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Author: Barrett Golding/Archives

2008-10-18

Red Sox Nuts

The Red Sox tie it at 3-3 in the ALCS. Reminds me of 2004 and this vid about their series win, “Red Sox vs. Mastercard:”:

Starring Denis Leary, Paul F. Tompkins, Brendan Small, Eddie Pepitone, Jackie Harris; directed by Russell Bates, from Comedy Central’s Last Laugh.

2008-10-15

HV033- Political People

Election electoral vote maps, 1968-2004Hearing Voices from NPR®
033 Political People: On the Campaign Trail
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2010-10-13 (Originally: 2008-10-15)

“Political People” (52:00 mp3):

In 1992 producer Barrett Golding found remnants of Jefferson’s theories and Toqueville’s writings still very much in play, as he followed Montana’s two incumbents US Representatives, one Democrat, one Republican. Due to re-apportionment, they were vying for the state’s one remaining Congressional seat, on a yearlong statewide game of political musical chairs. (Image above-right: Presidential Electoral Vote map, 1968-2008, animated, see full-size here.)

And Jonathan Menjivar documents Harold Washington College and University of Chicago students discussing “Dreams of Democracy” (audible | PRX) part of the WBEZ series Chicago Matters: Our Next Generation.

Original songs by Greg Keeler and instrumental music by Jeff Arntsen of Racket Ship.

2008-10-11

Western Soundscape Archive -AP

HV’s Jeff Rice is interviewed in this Associated Press article “Recordings aim to capture calls of the wild West” about the Western Soundscape Archive:

Although it’s just a year old, the site already has more than 800 recordings. The goal is to catalog the nearly 1,200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians that roam 11 Western states. It will also feature “ambient soundscapes” from wild places across the region.

Jeff recently hosted our Bugs & Birds HV hour.

2008-10-10

Interviews 50 Cents

Slate’s Interviews 50 Cents:

Two microphones, a card table, NPR’s Alex Chadwick, and intimate stories from passers-by. In this episode, Alex talks to a woman whose business lets average voters make their own political ads.

“Bad Blood” Hitchhiker- Indianapolis IN:

Archives: Interviews 50 Cents

2008-10-09

If These Walls Could Talk

Audio aritiste extraordinaire (and USA Fellow) Susan Stone’s new project is IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK “Inside Youth Speak Out: testimonial writings by the youngest members of America’s prison system.” Lots of poetry and audio there, some w/ music by Malcolm Marshall. A couple of my faves…

“Two Cripples” (1:07 mp3):

“Missing Moms” (0:44 mp3):

2008-10-08

HV032- Soapbox

Hearing Voices from NPR®:
032 Soapbox— Sampling 20th Century Political Speech
Host— Sarah Vowell of This American Life
Airdates— 10/8/2008 – 10/15/2008

Soapbox (53:00 mp3):

Thomas and his signs in Lafayette SquareWe hang with the mostly homeless protesters, and Scott Carrier, in “Lafayette Square” across from the White House.

“Memory Waltz” is from composer Oliver Nelson’s LP: The Kennedy Dream; A Musical Tribute to John Fitzgerald Kennedy., with musicians Phil Woods, Hank Jones, George Duvivier and Grady Tate.

Bonus audio: The Kennedy Dream “A Genuine Peace” (2:35 mp3):

We hear excerpts from All the Presidents’ Inaugurations:
• Calvin Coolidge— Inaugural Address, Wednesday, March 4, 1925
• Franklin D. Roosevelt— First Inaugural Address, Saturday, March 4, 1933
• Harry S. Truman— Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1949
• Dwight D. Eisenhower— First Inaugural Address, Tuesday, January 20, 1953
• John F. Kennedy— Inaugural Address, Friday, January 20, 1961

And from John McCain and Barack Obama’s September 26 2008 Presidential Debate, Oxford MS.

Writer Dave Eggers helps his brother Bill run for State Representative as a Republican — blood proves thicker than politics, from This American Life.

Slam poet Taylor Mali tells us “How to Write a Political Poem” (CD: Conviction).

Host Sarah Vowell digs “The Garden for Disappointed Politicians,” from The Future Dictionary of America. Music by Jeff Arntsen of Racket Ship.

Thomas and his signs, from Carrier's Lafayette Square radio story
Thomas in Lafayette Square; © 1983 Scott Carrier

Audio artist Jesse Boggs choreographs a bipartisan “WMD Waltz.”

And more Presidents’ Inaugurations
• Lyndon B. Johnson— Inaugural Address, Wednesday, January 20, 1965
• Richard M. Nixon— Second Inaugural Address, Saturday, January 20, 1973
• Gerald Ford Remarks— On Taking the Oath of Office, Friday Aug. 9, 1974
• Jimmy Carter— Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1977
• Ronald Reagan— Second Inaugural Address, Monday, January 21, 1985
• George H. W. Bush— Inaugural Address, Friday, January 20, 1989
• Bill Clinton First— Inaugural Address, Thursday, January 20, 1993
• George W. Bush— Inaugural Address, Saturday, January 20, 2001

Audio by Jesse Boggs; video by Trent Harris, “Bushisms” (the cryptomusicology of Presidential patter):

2008-10-03

Alex Blumberg Best?

Bank Foreclosure signWe’re all looking forward to this week’s economic news.

No, not what Congress does; I’m talking about the upcoming This American Life episode: “Another Frightening Show About the Economy.”

It’s by TAL’s Alex Blumberg and NPR’s Adam Davidson of TAL “Giant Pool of Money” fame.

Listening to the two’s work on the new NPR Planet Money podcast and blog reminded me how damn good they are. AdamD‘s the econ extraordinaire guy for NPR. And AlexB of TAL and NPR, well, I gotta ask…

Is Alex Blumberg the best reporter on the planet?

His little asides make a story, like from this report on SEC Chair Chris Cox and the stock-trading practice of Naked Short-Selling:

“It gets confusing, as it often does, when you get to the naked part.”

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, despite having names a child might give a puppy, are… well, were…”

Planet Money “Naked Short Selling, Meet Moral Hazard” (27:27 mp3):

And there’s this AlexB blockbuster: “What’s In A Number?” The TAL topic was a report on Iraq civilian casualties. Alex transformed it into an insightful portrait of both the science and humanity in statistics.

A recent NY Times article,  “Daring to Say Loans Made No Sense,” is devoted to TAL’s “Giant Pool:”

“One of the remarkable things about the report is the absence of evildoers…”

“Market appetites for anything that resembled a mortgage pushed loan standards down: ‘No income, no asset. You don’t have to state anything. Just have a credit score and a pulse.’ (Mr. Blumberg pointed out that the pulse thing was optional: 23 dead people in Ohio were also approved.)”

Alex/Adam also just offered this cheerily titled story:

2008-10-02

Paulson’s Plea

Last week’s Bernake/Paulson/Cox C-Span Congressional Extravaganza left me impressed w/:

• SEC’s Cox’s extremely educational testimony on what his agency can/can’t regulate (according to current law).

• FedRez’s Bernake’s insight on foreign banks are intertwining w/ those in USA.

• Congressional questioning, whether from D or R, seeking some/any clarification on procedures for the “proposed purchase of troubled assets”.

• Was particularly proud of my own Junior Sen. Jon Testor’s (D-MT) understanding of the implications and history of this year’s gov bailouts, and his pointing out how in past, the Fed/TreasDept has said all $X-Billion of the loan appropriation might not be used (as they’re saying now), but in fact every penny was.

Sec. of $s Paulson, otoh, met every request for clarity w/ a variation of: “We want the money and we want it now.” Heard no evidence this guy has any clue what he’s doing, what he’s going to do, or even what he did.

I gave him the benefit of doubt, tho — maybe he was hiding details in hopes of expediency. So I looked elsewhere for some sign this guy’s even mildly competent.

Found none. But along the way did run into lotsa illuminating info. What follows is an audio and url annotated travelogue of my trip thru the web. More…