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Photo by Vincent LaForet for the New York TimesHanging in the Balance
Waiting for, betting on, taking pictures of, and writing letters during war. We check in with Vincent Laforet, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist now aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, and talk Greek tragedy with Nation columnist Katha Pollitt. Also, music from the Raymond Scott Orchestrette and a new, familiar yet unfamiliar scene from the imagination of audio artist Miranda July.
War Bets
So when’s it going to be? March? April? Tad Hirsch, webmaster of marchtowar.com, is taking bets. h
Waiting
It’s the middle of March, and still we’re waiting for spring, and waiting for war. Next Big Thing producer Julie Subrin takes a look at this double-edged waiting period.
A Different Lens
The first time we heard from New York Times staff photographer Vincent Laforet,
he had just recently taken the picture that would establish him as a different
kind of photojournalist. The picture showed, from above, the view of two men
changing lightbulbs on the spire of the Empire State Building. Since then, Laforet
has continued to impress with his unforgettable photos of people and events
both local and far away. He’s now stationed on the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier
in the Persian Gulf, and tells Dean what the view looks like from there. 
View a larger image of the
Empire State Biuilding photograph.
View Laforet's photos from Pakistan
Listen to an earlier interview of Laforet on The
Next Big Thing
View a recent Laforet photo from the Persian Gulf
Posted
Serving in war can be terrifying, lonely, and tedious. For many, letters from home are one of the few sources of relief. Lieutenants Robert Holmes and Neal Creighton remember the letters they wrote and received when they served during the last Gulf War. Holmes and Creighton are co-authors, with three others, of The Eyes of Orion: Five Tank Lieutenants in the Persian Gulf War. Produced by Michael Kavanagh.
The Boy from Lam Kien
The latest installment from audio and performance artist Miranda July. As always, July takes as her subject matter the many small awkwardnesses that arise when human beings try to connect with one another. Produced by Curtis Fox.
Listen to another Miranda July story called "The Moves." Advisory: This piece is for web only, due to content which some listeners may find objectionable.
Ancient Greece All Over Again
How can it be that a play written 2400 years ago has so much resonance today? Nation columnist Katha Pollitt talks to Dean about Lysistrata, as well as other ancient Greek texts that seem to be coming up in conversation more and more as we contemplate war. Pollitt also happens to be a poet. Here’s what she read for us.
Raymond Scott Remix
Composer and bandleader Raymond Scott wrote music in the forties and fifties that accompanied Warner Brothers cartoons and is today recognized primarily as “Bugs Bunny” or “Daffy Duck” music. But as Dean discovers, the seven members of the Raymond Scott Orchestrette see much more than that in Scott’s music, which they love to take apart and put back together again.
