October 2001

Miracles-- Commentator and poet Andrei Codrescu says life is too miraculous for us to comprehend, so we have created rules to live by.

Hellhound-- Robert Johnson played the blues. He learned it quickly; some say too quickly. In fact, legend has it that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to learn to play the blues. Storyteller Mitch Myers has a modern version of that tale. (4:45)

No World Series for Me-- Commentator David Ulin is a die-hard Yankees fan, which is why he can't bear to watch the World Series this year. He gets too deeply engrossed in the games. (3:30)

Day of the Dead-- Commentator Susan Straight is getting ready to celebrate the Day of the Dead on November first. It's a holiday celebrated in Mexico -- and increasingly in the United States -- in which people build altars and make offerings for dead loved ones. Susan went to New York in September, and saw all the altars for the victims of the World Trade Center attacks. The altars were for people of all cultures, and she is making her Day of the Dead altar multicultural to reflect the many kinds of people who died in New York. (3:30)

Airport Security-- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr notes that meaningful airport security legislation might be on its way. (2:45)

Cultural Glue-- Sara Fishko of member station WNYC offers this commentary about ways that popular culture holds Americans together in uncertain times. Back in London in World War II, Myra Hess held nearly 2,000 concerts in Trafalgar Square. She performed daily at lunchtime for culture-starved Londoners distressed by the uncertainty of the Blitz. Nowadays, our cultural routine seems more tied to late-night TV, where we laugh at what we fear most and where anchormen cry, politicians joke, and funnymen get very serious. (7:00)

Windows XP Warning-- Commentator Preston Gralla warns that the new version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, XP, which was released this week, could really invade your privacy. He says the software's Passport system is really an attempt to learn your personal information -- from your shopping habits to your credit card numbers, to your stock holdings. (3:00)

Violent Lives-- Commentator Katie Davis observes that the children in her Washington, D.C. neighborhood, while aware of the violent events occurring in the world at large, are more concerned with the violence they experience in their own lives. (3:15)

Turtle Racing-- Commentator Marion Roach offers a tribute to her father. He was a sportswriter. And once, for a little girl, he wrote a tongue-in-cheek rulebook on turtle racing. (3:45)

Bush - Terrorism Response-- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says President Bush, while scoring high in opinion polls, still has much to learn about dealing with America's terror-induced frustrations. (3:00)

Not My War-- Commentator Askia Muhammad is a Muslim, and an American. And he does not want any part of Osama bin Laden's call to "holy war," nor any part the U.S. military assault in Afghanistan. (3:15)

House Out of Synch-- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the House of Representatives is out of synch with America's newfound sense of shared purpose. (3:15)

Hit By Lightning-- Commentator Michael Ivey says he's been hit by lightning three times in his life. The last time was while doing construction work in bad weather. Years later, Ivey ran into a person who was nearby when the lightning strike happened. The man tells Ivey he's had a religious experience. (3:45)

Media Role-- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr wonders if the attention television has given anthrax is doing more harm than good. (3:00)

Sri Lanka-- Commentator Vickram Singh lives and works in the Sri Lankan capital. He says conflict there between the Buddhist majority and the Tamil rebels shows the difficulty of a "war on terrorism." (2:00)

Anti-Terrorism Laws-- Commentator David Cole, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, argues there's no need for Draconian measures to give law enforcement more tools to fight terrorism. He says the laws are tough enough already. (3:00)

Courting Moderates-- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the United States needs to court moderate Muslims for the war on terrorism to be successful. (3:00)

View From Abroad-- Commentator Rachel Louise Snyder is an American writer. She was in London when the Sept. 11 tragedies occurred. (4:00)

President and Congress-- In the face of congressional criticism, President Bush has reconsidered yesterday's anti-leak edict on who could receive classified briefings on the war against terrorism. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that such scrapes between the legislative and executive branches is nothing new. (3:00)

Nation Building-- During the presidential campaign, George W. Bush made his opposition to "nation building" well known. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says now, facing the prospect of Afghanistan's Taliban government falling, Mr. Bush might find it necessary to build a nation. (2:30)

Human Nature-- Two small experiences with children restored commentator Elissa Ely's faith in human nature. (2:30)

Need for Speed-- Storyteller Mitch Meyer tells his tale of being pulled over for speeding and the conversation with the police officer. The conversation turned to the history of car songs, like Radar Love, by Golden Earring; Rocket 88, by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats; Low Rider, by War, and On The Road Again, by Canned Heat. (5:00)

The songs in this piece all come from a Rhino records collection called Hot Rods and Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs and Highway Hits.

Patriotic Shopper-- Commentator Jane Armstrong says she is doing her part in assisting the country during this time of need. She is shopping, on a one woman mission to raise consumer confidence. (3:00)

Insurance-- Commentator Andrei Codrescu says his son was besieged by an insurance agent who wanted him to buy a life insurance policy. (3:30)

The Power of Suicide-- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the suicidal terrorist -- "the zealot courting his own death" -- is the hardest kind to counter. (3:00)

Kinkade Community--Commentator Louise Rafkin went to the opening of the new housing development in Vallejo, California inspired by the paintings of Thomas Kinkade. (5:00)

New World Order--International relations in the 20th century were dominated by the question of Communism. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says 21st century diplomacy will revolve around terrorism. (3:00)


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