Take Five

The world of public radio is developing some wonderful new shows we want you to hear, but they only exist in limited quantities (for now). This show gives us an opportunity to share with you, our listeners, some of the nifty new things in radio that aren't yet in full bloom.

Upcoming Programs
Here's the Thing
When you put two creative, well-known personalities together in conversation, it’s hard to stop listening.  On Here’s the Thing, award-winning actor Alec Baldwin gives the listener unique entrée into the lives of some of today’s most exciting performers. Baldwin sidesteps the predictable by taking listeners inside the dressing rooms, apartments, and offices of some of the leading creative personalities of our time, including David Letterman, Billy Joel, Chris Rock, Kristin Wiig, and Erica Jong. Employing an engaging mixture of curiosity, intelligence and warmth, Baldwin explores what motivates his guests, how they feel about what they do, and what keeps them up at night.

June 15, 2013
Billy Joel
Alec sits down with Billy Joel at a piano as Joel details the decisions – musical and personal – that helped shape his music and his career.


State of the Re:Union
State of the Re:Union has set out to explore how a particular American city or town creates community, the ways people transcend challenging circumstances and the vital cultural narratives that give an area its uniqueness. 

June 22, 2013
Dropouts to Graduates: The Story of the Care Center, An American Graduate Special
Say you meet a teenager. She’s 16, and she’s dropped out of school. Now, she’s pregnant, due in a few months. She’s on her own, as her boyfriend disappeared when news of the baby came out. She doesn’t have a job, and is hoping her mom won’t kick her out of the house. What would your expectations for her be? If you’re in Holyoke, Massachusetts, the answer to those questions might be very different from the predictable one of hopelessness and dim futures. That’s because Holyoke is home to the Care Center, an alternative school for pregnant and parenting teens who’ve dropped out of high school.

June 29, 2013
Back to the Basics - An American Graduate Special
In this American Graduate special, State of the Re:Union takes a closer look at school, community, and the drop out crisis in this country. With reporting from both urban and rural schools, and interviews with education experts, SOTRU goes “ back to the basics”, looking at strategies that get to the heart of what makes students want to learn. 

July 6, 2013
Summer In Sanctuary - An American Graduate Special
This episode combines radio drama and documentary to explore America's dropout epidemic through the intimate story of one man's attempt to make a difference in the lives of a group of high-risk kids. Based on the off-broadway show by SOTRU host Al Letson, this episode chronicles Letson's journey teaching at the summer camp of a community center in an economically challenged neighborhood. Told through monologue, poetry, and sound-rich reporting, this episode challenges perceptions about race, class and education, to reveal unseen challenges facing students in communities across the country.

July 13, 2013
Pike County, Ohio
In this episode Al Letson and guest producer Lu Olkowski visit a tiny town in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio where, for a century, residents have shared the common bond of identifying as African-American despite the fact that they look white. Racial lines have been blurred to invisibility, and people inside the same family can vehemently disagree about whether they are black or white. It can be tense and confusing. As a result, everyone’s choosing: Am I black? Am I mixed race? Or, am I white? Adding to the confusion, there’s a movement afoot to recognize their Native-American heritage.

July 20, 2013
Coming Home: Stories of Veterans Returning from War
More than two million veterans have come home so far from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. For returning veterans, reintegrating into society can be a challenge. How do you find your place, when you’ve changed and the people you love don’t recognize you? When that old life is gone and you have to start a new one from scratch. In this hour State of the Re:Union explores reintegration and asks the question: how do you come back home from war?
 


Other programs in the Take 5 rotation include:
Action Speaks!
Action Speaks! is a series of contemporary topic-driven panel discussions framed by the theme "Underappreciated Dates that Changed America." Each panel draws three or four scholars, authors, practitioners, and other relevant guests into an open-ended discussion with the larger community in the casual atmosphere of the downtown Providence arts organization, AS220. Action Speaks' presenting station is 89.7 WGBH Boston. Now you can tune in nationwide to Action Speaks! to hear host Marc Levitt and an endless parade of perceptive intellects and insightful audience members!

Backstory
BackStory is a public radio program & podcast that brings historical perspective to the events happening around us today. 

Radiolab
Radiolab believes your ears are a portal to another world where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience. Big questions are investigated, tinkered with, and encouraged to grow. Bring your curiosity, and we'll feed it with possibility.

The Moth
The Moth Radio Hour features our most beloved tales and the stories behind the stories. The series debuted in 2009 and is now airing on more than 200 stations nationwide.