Documentaries

“After Oil”

Broadcast nationally in 2007

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Part of the “Global Challenges” series, produced for the Purdue University College of Engineering.  When we look at all the things that made America what it is, it’s fair to say that for the last hundred years or so America has been shaped, more than anything, by cheap oil. But as people begin telling us that the cheap oil is almost gone the question becomes: Considering the devastation that “Peak Oil” could cause to our lives and lifestyles, can we act before the crisis?

“Shakespeare is a Black Woman: Shakespeare in American Politics”

Broadcast nationally in 2007

Part of the series “Shakespeare in American Life.” This program explores how Shakespeare’s work has intertwined itself with American electoral politics, geopolitics, and racial, class and academic politics. It also explores how Shakespeare has been used for political purposes throughout American history.

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“The Father of the Man In America: Shakespeare in American Civic Life and Education”

Broadcast nationally in 2007

Part of the series “Shakespeare in American Life.” This program explores the ways in which Shakespeare’s work has saturated American history. After the Revolution, there were serious questions about whether America should adopt British culture and literature or create its own. We look at how Shakespeare finally appears in college lecture halls and high school classes, while making an unexpected appearance in the early annals of American psychiatry. We look at how outdoor Shakespeare became acceptable on the strait-laced Chautauqua Circuit, how Shakespeare influenced Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and his role in the experiences of immigrants and in major movements like the push West, the establishment of cities, and the Civil War.

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“Shakespeare Becomes American: Shakespeare in Performance”

Broadcast nationally in 2007

Part of the series “Shakespeare in American Life.” From the very beginning, Americans have sought to make Shakespeare an honorary citizen. Whether we have succeeded in that or not, one thing is clear; on the stage, within the realm of performance Americans have certainly made Shakespeare our own, bringing to the performance of Shakespeare American passion, American language and American innovation.

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“My God”

Broadcast nationally in May 2005

We follow three 12-year olds, a Muslim boy, an Orthodox Jewish boy and an evangelical Christian girl at home and at school where they, their parents and teachers talk about their understanding of their faith and their relationship with God.

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“Gut Reaction” (Full-hour Version)

Broadcast nationally throughout 2004 & 2005

There is a disease you’ve probably never heard of, but chances are you have it or someone you know or love has it and doesn’t know. Doctors now believe that 1-in-133 Americans have Celiac Disease, though only 1-in-4,700 gets diagnosed. Celiac is more common than diabetes and hypertension, but because the means to diagnose it are only 2 or 3 years old, the disease is practically unknown in this country — both to sufferers and their doctors.

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“Trapped on the Wrong Side of History”

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.

“Traffic Jam”

Broadcast nationally June 2002

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.

“A Small Southern Town”

Broadcast nationally in February 2000

This program examined one family’s role in one of the largest mass escapes of slaves in American history.   “A Small Southern Town” combined dramatic readings of first person accounts from slave times with modern day analysis to shed light on little known aspects of slave life and slave times in the Nation’s Capital.

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