LIFE IN THE RUBBER ROOM
The true story of little-known rooms in New York City Board of Education buildings. Teachers are told to report there instead of their classrooms. Usually, no reason is given. When they arrive, they find they've been put on some kind of probationary status, and they must show up every day until the matter is cleared up. Teachers continue to receive their salaries, but it can take months, sometimes years, until they are either returned to the classroom or fired. So every day the teachers report to the "Rubber Room"... to wait.
Produced by Joe Richman, Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, and Samara Freemark
Listen to the broadcast on thislife.org
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IDENTICAL STRANGERS
What is it that makes us who we really are? Our life experiences or
our DNA? Paula Bernstein and Elyse Schein were both born
in New York City. Both women were adopted as infants and raised by
loving families. They met for the first time when they were 35 years
old and found they were "identical strangers".
Paula and Elyse then discovered the reason they had been separated as
infants: a research study of identical twins designed to examine the
question of nature versus nurture. This documentary includes the
first tape ever broadcast of Dr. Peter Neubauer describing his secret
experiment.
Paula and Elyse have written a book about their experience.
Produced by Joe Richman with help from Deb George, Ben Shapiro, and Anayansi Diaz-Cortes
Listen to the broadcast on NPR.org
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THE 10TH MOUNTAIN
The 10th Mountain Division fought in World War Two for only four months, but it had one of the highest casualty rates of the war. The division started out as an experiment to train skiers and climbers to fight in the mountains. The men of the 10th went on to lead a series of daring assaults against the German army in the mountains of Italy. After they returned home, many of these soldiers helped to create the
modern ski industry.
Special thanks to 10th Mountain solders Dan Kennerly, Bob Parker,
Newc Eldredge, Al Waverek, along with Dick Wilson and Robert Nordhaus
who both died this past year.
Produced with help from Deb George, Ben Shapiro, Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, and Sue Johnson.
Listen to
the broadcast on NPR.org
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A WEST SIDE STORY: Michael Farmer and the murder that shocked New York
The musical West Side Story opened on Broadway in
the fall of 1957. It was a story of romance and
rivalry between white and Puerto Rican gangs in
the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Few people
know that originally it was to be called East
Side Story, and the conflict was between Catholics
and Jews. The story was changed to reflect new
ethnic tensions brewing in New York's
neighborhoods.
The new storyline was prophetic. A month before the
musical opened, New Yorkers were stunned by the
brutal murder of a white teenager from Washington
Heights. Michael Farmer's death, 50 years ago, marked a turning point in city.
This audio history is told through the voices of historian
Rob Snyder, criminologist Lewis Yablonsky, former
gang member Nicky Cruz, and Raymond Farmer,
brother of Michael Farmer
Listen to
the broadcast on NPR.org
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The Pygmy in the Zoo
One hundred years ago, on September 8th, 1906, the Bronx Zoo in New York unveiled a new exhibit that would attract thousands of visitors to come and marvel. Inside a cage, in the monkey house, was a man. His name was Ota Benga. He was 22 years old, a member of the Batwa people, pygmies who lived in what was then, the Belgian Congo.
Listen to
the broadcast on NPR.org
Learn more about the book, Ota Benga, by Phillips
Verner Bradford, grandson of the explorer who brought Ota Benga to America.
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Soweto 1976
In South Africa, on June 16th, 1976, a group
of school children in the black township of Soweto decided to
hold a protest. At the time, nobody thought their action would
change the course of a nation.
Produced by Joe Richman and Ben
Shapiro.
Broadcasted on NPR, June 16th, 2006 for the 30th anniversary
of the Soweto Uprising.
Listen to
the broadcast on NPR
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Mandela: An Audio History
A five-part radio series documenting
the struggle against apartheid through rare sound recordings,
the voice of Nelson Mandela himself, as well as those
who fought with him, and against him.
Visit Mandela: An Audio
History website
CDs of Mandela: An Audio History are now
available
Call 888-227-5865 to order or buy it online
at NPR.org |
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