KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

The first piece comes from Radio Diaries producer Joe Richman. The WASPS: Women Pilots of WW II is the story of the first female pilots in World War II. Our second piece is the story of Lavinia Gelineau and the loss of her husband Chris, a young soldier killed in Iraq. The Cost of War was produced by Blunt Youth Radio Project producer S. Spencer Scott.

The Vietnam War and related political upheavals caused devastation throughout Southeast Asia. Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian families often had no choice but to seek a new life in America. Vietnamese left on crowded boats, braving pirates. In refugee camps, they met with Mien and Hmong from Laos who had helped the CIA during the war and feared for their lives. Cambodians either fled the Khmer Rouge regime or left after it ended. These immigrants had to negotiate a new country with little notice. US government systems were swamped with new languages and cultures, and in Minneapolis and other cities, Hmong from Laos are still arriving. Hosted by Margaret Cho.

After the excellent "Just Another Story About a Fish," we play Barrett Golding's show on whales, " The Whale Plan ".

This program featured stories produced by graduates from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Students at this Maine-based school use the surrounding towns as radio laboratory, recording the people and their stories. We found the following pieces on the Public Radio Exchange : " Just Another Story About a Fish " and " 75 State Street Salon "

The documentary, "A Tribute to Spalding Gray", is an inside look at the troubled life of performance artist Spalding Gray. The writer wowed audiences with his monologues, including "Swimming to Cambodia."