Documentaries

“The next Next Big Thing”

Broadcast nationally in February 2004
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They are the ideas that became the Pet Rocks of American education, things like New Math and Transformational Generative Grammar. They burned white hot until they were utterly rejected and then never heard from again, except in ridicule. A look at why some ideas — good ones and bad ones — end up as fads in education.

“Our School”

Broadcast nationally in February 2004
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A day in the life of the far-suburbs, out near the airport, far from the city, as lived in one high school there. Three producers spend the day with the principal, a teacher and a student in a attempt (as Thornton Wilder said of “Our Town”) “to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life.”

“Trapped on the Wrong Side of History”

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Broadcast nationally in July 2003

Voted 2003′s Best Radio Documentary by Asian American Journalists Association

In 1939, Mary Kimoto Tomita, a farm girl from outside Modesto, CA took a trip to Japan to connect with the culture of her ancestors. She got on a ship to come back home to America on December 5th, 1941. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor two days later, the ship turned around and Mary was stranded, trapped in the middle of a bloody war between the country of her birth and the country of her heritage. This story – told through Mary’s personal reminiscences and her letters from the time — is a rare glimpse at a piece of the WWII experience that is not explored.

“Revenge”

Broadcast nationally in July 2003
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It seems we all love to hear revenge stories — the petty ones and the grand — even when they are painful or the recipient is blameless. And we seem to love to tell revenge stories about ourselves — even stories that make us look childish or venal. This program visits the unspoken dark place where revenge impulses lie through the stories of people who have planned revenge and those who have carried it out.

“A Tale Of Two Computer Labs”

Broadcast nationally in February 2003
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This program takes a look at the digital divide between two schools, Herndon High School in wealthy Fairfax County, Virginia which has 800 computers, and Cesar Chavez High School in the District of Columbia which has 50 computers. We look at how this disparity affects student learning and explore whether the sheer number of computers is what makes the difference, or whether it is the application of the technology with clear program goals, robust professional development and great teaching.

“Guns and Butter”

Broadcast nationally in November 2002
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In times of economic uncertainty — say, when war looms — we naturally want to know where things are headed. Economic forecasters say they have a good idea — that they can tell you with considerable accuracy which way the economy is headed. Is it more than guesswork — more than something you or I could do on our own? What tools do they use? Why do they have such confidence, and with war drums beating in the Middle East, what can they tell us about what to expect?

“The Magic Box”

Broadcast nationally in October 2002

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Today, the computer in the classroom is ubiquitous. But how did it get there? Was it an organic process, or was it driven by manufacturers looking for a new place to push their machines? Turns out it was a little of both – altruism and profit. Hear from the people who started it all; the teachers who were the very first to use computers in the American classroom, and the salespeople who put them there.

“We Were on Duty”

Broadcast nationally in September 2002
Voted Best Radio Documentary by The Society of Professional Journalists. Recipient of 2002 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence in Journalism.

A first-person oral history of the September 11th attack on the Pentagon. One Hundred Eighty Four people died at the Pentagon while hundreds more crawled through choking smoke and over burning wreckage to safety. But because the Pentagon attack was dwarfed by the tragedy at the World Trade Center, America has yet to hear the stories of the valiance and tenaciousness of the Pentagon employees; about the horrendous physical and psychic toll the attack has taken on them and their families — and about how they have overcome and are moving on. This hour-long program tells these stories in the voices of the people who lived them. Without narration. Many of these survivor stories are devastating. Many are inspirational. And as America looks to move forward from the trauma of 9-11, they offer important lessons.

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“Traffic Jam”

Broadcast nationally June 2002

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Across the United States, construction on new freeways, lane additions, and bridges clog traffic. With more people and vehicles on the road, the rush hour is now three hours long. So what are city planners doing about it? In the nation’s capital, home to some of the worst congestion, traffic modelers are working on solutions to the problem. From understanding human behavior to designing intelligent highways, the modelers are working to make your commute easier.

“Click Here For College”

Broadcast nationally in April 2002

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Remember the dot-com craze? Then perhaps you recollect the mad dash by universities and others to ring in the virtual university. The bubble may have burst but is the online university just another bad idea? Some say yes but others say no. But before you sign up for that virtual course, click along with Producer Richard Paul as he investigates the state of the online university.