KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

A Lonely Shortcut by Peter Bochan It's all about the going out, or staying in, having a party or having no friends. A  classic New Year celebration mix featuring  Cliff Arquette,  Ernest Borgnine, James Dean, Jim Backus, Popeye, Bluto and Olive Oil, Dabney Coleman, Joanne Cassidy, Molly Ringwald , Anthony Michael Hall,  Natalie Wood,  Doodles Weaver ,   John Cusack, Danny Aiello, Steve Martin, Charles Grodin, Mickey and Minnie Mouse,  Betsy Blair ,  Esther Minciotti, Jerry Paris, Joe Mantell, Jimmy Stewart, Simon Williams, Laraine Newman, Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Ray Noble and His Orchestra, The Police, and Wang Chung -- of course.

To Have And Have Not by Ernest Hemingway  The story goes that Howard Hawks told Ernest Hemingway he could make a movie of the author's least work, and Hemingway gave him the rights to " To Have and Have Not ". We'll hear a special hour-long radio adaption of that script. It is the story is of a skipper for hire who reluctantly agrees to help the French Resistance while falling for a pretty petty thief. Our play was originally broadcast on Lux Radio theater in 1946 with Christmas-baby Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall reprising their screen roles.

Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!   by Kenny Fairris Watching  A Charlie Brown Christmas  has become a yearly tradition for generations of viewers. We'll explore the history of this program, consider why it communicates so well, and hear about some of the spiritual and artistic influence it has had. Good Grief, Charlie Brown!   by Kaye Ballard & Arthur Siegel Several tracks from the 1962  Columbia Records'  " Good Grief, Charlie Brown! " -- an album based entirely on early strips written by Schulz. This recording marked the first time ever that the Peanuts characters were "brought to life." It was conceived by  Kaye Ballard   (as Lucy) with longtime creative partner  Arthur Siegel  (as Charlie) and  produced by the legendary  John Hammond . The "music" was created by  Fred Karlin . Karlin, an Oscar winner, put together a very odd orchestra of  childrens' musical instruments, household objects, and  real to...

Snoopycat: The Adventures of Marian Anderson's Cat Snoopy  by Marian Anderson We continue our celebration of Marian Anderson , who, 50 years ago, became one of the first recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom .  On December 6th, 1963 President Kennedy was scheduled to award the legendary contralto  our nation’s highest civilian honor;  LBJ presided over the ceremony in his absence. A round this very same time, Marian was also in the midst recording a  bizarre  yet  remarkable ode to her own  kitty-cat  for   Folkways Records . You've heard the flip side -- tune-in this week for the thrilling conclusion!

Snoopycat: The Adventures of Marian Anderson's Cat Snoopy by Marian Anderson Legendary contralto Marian Anderson repeatedly broke the race barrier in classical music, most notably when she performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after being refused a concert spot at Constitution Hall. But she also loved her cat . This is her cat Snoopy’s story, 14 tales written with Frida Sarsen-Bucky and narrated and sung by Anderson. Released in 1963 on  Folkways Records .

A Ritual Soundscape   from Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening Humans have learned to control sound for rituals with impressive monuments.  Prof. David Hendy   travels to the  Orkney Islands in Scotland to  hear the bizarre effect of beating a drum while standing in one of  Orkney’s Neolithic sites . The space feels like a theater stage, made for performance. When these literal sound effects were discovered -- they were exploited for use in magnificent rituals. T hese are the kind of places where our ancestors came to make a spectacular racket. But we'll also explore the places where they came in search of silence and sensory deprivation. The Rise of the Shamans   from Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening Around the world charismatic individuals claim the ability to talk to spirits, heal illness and help crops grow. Proffessor Hendy will explain h ow sound - and its manipulation - is so central to the shaman's power. We...

What do musicians think about when they're composing? Or better yet: What do musicians think when they walk inside a Cabela's store and hear bird calls? That's the topic David Schulman explores in "Musicians In Their Own Words," a series of profiles on cellists, punkers, blues legends and all kinds of musicians. On this program, we go into the studios and homes of bluesman Corey Harris, drummer Cyro Baptista, Kathleen Harris of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, and harmonica player Howard Levy. 

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times: War and Memory by Dheera Sujan  War brings horror , brutality, and  grief  - but inevitably there is also intense comradeship . Many veterans talk  about the wars they participated in even 50 years ago as the shaping event of their lives. Across the U.S. and all over Europe, memorials of war are everywhere . In this program, Professor Jay Winter from Yale University and 3 war veterans talk of how war has shaped individual and national identity and how different wars are remembered in the collective memory .

Third Party from The Truth In honor of the 35 mayoral candidates  on the ballot this year, we'll be airing an  audio drama  that rivals this  politically thrilling  election for danger and excitement ! Mike Coleman is an independent candidate running for Congress, and he's finally getting some attention. Unfortunately, it's from a serial killer . Now, he needs to decide if he'll leave the race or help the FBI catch the killer.  Stars Chet Seigel ,  Rick Andrews,  Nick Kanellis, and  Louis Kornfeld .  Written by Ed Herbstman .  Produced and directed by Jonathan Mitchell .

The Seance by Bob Carlson On a summer night in the early 1990's, a small group of friends gather for a dinner party in Los Angeles. Just for fun, someone suggests having a seance with a homemade , makeshift Ouija board. The glass begins to move and by the end of the evening, perceptions of reality have been altered, relationships have been damaged, and the guests are forever changed. Three people who were there return to tell us the shocking, funny , and hauntingly tragic story of The Seance .

The Pit and the Pendulum   from Suspense We had such fun with Mr.  Vincent Price  on the program last week that we're inviting him back again! This time, he'll give us a stunning performance i n an adaptation of  Edgar Allan Poe 's 1842 tale "The Pit and the Pendulum"  from  the legendary radio program, Suspense. A s are many of Poe's tales, it is told through the eyes of the main character.  Price stars  as the delirious victim of a most cruel and inhuman punishment sentenced by the  Spanish Inquisition . John Dickson Carr adapted the story for radio and it co-stars Ellen Morgan as the hallucinated voice of his wife, with  Jay Novello , Ben Wright and John Hoyt. A staple in American radio drama, Suspense ran from 1942-1962 on CBS. Our episode originally aired on November 10, 1957. "Suspense -- Stories from the world’s great literature of pure excitement. A new series frankly dedicated to your horrification and entertainmen...

The Death of Poe from The Truth This audio drama depicting Poe's last day on earth was inspired by a story from  Matthew Mercier . Matthew was once the caretaker of The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage   and lived  in its basement. We'll hear that o ne day he  was visited by mysterious devotee who was raving about  how Poe spent his final hours. P erformed by Christian Paluck, Ed Herbstman, Chet Siegel , and Louis Kornfeld.  It was produced and directed by  Jonathan Mitchell . The Imp of the Perverse read by Vincent Price Do you think you might be "one of the many uncounted victims of the Imp Of The Perverse?" Well, we will learn how the budding field of phrenology has overlooked one very major portion of the mind -- the natural human tendency to do wrong for wrong's sake. Procrastination, greed, overeating, envy, and even murder are all examples... but to confess? Could that possibly be wrong? Could that be the "imp" at play? Written in 1845, rec...

La Llorona: An Evolving Myth by Beth Hoffman A good myth can stand the test of time. It can find itself being told hundreds maybe even thousands of years later;  La Llorona is one such myth.  The  tale of "the weeping woman"  continues to resound with those who tell it, hear it, and retell it, all these years later.   Since the time of the Spanish conquest , from Mexico to the American Southwest, those who hear the wails of the crying woman, or who are touched by the hem of her gown, are marked for death.  In this program , we'll hear about this tragic mother and her story -- and  how its meaning has grown and changed over time.  We will know that as the  myth spreads , La Llorona will go on haunting our children for generations. 

Splash by Richard Halten  The Sunshine Skyway bridge spans the mouth of Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida. It carries thousands of cars everyday. It's also become one of the top ten places to end your life . This is the story of the many who jumped , one lucky guy who survived, and how broken bones and a collapsed lung made him a new man. Kenny Hooper and Kerry Davis from StoryCorps For 25 years, Ken and Kerry have been part of a team that maintains the structure of the Golden Gate Bridge . But we 'll hear how their work involves a lot more than just making repairs. Not only is t heir workplace is a destination for tourists, but also for far more desperate visitors who have made the bridge one of the world's leading suicide locations. 

It's our 35th birthday and we're having a party! Please support us with a gift on-line , or call 612-375-9030. Help us to celebrate 35 years of people from around the world sharing their insights on the air, and unparalleled access to media for members of our community who have something to say . This is your radio station. We are not part of a network. We are KFAI , located on the West Bank in Minneapolis, and anywhere you want to listen to great radio. ​Listener-support keeps our studios open!

Echoes in the Dark from Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening With no scientific ‘ explanation ’ for the phenomenon of the echo , it was natural for Neolithic peoples to assume it was a spirit voice. Certain echoes sounded like the galloping hooves; others like fluttering wings. Some echoes appeared to come from the rocks themselves, they moved, they were uncanny – all this hinting at a ‘ spirit world ’ within.  The Beat of Drums from Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening Words are only one way to communicate - humans have found many more. Professor David Hendy travels to Ghana to hear the talking drum, a language made of drumbeats that once carried messages through the rainforest like a telegraph signal. Plus a treasure from the Pitt Rivers Sound Archive - the sound of Bayaka pygmies of the Central African Republic preparing for a net hunt. How do non-verbal sounds carry information… and how do they bind us together as a group?

Bogging In Again from Radio Netherlands Seamus Heany was an Irish poet, playwright, and recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. He died earlier this week at the age of 74. Perro de Jong talked to the poet at the 2006 Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam. Seamus spoke about the perils of discarding history too soon -- and about the need to go back to memories and places of the past when the world makes us feel lost. Heany's poems brought readers into nature; but he was also a great describer of the physical world, fascinated by the solidity and weight of everything around us all.

Human Intelligence from The Truth We'll hear a radio-drama based on a story by  Kurt Anderson  about melting icecaps and extraterrestrial spies .  Narrated by Ed Herbstman , with John Ottavino as Nicholas, and Melanie Hoopes as Nancy.  He found it physically painful to lie, which was unfortunate for someone who had spent most of his life as a spy. Back when everything was proceeding according to plan, year after year after year, he had gotten quite sloppy -- sometimes even announcing who he was and where he lived. What did it matter? “I’m a spy,” he’d tell the curious with a smile, “here on a long-term intelligence-gathering operation. But it’s super-top-secret, so if you don’t mind, that’s really all I can say about it.”

Johnny Cash: Live at San Quentin   from Joyride Media It took  Johnny Cash  12 years to record one of his live prison shows, but it wasn't easy. He was threatened against doing it and warned it would ruin his career. Regardless, he followed his instincts and took the stage at  Folsom Prison  in '68. A year later he followed it up with " Johnny Cash at San Quentin " - which became his first #1 album on the pop charts. In  our   special hour-long episode , we'll explore how the show came about, went down, and the wake it left behind. Y ou'll hear both unreleased tracks and  Cash  nearly starting a riot in a room full of very bad men. The program features interviews with the album's producer, Bob Johnston with bassist   Marshall Grant  a bout the excitement and fear of the concert.  We'll also hear from prisoners, guards,  and reporters  Anthony DeCurtis  and  Jim Marshall, the photographer of the famous " J...

A Hiroshima Story by David Swatling On a sunny August morning in 1945, Keijiro Matsushima sat in his math class in Hiroshima. He looked out the window, saw two American bombers in the clear blue sky, and suddenly his world was torn apart. Now a retired English teacher, he fears young people today are no longer interested in his story . On a sunny June morning in Amsterdam, English teacher Kevin Hogan’s 11th graders are reading a novel about Hiroshima . They are the same age Mr. Matsushima was when the atomic bomb exploded. How will they react when they hear his story?

When Particles Collide by Eric Molinsky In a 17-mile long tunnel outside Geneva, Switzerland, a particle accelerator called the Large Hadron Collider is smashing protons at nearly the speed of light. Physicists hope it will help solve mysteries of the universe and lead to an elusive Unified Theory . Studio 360 's Eric Molinsky looks into the colorful and complex design of the largest machine on the planet. Passage to Moauv from Power Records Stardate 5440: The Enterprise is ordered to transport the noisy , cat-like pet waul of the Moauvian ambassador to his home world. The waul escapes and its telepathic projections of fear affect all crew members ...except Lt. M'Ress . Can her immunity help to save the crew from certain despair and this calamitous kitty ?!?!?

Three Records from Sundown by Charles Maynes Nick Drake died in 1974, a mostly unknown songwriter with three failed folk albums to his name. Fast forward to the present, and Drake is widely considered among the most important musicians of his era. In  Three Records from Sundown , Charles Maynes retraces the roots of the Nick Drake legend through interviews with Drake’s producer Joe Boyd .

The Road Warriors by Bob Carlson When it comes to crazy, immoral, and stupid decisions, simply nothing can match a teenager looking for a good time.  In fact, we're going to listen-in on  three Australians  who have one such story! They're  still  talking about the chaotic and violent  car chase  they found themselves in as they were heading home from a  Mr. Motocross  race, when they were 17 years old.  From our friends at UnFictional comes this EPIC tale about teenage drunken brawling, reckless driving, and kidnapping that can luckily seem hilarious as they're telling it with friends 30 years later.

Lay down your picnic blankets and don your headphones; Shakespeare comes to the Listening Lounge! We'll try our best to gain a general appreciation of Shakespeare as well as an understanding of the African-American experience with Shakespeare. Take, O Take Those Lips Away by Jayne Mansfield Antony and Cleopatra: Act II, Scene 2 by Jayne Mansfield Shakespeare in Black and White by Richard Paul Sonnet 55 by James Earl Jones The Great Themes of Shakespeare by Morris Schreiber King Leer: Act IV, Scene 7 by Dame Edith Evans, Margaret Leighton, and Sir John Gielgud The Tempest: Act IV, Scene 1; Act V, Scene 1; Epilogue by Sir John Gielgud

National Debt by Robin Amer and Jesse Seay Two survivors of Japanese American internment describe how they went from being model citizens to being seen as the enemy. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. rounded up 120,000 people of Japanese descent and put them in internment camps. Nearly two-thirds of them were American citizens . Years later the U.S. government would apologize and pay reparations to people who had been held. However, in their fight for reparations they struggled with the question: how do you forgive someone when what’s been taken is basic human dignity? Missing Kim by Julia Lowrie Henderson Kim Moreau disappeared on May 10, 1986. She was 17 years old. 26 years later her father and sister continue to search for her. Dick Moreau has hung over 50,000 posters of his daughter around the area of Jay, Maine. In this story we'll hear about one family's seemingly endless  quest for answers , their need for closure, and their struggle with a grie...

The Mystery of Opal Whiteley   by Dmae Roberts and Dorthy Velasco Opal Whiteley was a naturist, writer and mostly dreamer who lived in a fantasy world of kindness and magical creatures in the  Cascade Mountains of Oregon . At age six, w riting with colored pencils on scraps of butcher paper and backs of envelopes, s he began a secret  diary   about her time in the woods talking with the wind and her love of nature .  Opal  was long considered by her family as an odd and different child; but what they didn't know was that Opal was schizophrenic. The illness seemed to manifest itself in a heightened sense of awareness of the sights and sounds around her. Her heightened sensibilities and her genius for expressing herself combined to create the most fascinating diary ever written.   It became wildly popular but  due to it's  sophistication  was later condemned as a hoax . A controversy which  eventually  le...

In Good Hands from The Truth We here at The Listening Lounge has been in love with producer Jonathan Mitchell for years -- and this week we're gladly featuring another audio adventure from his new endeavor, The Truth.  The folks at The Truth develop stories as a collective, often improvising the dialog on location. The recordings are then taken to the studio for editing, sound design , & score. Somehow, nearly always, they are yielding  brilliant results -- It's like  magic !  Tonight, they take us urban spelunking.  If you're not already out doing it yourself,  Urban Exploration is the risky hobby of  infiltrating private areas barred from public-access  or long forgotten ruins and... well, poking around.  In this story, a  pair of explores  (which stars another Listening Lounge favorite,  Emily Tarver )  sneak into an abandoned subway tunnel and stumble onto... you'll just have to tune-in and hear.

He Didn't Mean to Die by Sara Curtis "Your father loved you so much. He really did. I know that..." Dear Father from Youth Media Project A seventh grader writes a thoughtful and moving letter to his unknown father. Daddy by Sylvia Plath Otto Plath died shortly after Sylvia's eighth birthday as a result of undiagnosed diabetes . Plath said this poem was about a girl with an Electra complex whose father dies while she thought he was God .   The Baby in His Lap from This Land Press Shantelle was a child when photographer Larry Clark captured iconic images of her father, Billy Mann, toting guns and shooting drugs for his book, Tulsa . As a result of Mann's lifestyle, she never got to know her father. Now Shantelle is searching for who her parents were before the guns and drugs.  Footing the Bill by Youth Voices For many American children , growing up in a fatherless household is their reality. Reporter Kameisha Jerae Hodge learns that chil...

They made noise. They required paper and ink. Their bells signaled the end of a line. Typewriters ruled the written word for most of the 20th century. In tonight's show, we offer praise to the glories of this Q-W-E-R-T-Y, clickety-clack world with stories from Montreal, Kolkata, Burlington and Richfield. You'll meet poets who type, men who fix typewriters, men who get paid to type and yes, you'll get a free typing lesson. So tune in as Todd Melby tours the keyboards of this Wite-Out world on a special edition of the Listening Lounge.

Wrongfully Convicted by Julia Lundberg  Maurice Caldwell is just one of hundreds of former inmates whose convictions have been  overturned after spending years in prison. Now, Caldwell is working on his case, hoping to prove not only that he had a mistrial , but he’s factually innocent.  Life After Exoneration by Evan Roberts Rick Walker was an auto mechanic living in East Palo Alto . In January of 1991, the body of his ex-girlfriend Lisa Hopewell was found bound, gagged and mutilated. The murderer fingered Rick as an accomplice and a jury convicted him of the killing. Mr. Walker served the next 12 years in maximum security prisons. Now, he's out -- and we're going to take a glimpse at how he and his family are adapting to life -- after exoneration.

This sound-rich documentary  on the  late "Mr. Showmanship's" fabulous life and legacy , produced by Out in the Bay's Eric Jansen is told with love by Liberace Museum  curators , a Liberace impersonator and features Liberace’s own voice and music. S it back  ( preferably in marble tub with champagne in hand! ),  close your eyes and enjoy a trip back in time with the most spectacular, fabulous, outlandish and ground-breaking closeted entertainer of the 20 th  century .

Beastie Boys on Being Stupid by David Gerlach Back in May 1985, the Beastie Boys were fresh on the music scene and on tour as the opening act for Madonna. In between shows they sat in a Washington D.C. hotel room and cracked wise for Rocci Fisch, then a reporter for ABC News Radio. Pete Seeger on We Shall Overcome by David Gerlach Folk music legend Pete Seeger explains the history behind the civil rights anthem, " We Shall Overcome ", and why this famous song has many brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. And he sings, too. Jonathan Alter on How to Interview Presidents Obama, Clinton, & Nixon by David Gerlach We hear from journalist Jonathan Alter on how you interview a President--with rare outtakes from his Oval Office interview with President Obama in November 2009 including his take on "Teabaggers" and the GOP. Jonathan Alter writes for Bloomberg now after spending nearly three decades at Newsweek magazine. He’s interviewed...

Journey of the Asian Carp from Long Haul Productions This is the story of a good fish gone bad -- an immigrant brought here with good intentions but who has  caught a  bad rap .   The carp is said to be a tasty fillet but instead lives as a victim of stereotypes. However, if given the chance, this  fish   might just rock your world... Oh yeah, i t's also a  fish that can fly !  The Master by  Emily Hsiao Emily visits a taxidermist on Martha's Vineyard. However, you won't find any deer heads or bears in her workshop  -- just lots and lots of fish. Janet Messineo  specializes in marine taxidermy and mounts fish of all sizes. For the past 25 years,  she  has worked from  her  basement, cranking out  critter  after  critter  for her clients. It has been hard work, and Janet is ready to retire. But even as she eases into retirement,  Janet  still finds a way to breathe new life into ol...