August 2001

Tuesdays With Morrie -- Commentator Rich Harris had a role in re-uniting author Mitch Albom and subject Morrie Schwartz, a meeting that resulted in the book Tuesdays with Morrie. This Sunday marks 200 weeks -- nearly four years -- that the book has been found on The New York Times bestseller list. Harris, a Nightline producer, was trying to put on a show about making the subject of death much less taboo when he booked Schwartz. (3:00)

Tuesdays with Morrie, is published by Doubleday. For the next three Mondays, starting September 3, ABC's Nightline, will rebroadcast interviews with Morrie, which predate the book.

Life As TV -- Commentator Stacy Horn says she watches a lot of TV. She thinks of the characters as her friends. (2:00)

U of Georgia Admissions -- Commentator Jim Sleeper says a federal appeals court made the right call this week when it found the University of Georgia's admissions system unconstitutional. (3:30)

Cancer Patient -- Commentator David Watts, a San Francisco doctor, had to tell a cancer patient that he is dying. It was difficult to find the right language. (4:00)

Nose-whacking -- Commentator Jon Ronson has some observations about dog owners. (3:00)

Ronson's forthcoming book is Them: Adventures with Extremists, to be published in January by Simon and Shuster.

Laptop Thief -- Commentator Guillermo Gomez-Pena writes an open letter to the person who stole his laptop computer. He says much more was lost than just a piece of machinery -- a part of his mind and soul was stolen away, too. (4:15)

Caste System -- Commentator Martha Ann Overland reports from New Delhi that though India is driven by a rigid caste system, she, as an American living there, is fighting to prevent caste divisions in her New Delhi household. (3:30)

Charge of Light -- Commentator Daniel Ferri tells the story of his school's theatrical performance of The Wizard of Oz. The dress rehearsal was a disaster but opening night transformed the production. (4:00)

Passport -- Commentator Andrew Lam received a new passport. He compares it to his old passport. This prompts him to compare his old self to the person he is now. (3:00)

Urban Inconveniences -- Commentator Barry Yourgrau, a performer and storyteller, whimsically describes an urban inconvenience. Barry Yourgrau's most recent book is Haunted Traveller: An imaginary Memoir. You can link to his website at www.yourgrau.com. (2:30)

Vince's Fire -- After a harrowing experience involving her son Vince, commentator Marion Winik says that considering the fascination teenage boys have with fire, its a wonder there's anything left on earth to ignite. (3:00)

Mr. Hale -- Commentator Elissa Ely, a Massachusetts psychiatrist relates the story of a severely ill mental patient who has been institutionalized for years, and how he responds to a music therapist. (3:00)

Marine Life -- Commentator Meredith Small says humans may not live in the water, but they have a natural attraction to it. (3:00)

Shopping for College -- Commentator Alia Stavrand-Woolf says shopping for a college education is like buying a luxury car. (2:30)

Black Poets -- Desiree Cooper is a writer and a black woman. She wonders if that makes all of her writing black writing. She talks to her colleagues -- poets who attended a retreat with her -- about their work, and if their work should be considered black poetry. Featured in the piece are Nelson Demery, Treasure Williams and Sonia Sanchez. (7:30)

Overachiever -- Seventeen-year-old Youth Radio commentator Thessaly La Force is pushing herself this summer. She's taking college courses. And she's realized some things about herself. (2:15)

Mfume's TV Show -- NAACP president and CEO Kweisi Mfume has taped a talk show pilot for an arm of NBC, a network he has criticized for a lack of racial diversity. Commentator Debra Dickerson disagrees with Mfume's position that there is no conflict between his roles as an NBC critic and potential NBC employee. (3:00)

The Great Stupa -- Commentator Gayle Hanson is a writer and meditator at the Rocky Mountain Shambala center. The consecration of The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya which Liberates Upon Seeing is taking place there. It is the culmination of 14 years of work by hundreds of devoted followers, dedicated to the memory of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. She talks about a scene full of the modern world and Buddhism and meditation. (3:45)

The Rocky Mountain Shambala center and pictures of the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya can be seen by going to www.rmsc.shambhala.org.

Conned! -- Commentator Andrei Codrescu, an immigrant himself, remarks on how many immigrants make easy prey for con men in the United States. The old addage that "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is," has to be learned. (3:15)

Wagon-Lit -- About to board an overnight train from the south of France to the north, commentator Nancy Coons makes a last-minute upgrade to first class. When she arrives well-rested and refreshed, she decides it was worth it. (3:15)

Grandma's Burial -- Commentator Andrew Lam shares the details of burying his grandmother according to her wishes. (2:30)

Chihuahua Dog -- Commentator Guillermo Gomez-Peņa and his wife purchased a Chihuahua as a social experiment. (4:00)

First Day -- Commentator and anthropologist Meredith Small is about to face the first day of school and she's dreading it. She worries that her 4-year-old daughter will fall under the heavy hand of western culture and be lost forever. She'll have to get up on time, put on appropriate clothes and sit at a desk, just like a job. Small wishes her daughter could learn like other kids in other cultures: by doing. (3:00)

Stolen Parking Spots and Macaroons -- Commentator Elissa Ely says the orderly operation of society relies, in part, on the adherence to certain conventional norms of civil behavior. And she has experienced what most anyone would consider a flagrant violation of those standards. (3:00)

Israel - Palestinians -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says a demographic trend may finally bring peace in Israel and the occupied territories. (3:00)

Tax Cut -- Commentator Andrei Codrescu says the Bush tax cut won't really help people. It will allow a little splurge, and he says, will be quickly forgotten. (3:30)

Wen Ho Lee -- There is a growing dispute between the government and former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee as the Energy Department conducts a pre-publication security review of his book. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says any fuss over My Country Versus Me will just serve to further embarrass the federal authorities. (2:30)

Food Everywhere -- Commentator Lenore Skenazy scores observes that stores everywhere now offer food, be they booksellers, mattress emporiums or tire shops. She thinks its the new hip accesory, now that smoking is verboten. (3:15)

Planet of the Apes -- While movie reviewers were mixed on the new film Planet of the Apes, commentator and anthropologist Meredith Small thinks that Hollywood did a pretty good job depicting the human-ape connection. The way Helena Bonham Carter swings through the trees, and ape soldiers run on their knuckles passes this professor's test. (3:30)

MTV -- Commentator Nick Gillespie is an unabashed fan of MTV--the music television channel is celebrating its 20th anniversary today. Gillespie says MTV not only helped turn certain musicians into cultural touchstones, but also pioneered the trend toward reality television. Most importantly, MTV broke down old vestiges of mainstream sensibilities and made us far more accepting of people and ideas that are different. (2:30)

Election Reform -- NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr doubts whether any of the proposed election reforms currently under consideration can do what really needs to be done -- boost electoral participation. (2:15)

Selling Fish -- Commentator J. H. Hall remembers the lure of fishing as a young man on the Chesapeake Bay. J. H. Hall is the author of Selling Fish: Stories ffrom a Fishing Life. (3:00)



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