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Ultra distance running races - The clock strikes 454 hoursEndurance
This election season was an exercise in endurance - not unlike the work of Frank Browning’s family, which has run an apple orchard in Kentucky for several generations. Or Luis Rios, who competes in multiday, long distance running races. Or the young and masterful fingerstyle guitarist Kaki King. We bring you their stories, plus poetry for the street, and for the graves of World War I veterans.
Four More Years
Just a few days ago, it looked like our Bush imitator Charlie Schroeder might be out of a job. But he’s not. Here’s his version of the president’s acceptance speech.
Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
In the aftermath of the election, many Americans seem to be looking at one another across state and party lines with utter incomprehension. Seems like a good time to pull out Walt Whitman. Dean Olsher hits the street, poetry in hand. Produced by Matt Lieber.
» Read a complete version of Walt Whitman’s "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"
Restless Guitar
Kaki King is known mostly for the inventive way she plays fingerstyle guitar, using the instrument for percussion, melody, and rhythm all at once. We visit her in her Brooklyn loft where she shows off her guitar collection and demonstrates how she can generate the sound of an entire band with one guitar. Produced by Matt Lieber.
» For more about Kaki King, go to her website
One Mile Seven Hundred Times
For the past twenty years, Brooklyn native Luis Rios has participated in spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy’s ultra distance running races – races that last up to three weeks, and 1300 miles. Unlike most of the participants, Rios does not consider himself a Sri Chinmoy "disciple." Next Big Thing contributor Maureen McMurray follows Rios over the course of a 12-day race to find out what makes him run. Produced by Julie Subrin.
» View a slideshow from the race
Flanders Fields
The town of Ypres in Belgium was the site of some of the worst fighting in World War I. Each year, thousands converge to honor the half million soldiers who died there. These are the sounds of a Veterans Day commemoration there two years ago, attended by, among others, Jack Davis, the oldest surviving British veteran of that war. He died last year at the age of 108. Produced by Sherre DeLys.
Selling the Farm
For many years, an apple orchard in Fleming County, Kentucky, has been vitally important to the Browning family. But this year marked the family’s last harvest – they’ve decided to sell. Before letting it go, longtime NPR contributor Frank Browning remembers what the farm has been to his family over the past several generations.
