KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

Thoughts Of An Animal Communicator by P aul Messing First, we'll hear musings from animal communicator David Louis. David bares his emotionally honest perceptions on all animals, and basic feelings of love and understanding. Subtext: Communicating with Horses by Jay Allison An animal psychologist searches for the source of one horse's ennui. The horse responds with his story of dislocation and lost youth. Sounds and Ultra-Sounds of the Bottle-Nose Dolphin by John Cunningham Lilly Dolphins are known to have a highly complex system of communication, combining clicks, whistles and ultrasound. Sample these sounds and ultrasounds (frequencies have been lowered to a range audible to the human ear) We'll also hear vocal exchanges between human and dolphin. Expert John Lilly narrates. LISTEN TO PROMO

Pro-choice. Pro-life. Most people have already chosen sides in the ongoing debate, so why revisit the issue? "Shades of Gray" shares a range of stories told by people young and old who have been directly affected by abortion, instead of the polemics of irreconcilable extremes. It's a carefully crafted audio mosaic and a stark portrayal of the intensely personal nature of our relationship with abortion. PRX Reviewer Marjorie Van Halteren described it this way: "This is impressive work - and very careful - it's artistic AND balanced. This piece does not promote abortion. It does not condemn it. But it does provide some very precise information - for example, part one includes a beautifully produced experiential moment of what an abortion might be like - totally unromanticized - just the sound. Unembellished. It's not horrific - just factual and radiophonic at the same time." (Winner of the 2004 Golden Reel for National Documentary.)

Ben Franklin Death Ray from The Memory Palace What is the coolest thing about Franklin? Very, very hard to say. But perhaps it was the time that those British were convinced that he was going to arm the French with electrical weapons. Thirteen Virtues by Ben Franklin Inspired by Philippians 4:8 the 20-year old Franklin sought to cultivate his character by charting a list of desirable personal behaviors and social traits. He followed the plan in at least some form until he published them in his autobiography at 79. While Ben admitted that he was never able to live the vi rtues perfectly, he had become a better and happier man for having made the attempt. Download your own Virtues Chart Here. Ben Frank lin In Analysis by Bob Newhart Comedian Bob Newhart imagines what it would be like to have Franklin stretch out on his psychiatrist couch.

The Magic of Falling Teeth by Sharon Bar-David Sharon takes us to a whimsical world that most of us have probably forgotten. It's filled with fairies and wiggly teeth. The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde & read by Basil Rathbone A giant erects a wall to keep children out of his garden, reaping the consequences of a continuous winter.

That's right, you angelheaded hipsters who listen to hydrogen jukeboxes, we're airing "The Song of Hiawatha!" Join us this Thanksgiving Eve as we listen to excerpts from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 epic poem recorded by Harry Fleetwood in 1956. Though the poem is based partly on both Ojibwe and Scandinavian myth s and stories, Longfellow borrowed the name Hiawatha from an already legendary Iroquois hero. A scathing review by a jerk at the New York Times said THIS about the poem: "The song of Hiawatha is e ntitled to commendation" for "embalming pleasantly enough the monstrous traditions of an uninteresting, and, one may almost s ay, a justly exterminated race." However, "As a poem, it deserves no place" because there "is no romance about the Indian." He complains that Hiawatha's deeds of magical strength pall by comparison to the feats of Hercules and even to those of "Finn Mac Cool, that big stupi...

The Dead Can’t Do You Nothin’ by Katie Mingle Katie goes on a quest to find ghosts in a "pauper's graveyard" in New Orleans. Along the way, she meets a little boy who has lost his father, visits with some gravediggers who don't believe in ghosts, and of course learns some haunting lessons about life and death throughout her journey. Showman's Rest by Shannon Heffernan Forest Park is the last subway station on the Chicago's Blue Line. Famous for its multitude of graveyards, the suburb is quite literally the final stop for many Chicagoans. In a place with more dead residents than living ones, one particular grave site catches visitor's attention: Showman's Res t , a graveyard for circus performers from around the world. The story of the graveyard begins with a tragic circus train wreck in 1918. The Sisters Fox from The Memory Palace On March 31, 1848 two sisters, Katherine and Margaret Fox, ages 11 and 13, claimed they heard inexplicable r...

That's right, you angelheaded hipsters who listen to hydrogen jukeboxes, we're airing "Howl," the great Allen Ginsberg poem - in full.