On Demand
The Next Big Thing Archive
February 2003
Myth, Meet Reality
Friday, February 28, 2003
We look at the intersection of real lives with mythical ones. Novelist Meg Wolitzer imagines what her life would have been like had one of her many crushes been requited. Host Dean Olsher revisits the crossroads where blues master Robert Johnson is said to have made his pact with the devil. And we hear from a man who took the Cabbage Patch craze just a little too seriously.
For and Against (Noise, Snow, and Other Things)
Friday, February 21, 2003
We pay attention to all that noise – from iPods, cellphones, televisions, walkmen and all the rest. And then there are words – your made-up words for dictionary maven Erin McKean, words in verse from poet Steve Almond, and a veritable torrent of words both comic and passionate from performer Julia Sweeney.
Coming and Going
Friday, February 14, 2003
Jackie Mockbee--wife of the late Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee, internationally acclaimed architect--offers an audio diary of her first year in widowhood. Also, a noisy postcard from Matt Power, seeking enlightenment in a traffic jam in New Delhi. And we hear a new composition by Roy Nathanson, creator of our very own Next Big Thing theme music.
Countdown
Friday, February 07, 2003
We look at people facing countdowns of every kind. One man must decide whether or not to register as an illegal immigrant with the INS by the end of next month. Another has just a few hours to bake an extravagant cake for one of his more demanding clients. And then there’s Dean, counting beats under the tutelage of 9-year old drummer Rachel Trachtenburg, the youngest member of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players.
