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The Next Big Thing
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Josef and Anni Albers Josef and Anni Albers (Photo courtesy of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation)Debate and Contemplation
We poke fun at the presidential debates, and bring to a close a heated debate about who should be "Mr. Subways 2004." In calmer exchanges, host Dean Olsher talks to curator Nicholas Fox Weber about Bauhaus figures Josef and Anni Albers. And we explore the meaning of "indigenous music" for an aboriginal choir in Australia’s outback. Also this week, writer John Haskell remembers actress Janet Leigh.
The Missing Debate
And now, this Next Big Thing exclusive: the largely overlooked presidential debate recently held in Ames, Iowa, with Ed Helms (of "The Daily Show") serving as moderator. Charlie Schroeder and Steve Bodow channel President Bush and Senator Kerry, respectively (if not respectfully). Produced by Amanda Aronczyk.
» For more of the debate, click here.
And the Winner Is...
Next Big Thing contributor Henry Alford is back to announce the winner of our "Mr. Subways" contest. Meet Mr. Subways 2004! Produced by Julie Subrin.
» If you missed the first part of our "Mr. Subways" contest coverage, you can listen to it here
» Click here to view the 3 contestants and listen to part of their interview
Loving the Camera
A meditation on Janet Leigh adapted from John Haskell’s collection of short stories, I Am Not Jackson Pollock. Read by the author himself, and produced by Emily Botein. Haskell’s newest novel, American Purgatorio, is due out this December.
» More on John Haskell
Pillow Fight
Yes, the flash mob is still going strong – at least in London. Next Big Thing correspondent Tim Heffer gives us a play-by-play account of one that took place outside St. Paul’s Cathedral October 5, at 5:40 p.m. Produced by Jill Krauss.
Josef and Anni Albers
Josef and Anni Albers were both major figures in the Bauhaus art and design movement. Their work is now on display in a retrospective at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. Dean Olsher walks through the exhibit with its curator, Nicholas Fox Weber, who came to know the Albers well during their lifetime. Produced by Emily Botein.
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More on the exhibit at Cooper-Hewitt
» More on Josef and Anni Albers
Heard Under the Street...
The musical saw, played by Moses E. Josiah in the concourse of the Union Square subway station in Manhattan. Produced by Matt Lieber.
Bach from the Outback
Music of the aboriginal peoples of Australia does not circulate widely. So it may come as a surprise that some of the most popular songs within one remote Aboriginal community are sacred chorales by Bach. We hear music and reflections from members of that community’s Pitjanjatjara Choir, which has recently begun to travel farther afield. Produced by Sherre DeLys.
» More information on the Pitjanjatjara Choir’s performance in Adelaide
