August 2002

William James
It's been a year in which religion has figured in some big news stories, from the Sept. 11 attacks by Muslim terrorists to sexual abuse scandals implicating Catholic priests. Commentator Joe Loconte comes to the defense of religion by reminding us of the work of Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James. Although James was himself an agnostic, in his book, The Varieties of Religious Experience he credited religious ideals for mankind's "highest flights of charity, devotion, trust, patience (and) bravery." (3:30)

California Girls
Commentator Susan Straight takes her three daughters to the beach, and they listen to the Beach Boys sing "California Girls" on the radio. They love to sing along, even though the kind of California girls the Beach Boys sing about are not the California girls that Susan's daughters are. Susan Straight is the author of the novel Highwire Moon. (4:00)

Brazer
High school teacher and commentator Ray Salazar describes growing up as the son of a bracero, more commonly called a brazer. Braceros were migrant workers who came to the U.S. after World War II to work the land. (4:00)

Thought Crime
Commentator Carol Wasserman says fears of a society where we all must spy on each other and each other's thoughts triggers a dream about a spouse being executed for his environmental thoughts. (3:00)

Clinton and Elvis
Commentator Jake Tapper worries about the similarities between Bill Clinton and Elvis. Both rockabillies-turned-giants are incredibly talented -- and both have played starring roles in degrading their own legacies. (4:00)

Breast Cancer Diet
When commentator Heather King was diagnosed with breast cancer, she read a lot of books about controlling cancer with diet. Some recommended eating a plate of grated beets. Others dictated that adherents eat only fruits and vegetables, while others prescibed eating no fruit at all. Finally, she decided to eat a little less -- and to say grace before each meal. (3:30)

Incoming Freshman
Commentator Daniel Pinkwater speaks to a seemingly catatonic group of new college students. They ask no questions. To him, the talk appears to have been a disaster. Later he sees signs in the school lobby about "TV rentals" and then comes to a realization. They treated him like a video -- and just watched. (2:45)

Eyewitness
Commentator Hollis Gillespie has twice found herself at crime scenes. When she was questioned by the police, she wasn't able to remember the details they've needed. (3:15)

Call to Strike
Commentator Ken Adelman argues for a military strike on Iraq -- using Shakespeare's Othello as an example. (3:00)

For more, see the Web site www.MoversAndShakespeares.com.

Lock
Commentator Mary Jo Pehl, from Minnesota, has a funny recounting of her first night in a New York apartment. When she comes home her lock is missing but the crooks didn't complete the job and break in. She wonders if the locks were just being cleaned. (3:15)

The Web as Social Evolution
Commentator David Weinberger disagrees with the premise that the Web is making people less social. On the contrary, he says, our discourse is simply evolving. (3:00)

Want Ads
Commentator Robin Chotzinoff says she's been driven to look at the want ads again. Her income has taken a temporary hit and she is looking for a way to supplement her writing career. (3:00)

Airline Security
Commentator Hollis Gillespie is a flight attendant. Recently she went through two days of training to learn how to deal with an attempted hijacking. (2:30)

Exercises for Poets
Poet and professor Andrei Codrescu has some suggestions for poetry class this fall. (3:00)

Cancer Patient
Commentator Heather King met a woman she wouldn't normally talk to in the waiting room of the breast cancer second opinion clinic -- a suburban wife who wears Prada and Gucci. (4:00)

Holstein of the Gods
Commentator Daniel Ferry brings us another tale his sixth grade classroom. The class put on a version of The Odyssey. Providing appropriate costumes for the cows in one scene proved to be a problem. (4:15)

Searching for a Justification
NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says President Bush has been working overtime in his effort to find a justification for going to war against Iraq. (3:00)

Not Elvis
Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. But, as commentator Neil Rauch would like to remind us, Elvis was not the only superstar who shuffled off this mortal coil in 1977. (4:00)

Stereotype Cafe
Commentator and doctor David Watts slings "doctor" stereotypes with colleagues during a lunchtime conversation in a cafe. (2:00)

Detainees
A federal judge ruled today that the Justice Department does not have to immediately release the names of aliens who have been arrested or detained since Sept. 11. Commentator Paul Kamenar says that the stay is a victory for the Bush Administration. (3:30)

The Shadow
Confronted by an angry patient, psychiatrist and commentator Elissa Ely gets help from an unexpected source for which she is eternally grateful. (3:00)

Sept. 11 Commemoration
City, state and national authorities have been unveiling plans for ceremonies to mark the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The events include the solemn reading of speeches and ringing of bells. But NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr wonders whether, for all its focus on commemoration, America is actually learning to deal with all of the changes that Sept. 11 has wrought. (2:45)

Dog Ranch
Among dog aficionados, sheep herding classes are a new trend. City dogs from the so-called herding breeds can sign up and learn to work the flock like their country cousins. There are now several herding classes offered in the Los Angeles area. Commentator Louise Rafkin and her dog Lucy went to Drummond Ranch just north of the city where Ted and Janna Ondrak teach dogs what it takes to round up a flock. (4:00)

Creative Prosecutions
In July of 2000, Kenneth Powell was awakened by a call from the police. They asked him to come to the station and pick up his friend, who'd just been arrested for drunk driving. A trooper gave him directions to get to the drunk driver's car. Police returned the drunk's car keys, and Powell dropped off his friend. The drunk man then got behind the wheel of his sports utility vehicle and drove head-on into another car. He killed himself and one of the other vehicle's occupants. Kenneth Powell, who'd only picked up and dropped off his drunk friend, was charged with manslaughter and vehicular homicide. Commentator Sherry Colb says that creative prosecutions like these subvert the legislative process. (3:15)

See more of Sherry Colb's writing at http://writ.findlaw.com.

MacWorld
Andrei Codrescu takes a bad experience ordering a Macintosh computer and finds insights into our MacWorld -- from MacBusiness and MacGovernment, to MacHope and MacDreams. (2:30)

"Merely of Interest"?
On Sunday, Dr. Steven Hatfill, a scientist who previously worked for the Army's biological research center in Maryland, held a press conference to denounce the FBI's tactics in their anthrax investigation. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that, although the Bureau has labeled Hatfill as a "person of interest" and not a suspect, the very public manner in which they have conducted searches of Dr. Hatfill's home is reminiscent of the FBI's media orchestration in its investigations of Richard Jewell and Wen Ho Lee. (2:45)

Muscle Beach
Commentator Joan Torres has this remembrance of her days on Santa Monica's Muscle Beach ... and one of the beach's odder characters. (3:00)

Tony
The Los Angeles neighborhood where commentator Heather King lives is dominated by immigrants. Koreatown, of course, has Koreans, but also people from El Salvador, Vietnam, Mexico, and Hong Kong. One man, Tony, is a little bit strange. One day, Tony insists that he can't get his car out of a parking place. Heather realizes that all he needs is a little sympathy. (3:30)

College Prep
In a growing number of school districts around the country, high school students are being required to take college prep courses. It's an effort to raise standards -- but commentator Joanne Jacobs says there are dangers in making the college track the only path through high school. (3:00)

Out-of-Fashion Shorts
Commentator David Hill discovers his old shorts are out of vogue, and heads for the mall in search of a fashion makeover. (2:30)

Mosquito Lady
A postcard from Amanda Zych describing the ups and downs of hunting mosquitos all summer long. Her summer project is to collect mosquitos and identify them. Though she loves the buggers, she still gets bit. (2:15)

Orioles
When commentator Bill Harley first moved into his house, he heard the call of an oriole. It vanished for years ... but now, as a sign of new hope, it is back. (3:30)

Stolen Identity
Commentator Paul Karon learns from bank someone is running around Europe using his credit cards. This identity thefts conjures up for Paul a wild European adventure that his identity is having without him. He imagines scenes in castles and sports cars and Alpine hideaways. It's a thrill for him, a homebody. (3:30)

Civil Liberties
A federal court ruled last week that non-citizens held in Guatanamo Bay have no right to challenge the legality of their detention by U.S. officials. Commentator David Cole says the United States should be careful not to tread on the rights of non-citizens in order to ensure the safety of citizens. Cole -- a Georgetown University law professor -- says the Constitution's bill of rights extends to all persons, not just citizens. (3:30)

Interactivity
Reflections from commentator Guillermo Gomez-Pena on the world where audiences expect to talk to the performer, and how it is mostly an illusion. (3:30)

Stop and Go
Commentator Andrei Codrescu offers a comical jibe at society's current obsesssion with limiting vice. He points out that the generally overindulgent lifestyle that used to be commonplace has now been tamed into a mere binge-purge cycle. (3:30)

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