On Demand
WNYC's Coverage of the Democratic National Convention
Live performances in Soundcheck's studios
Studio 360: How Animals Communicate with Each Other
Selected Shorts featuring "The Trouble of Marcie Flint," by John Cheever
Radio Rookies: Brooklyn Broadcast Workshop
On the Media: Challenging Convention
Street Shots Challenge
Survival Kit Archive
December 2003
Scott Simon
Sunday, December 28, 2003
When Scott Simon takes a break from his job as host of NPR’s Weekend Edition, it’s usually to get closer to news making events. Reporting from trouble spots all over the world, he’s covered wars, famines, sieges, earthquakes and presidential campaigns. He’s also the author of the books Home and Away: Memoirs of a Fan, and Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball, which bring a historical perspective to our national pastime. I’ve asked him to imagine a real respite, a long retreat in a quiet place, away from the hubbub, and to tell us something about himself, namely the 8 things his Survival Kit would contain.
Martin Amis
Sunday, December 21, 2003
Martin Amis has been hailed as one of the most brilliant writers of his generation for both his novels (including The Rachel Papers, London Fields, Money, Time’s Arrow, and Yellow Dog) and his nonfiction (the memoir Experience, Koba the Dread and others.) A New York Times reviewer once called him “the best American writer England has ever produced,” and like any American celebrity, his private life has been subject to intense press scrutiny. His marriages, his relationship with his father, the writer Kingsley Amis, his book advances, even his dental work have inspired reams of press clippings. If he doesn’t already have a remote hideaway to escape the prying eyes of gossip columnists, he can probably use one. Let’s find out what he’s got in his survival kit for this getaway.
Janeane Garofalo
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Janeane Garofalo was named “Class Clown” at high schools in both New Jersey and Texas; in college, she won the title “Funniest Person in Rhode Island”. She has since taken the other 47 states by storm with dozens of roles in TV (The Larry Sanders Show, Saturday Night Live, and The Sopranos to name a few) and films like Reality Bites, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, and Mystery Men, while continuing to hone her stand-up comedy act. What does one of the funniest people in America pack for an extended retreat in a remote location? Let’s check out her survival kit.
Sara Paretsky
Sunday, December 07, 2003
Sara Paretsky has become so associated with the heroine of her acclaimed mystery series, the tough Chicago private eye V.I. Warshawski, that some people might find it hard to believe she grew up in a small town in Kansas. Her first published story was about a group of children who survive a tornado, but her Warshawski novels, like Indemnity Only, Killing Orders, Hard Time, and Blacklist, are fraught with big-city issues: white collar crime, political corruption, industrial fraud, and threats to civil liberties. She’s lived in the Windy City for the last few decades, but I wonder if there’s still something of the farm girl in her. Let’s check out her survival kit and see.