The Next Big Thing

Unsealed

Show #437

Friday, May 14, 2004

Investigations of private and forgotten things. Food writers Matt and Ted Lee unwrap cheeses and open jars in their search for the oldest food in New York. We meet a public letter writer in Mexico City, called upon to fill out job applications, write school essays, and compose verse. And we eavesdrop on the secrets of people entering and leaving a public library. Also this week, the adventures of comedy duo Ahna Tessler and Lauren Engel, who make their way to L.A. with their Hollywood pitch.

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Secrets

secrets If you tell someone your secret, it’s not a secret anymore. But what if you just write it down on a scrap of paper, and put it in a stranger’s rucksack? Then what does it become? A sound montage created by Next Big Thing Secret Collector Pejk Malinovski.

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The Place of Words

It’s been about a hundred and fifty years since public letter writers, known as "evangelistas," first set up shop under the arches of Santo Domingo Plaza in Mexico City. They remain an important presence there, and as Next Big Thing contributor Marianne McCune tells us, the entire district is now given over to written communication. Produced by Michael Kavanagh.

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Down and Out (and Up and Down) in Hollywood

New York comedians Ahna Tessler and Lauren Engel knew that they had a film idea worthy of a lucrative Hollywood deal. Now all they needed was some money, a place to crash in L.A., and meetings with studios. Not to mention a script. Produced by Amanda Aronczyk.

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Lady Chutney

Lots of things came into being in 1969 – the Concorde jet, the Nixon presidency, and – Joy Tomkins’s rhubarb chutney. She reports to Dean from Downham Market in Norfolk, England, on how the chutney has fared lo these many years. Produced by Jill Krauss.

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Old Food

century old egg Food writers Matt and Ted Lee hit the streets of New York in search of food that’s stood the test of time, including, but not limited to, a thousand-year-old egg for sale in a grocery in Chinatown. Produced by Emily Botein