A Need to Belong: Citizenship in a Post-9/11 America
2-3pm on WNYC 93.9 FM and AM 820

Something fundamental about being “American” has changed since 9/11. A Need to Belong is the story of this change, told by voices from the nation’s most diverse state - California - and by those abroad. A Need to Belong will explore patriotism and the place of both loyalty and dissent in our changed world. It will expose the byproducts of fear in our society, including a new sense of vulnerability among immigrants and strained relations between long-time citizens and recent arrivals. Through reporting abroad, it will examine how the image of America and the ideal of American citizenship in other parts of the world has shifted. Listeners will visit a military town and its evangelical Christian church; hear the post-9/11 ordeal of an Iraqi family; hear the plight of three imigrant Filipino baggage handlers and follow the impact of their story back to family and friends in the Philippines; and feel the struggle of citizens and civic organizations trying to understand their roles and responsibilities in this new America. [Produced by KQED, San Francisco.]

Defending the Future
8-9pm on WNYC AM 820

On Sept. 11, Lt. Cmdr. David Tarantino, a flight surgeon and family practitioner assigned to the Pentagon, was at his desk when American Airlines Flight 77 drove its nose deep into the heart of America’s military might. Defending the Future opens with Lt. Cmdr. Tarantino and Capt. Dave Thomas standing where flight 77 struck and remembering that day - running to the site of the carnage; hearing the cries for help; carrying retired Navy pilot Jerry Henson out of the building moments before fiery debris engulfed his office. From there, reporter Steve Roberts focuses on the future of America’s armed forces, exploring how everyone from the top brass at the Pentagon down to the greenest recruit in boot camp on Parris Island thinks our military will change because of 9/11. Defending the Future looks not only at how the strategy and structure of the military is changing, but also at how the lives of fighters will be affected. Wives of fighter pilots talk about the long, painful months of separation, and young recruits confront the likelihood that they will see combat. Drill instructors talk about how they view their jobs post-9/11, and veterans of the air campaign in Afghanistan share the frustrations of pursuing an enemy with no face and a war with no end. [Produced by WAMU, Washington D.C. and Soundprint Prod.]

Thanks to Fred Froehlich for the use of his photos.