The Next Big Thing Archive

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December 2003

The Other Side
Show #417

Friday, December 26, 2003

We turn things on their head. Sound poet Tracie Morris finds what she calls the “Afrofuturistic” in everything from Star Trek episodes to nursery rhymes. Author Joshua Wolf Shenk researches Abraham Lincoln’s melancholic side. And poet Jim Behrle tries out being millionaire-for-a-day. Also, the unusual habits of Glenn Gould, as elaborately imagined by writer John Haskell.

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Home, Away from Home
Show #416

Friday, December 19, 2003

We visit with sailors aboard a merchant ship, and Quebecois Christmas tree sellers, whose livelihoods require that they spend weeks, months or even years far from the comforts of home. Also, a radio play about going home, starring Lili Taylor and Glen Fitzgerald. And a profile of portrait photographer Elsa Dorfman, who captures something essential about her clients by making them feel at home.

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Year (and Years) in Review
Show#415

Friday, December 12, 2003

A widow chronicles the year after her 30-year marriage to architect Samuel “Sambo” Mockbee. We look back at the news, big and small, of 2003. A reporter collects 30-second life histories on the street. Also, testimonials to the existence of Santa Claus. And pianist Jeremy Denk on some music that won’t let go.

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In News and Letters
Show #414

Friday, December 05, 2003

Two starkly different forms of communication – the painstakingly handwritten letter, and fast-talking broadcast news. We hear from Marianne McCune, reporting from Mexico City on the labors of “public writers,” and from news anchor-gone-comedian Bob Wiltfong. Also, excerpts from a play about a woman writing her last letter, presented by the play’s creator, filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, and performed by actress Kathleen Chalfant.