On Demand
The Next Big Thing Archive
December 2002
Lost Sense
Sunday, December 29, 2002
We hear from people who have lost, or given up, a sense – including Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” famous for abandoning what most of us take to be common sense. Also this week, accordion music in translation, and silly musings on celebrity worship from writer and actor Mark O’Donnell.
Christmas Chaos
Sunday, December 22, 2002
We’ve gone a little Christmas crazy, but of course, on the Next Big Thing, that means Christmas with a twist. We visit with Quebecois tree-sellers, a Brooklyn video store proprietor and a crowd of boombox carolers. Also, new music by jazz pianist Jason Moran, and an investigation into poetry’s new status as a millionaire’s business. And tales of attraction from our Department of Transportation.
Art in Odd Places
Sunday, December 08, 2002
Jazz in church, paintings after prison, an electronic soundscape in an old synagogue… we’ve got all kinds of art happening in all kinds of places. Plus, how to change a man who’s committed crimes against humanity – by giving him books. And once again, we hand over the controls for an episode of “You’re on the Air with Jonathan Katz.”
(Picture right, Portrait of the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca by Breyten Breytenbach)
Rat Tales, Flu Victims and Life Coaching
Sunday, December 01, 2002
Sure, it’s important to give thanks. But sometimes, don’t you just want to complain a little? This week, we contemplate some of the less pleasurable aspects of life, from getting the flu to finding rats in your apartment. But don’t despair; we’ve also got advice from a life coach, in case you’d like to try to turn your life around.