptake... either I forgot about Conan O'Brien's speech at Harvard or just never heard about it the first time around (needless to say, I never got into Harvard and was not there for the speech). When he gave it, people gave it rave reviews. And, every May it comes up again as one of the great commencement addresses (aka not boring). Other nominees included Dr. Seuss, former presidents, even Steve Jobs. Anyway, when one of our listeners emailed and told me to check out the O'Brien speech, I thought I'd share. The text is here, the video here.

Scott Cameron

2:23 PM ET | 06- 5-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Who's the Boss?

Every couple of weeks I get to trade in my traditional duties and assume the director's chair in 3A. It's a great way to keep my directing skills up to par (it's amazing how much you forget after a month not directing... and then you get called in to direct a last-minute press conference from the Rose Garden and think, "wait a minute, what am I supposed to be doing again?"), but, even better, it's my favorite job at Talk. While it's fun to be the boss*, the best part is that I get to pick out all the music that airs during the program. Not everyone hears our music breaks -- many member stations use that 59 seconds to update listeners on local stories, weather, and traffic -- but picking them out is a time-consuming and creative process (you can see what we play each day on the program page for the day after 6pm, and even listen to clips). Tone is paramount -- you don't want the upbeat Architecture in Helsinki following a story about deaths in Iraq -- but you also want to mix things up, pulling from a variety of genres and artists. As a result, I'm always on the prowl for instrumental music. The best breaks I've run across lately have been from Lost in the Trees and Toumani Diabate. So do you have any suggestions for me? The bare minimum length that's useful for us is 30 seconds, but for some breaks we need as much as 3 minutes... what would you like to hear? And if you're a musician and want to submit music, leave a message in the comments section and I'll be in touch!

*Actually, the incredible engineers at NPR -- these days, our Technical Director Kimberly Jones and engineer Neil Tevault -- don't need me at all. They could drive the show in the dark. But I get to sit in a tall chair and look important, anyway.

Sarah Handel

9:34 AM ET | 05-29-2007 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Bad Voodoo by Special Delivery

We get some crazy stuff sent to us from PR people. I once opened a box to find a pile of fake, plastic dog poo atop a book on dog training. It made its way from office chair to desktop to office fridge before being disposed of. Anyway, yesterday we received the wonkiest gag gift ever: voodoo dolls... and bipartisan voodoo, at that! Two kits, Hillary Clinton Voodoo Kit and George W. Bush Voodoo Kit, complete with doll (Bush is red, Hillary blue), pins, and a "voodoo handbook" that the pitch says introduces "you to the fine art of political voodoo..." Needless to say, we won't be doing an hour on political voodoo (maybe political junkie), but odd things show up in other people's mailboxes, too. Any weird gifts, mis-directed bounty, or unsolicited stuff?

Scott Cameron

11:12 AM ET | 05-10-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Team NPR!

Small, so you can't see the sweatiness.

Source: Annie Linskey

 

On Talk of the Nation it's not all fun and games... except when it IS fun and games, like yesterday morning. The first Wednesday in May is race day around here, when Weekend Edition Saturday producer Justine Kenin rallies the speedy and not-so-speedy employees of NPR to take part in a 3-mile race called the Capital Challenge. Neal runs it every year, and this year I too decided to take part (even though I'm loathe to run around people I know... when I say I'm slow, I MEAN it, and what I call "running" is NOT a pretty sight). Turns out, I was really glad I did. It's a pretty cool event, an "invitational race for teams representing the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of the Federal Government and the Media..." or, basically, a super-nerdy inside-Washington 3 miler on a flat course along the Anacostia River. Among the hot-shot finishers were numerous senators and house members, including Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), who's run every Challenge -- all 26!

Sarah Handel

11:14 AM ET | 05- 3-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Secrets of a Guest Host

I've kept a lot of seats warm at NPR when the real hosts are sick or on vacation. It's fun to do other people's jobs for a few days -- it satisfies my dilettante instincts, and I get to leave while it's all still exciting and new. It's kind of like renting a beach house for a week. You get to enjoy the sunshine and the novelty of a new place, but leave before the hot water heater explodes.

Not to beat a tortured analogy into the ground, but Neal Conan has a really nice beach house here at Talk of the Nation. In the first place, he has by far the neatest office I've borrowed here at NPR. Neal's many books are actually on his bookcase. And there are whole square feet of desktop visible between the stacks of paper. I don't think I can adequately describe how unusual this is. With the staggering volume of mail that comes in for a show like Talk of the Nation, most offices look like a recycling bin just exploded close by.

This beach house/radio program (okay, now even I have lost the thread of this analogy -- what were we talking about exactly?) also has a pretty amazing team of people who are capable of conjuring a radio show out of thin air. Seriously -- there have been mornings when we have no guests and no prospects at 9am, and a kick-ass show with rock star guests at 2pm. It's impressive. I don't know if the folks here just pretend they have nothing booked, when really the whole show has been set for weeks, or whether they know some radio jujitsu they're not sharing with the guest host. I suspect the latter.

Whatever they're doing (leaving crackers and little tiny shoes out for the radio production elves at night? It wouldn't shock me) they're doing it well. And it's been a joy and a treat to participate for a few days. I hope you all have had half as much fun as I have.

Rebecca Roberts

10:45 AM ET | 04-26-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

A Day on the Hill

Our perch above the hearing room.

Source: Blog of the Nation

One of the best things about my job is the little part of my bio that says "back-up director." This means that while I don't often get to direct the show itself, save when the director goes away on a remote, or takes some time off, I often get the opportunity to direct coverage of things like press conferences and hearings. Sometimes, this takes me to exotic locales like the Hart Senate Office Building, where I directed coverage of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

What does that really mean? Well, let me set it up for you. First, it means I get the best folks in the building packed into a tiny little "booth" - essentially, a skybox for the hearing room. Our engineering and IT folks get there first and set the space up to function as a mini studio. I lucked out, drawing Tom Marchitto and Mike Czaplinski -- engineer and IT pro extraordinnaire -- and we had everything we needed. Neal hosted with "buddies" Ari Shapiro and Nina Totenberg (when I said I got the best, I meant it!), with Nina taking over for 10 solid minutes while Neal ducked out to join Talk of the Nation as a guest (anyone who's ever heard Nina's SCOTUS reports knows that she's a storyteller par excellence, so the time flew). Their seats in our little birds' nest above the hearing room gives them an advantage, since they can really set the scene for the listener, describing the grimace on a witness's face, the attire of interested parties in the viewing area, even which Senator is conferring with whom when the microphones are off. And thanks to the tenacity of super-booker Susan Lund, we even got a sweet interview with committee chair Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to close out the show... a grand finale that meant 7 people in our closet/studio, but the Senator was gracious and affable. I'm always happy to wrap up and stretch my legs at the end of a long day in our pint-sized perch, but there's nothing that compares to being there, on the hill for all the action.

Sarah Handel

8:32 AM ET | 04-23-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Thoughts from a Virginia Tech Graduate

Talk of the Nation's webmaster Paul Heltzel, a Virginia Tech alumnus, has this personal account of yesterday's events unfolding...

Around lunchtime on Monday, I told the news shift editor at NPR.org I could cover for him while he grabbed something to eat. Watching the wires for just an hour was no big deal. I kidded with him and said: "What's the worst that can happen?"

Soon after, like a cruel joke, I saw a wire report that someone was shot and killed on the Virginia Tech campus. Then, quickly the report was revised... the wires reporting dozens killed with nearly as many wounded. I scrambled to set up the breaking news on our front page.

From 1992-1993, I edited the college newspaper at Virginia Tech, the Collegiate Times. Yesterday, I continually pinged my old college paper's web site. The staff was writing quick descriptions of what was happening on campus. All the traffic they were getting was crushing their server.

I was assigned to work with Noah Adams, who was writing a short Web story about the Virginia Tech campus. "I keep thinking, it feels like the day Kent State became the Kent State," I told him. It was heart breaking.

Paul Heltzel is an associate producer at NPR.org.

Sarah Handel

11:50 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Yes, But Will The Ark Have Wireless?

Third floor, flooded!

Source: Barrie Hardymon

It's been a rough couple hours here at headquarters... a broken valve caused a series of alarms, a minor flood, and a mini-evacuation (full disclosure: I evacuated to a nearby CVS for a Skor bar. Remember those? Delish.) However, our internet connection ebbed a bit, so apologies for any comments that didn't get posted in a timely manner. There's no way to say this without sounding either gauche or naive, but when the internet goes down, it's completely paralyzing. You know that feeling when the power's out, and you keep flipping the switch on anyway? The whole afternoon felt that way... I had to reacquaint myself with the physical paper, which I found, to my horror, was filled with yesterday's news. However, the pictures are better, and to be honest, it felt delightfully retro to drive home with ink under my fingertips. Even better, I discovered a few quirky stories hiding in the back of the Times, that I would have missed without the mini-flood. I see what Neal's talking about with his "daily ink transfusion," but for me, I absorb the light from my computer monitor like a solar power; here's hoping I can get my fix again tomorrow.

Barrie Hardymon

5:55 PM ET | 04- 4-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Calling Cairo...

...is harder than it looks. Unfortunately, we couldn't get Dr. Hawass on the line today, so we had to jettison the segment. Sometimes this happens, it's the bane (and sometimes the boon) of live radio. Apologies to those who were looking forward to it; we'll let you know when we reschedule.

Barrie Hardymon

3:53 PM ET | 03-20-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

What Makes It Special?

One of the most dubiously exciting things about working for Talk of the Nation, is that sometimes the "Talk" won't wait 'til two o'clock. Today, for instance, we'll be on air at 11:30 this morning covering President Bush's statement on the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. So Neal will be on the air as "Special Coverage from NPR News" to anchor the statement. Special Coverage can range from a presidential press conference to breaking news on the level of 9/11; either way it means assembling scripts, technical direction, and wrangling guests on very short notice. Honestly, though, we're so used to shifting around our day for Special Coverage that it's pretty calm around here ... like many people, we're mostly just trying to figure out what the president will say. If you work with daily, short deadlines, chances are you might be an adrenaline junkie ... and I'd have to say the staff of Talk of the Nation really, really thrives on days like this, when carefully laid plans go out the window. Plus, when you've got a host like Neal (his rap name would be Special C.) ... there's nothing to worry about anyway. Just another play-by-play for the pro.

Barrie Hardymon

10:42 AM ET | 03-19-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Remote Control

We're all on pins and needles this morning; Neal went to Cleveland last night, for a remote broadcast today from member station WCPN. This isn't a full remote in the truest sense; there won't be a studio audience, and we've only sent one producer down with Neal. But today we felt it was important for Neal to talk to his guests while sitting at the same table, face to face, as we're marking the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War. Why Cleveland? About a year and a half ago, a small suburb called Brook Park got the heartbreaking news that 20 Marines from the local 25th Marine Regiment, 3rd battalion had been killed in an ambush in Western Iraq. Neal is in Cleveland to find out how the war is affecting the community ... the families, the friends, the employers, and the neighbors of those stationed in Iraq.

Continue reading "Remote Control" »

Barrie Hardymon

10:28 AM ET | 03-15-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post