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Miss Subways contest poster (Kevin Walsh)Loyal Fans
What makes someone a loyal fan – of, say, a long-forgotten essayist, a losing baseball team, the New York City Subway, or the synthesizer? We explore this question with the help of writer Nicholas Dawidoff, cultural critic Harold Bloom, journalist Allan Jalon, pianist Geri Allen and others. Also this week, sex columnist Dan Savage shows his stuff to activist lexicographer Erin McKean.
Meet Miss Subways
As part of the New York City subway centennial celebrations, the MTA is bringing back the "Miss Subways" contest begun in the 1940s. Host Dean Olsher catches up with several of the original title bearers. Produced by Julie Subrin.
Mr. Subways
Times have changed. Today, the NYC MTA is calling their resurrected "Miss Subways" contest "Ms. Subways." But isn’t it time we had a "Mr. Subways" contest? We thought so, and sent Next Big Thing contributor Henry Alford out in search of him. Produced by Julie Subrin.
» Click here to view the contestants and listen to part of their interview
Who is YOUR choice for "Mr. Subways?" Let us know by writing to: nextbigthing@wnyc.org. Please include your name. Comments welcome. Deadline: Thursday, September 30.
Why Talk About Randolph Bourne?
Randolph Bourne was an influential essayist writing in the nineteen-teens about war, the state, and American national identity – heavy topics he managed to tackle before dying at the age of 32. Next month, journalist Allan Jalon will hold a conference about Bourne at Columbia University. Host Dean Olsher met with Jalon in a West Village café to talk about his interest in this mostly forgotten public figure. Produced by Matt Lieber.
» Information on the conference
Use It Or Lose It, Part 2
It’s time for sex columnist Dan Savage to show Erin McKean if he is up to the task of rescuing words on the verge of extinction. Will "esprise," "lovertine," and "kakistocracy" make it into next week’s column? Produced by Julie Subrin.
A Meditation on Fandom
A considerable number of ardent Boston Red Sox fans live, of all places, in New York City -- the belly of the beast - which made author Nicholas Dawidoff wonder: what do fans get from all the hours they spend watching and listening to ballgames? Something, perhaps, not directly related to the score on the board? Dawidoff talks to fans at one of the Red Sox "bars" in New York City as well as literary scholar/Yankees fan Harold Bloom and Dean of Yale Law School/Red Sox fan Harold Koh. Produced by Emily Botein.
Piano, Diversified
There’s not much that composer and performer Geri Allen can’t do on the piano (or synthesizer, for that matter). She’s played just about every style imaginable, with greats like Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Betty Carter and Ornette Coleman. Here, she performs compositions and chats with host Dean Olsher.