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This podcast was produced for the Folger Shakespeare Library. Although people associate “knights in shining armor” with the Middle Ages, most surviving armor actually dates to the period of William Shakespeare, a time when traditions inherited from the world of medieval chivalry were increasingly at odds with the changing realities of the Renaissance. Shakespeare’s works are filled with arms and armor both as literary images and as objects, evoking themes of knighthood, warfare, personal conflict, and honor.

Broadcast Nationally June 2008

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The world’s great monotheistic faiths share centuries-old traditions, but they are also locked in dangerous rivalries that permeate contemporary thought. Through the stories of three men raised to their religion’s version of the truth, and distrust of the “other”, this program probes that duality and confirms the power of faith to overcome legacies of hostility, illuminating ways that people work beyond hatred and stereotypes.

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Part of the series “Putting It Together: Words and Music and Musical Theater,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. From the Indian Princess to Minstrel Shows to Vaudeville to Rent; a look at the trends and ideas that shaped American Musical theater. Narrated by Heather Nathans, Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Maryland.

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Part of the series “Putting It Together: Words and Music and Musical Theater,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Despite the admonishment “If you want to send a message, call Western Union,” American musicals have commented on social issues for as long as there has been a musical theater in America. Heather Nathans, Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Maryland takes us through the history of social commentary in the American Musical, from The Beggar?s Opera to Avenue Q.

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Part of the series “Putting It Together: Words and Music and Musical Theater,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A musical is not a cabaret show and it’s not an opera. It has distinct elements that must be present. In this piece Heather Nathans, Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Maryland explains what those elements are.

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Part of the series “Putting It Together: Words and Music and Musical Theater,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
As the rock musical gave way to the spectacle musical, shows like “Cats,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “Starlight Express” came to rely less on story and more on technology. As a result, by the end of the 20th Century, musical theater was looking for a way to define itself. Heather Nathans, Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Maryland talks about the changes in musical theater in the last forty years and where musical theater appears to be headed.

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Part of the series “Putting It Together: Words and Music and Musical Theater,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In an odd turn, the Broadway music — exported by Walt Disney to cartoons in the 1930s — was returned to Broadway by Disney in the 1990s. Heather Nathans, Associate Professor of Theater at the University of Maryland explains this transition.

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Part of the series “Putting It Together: Words and Music and Musical Theater,” produced for ArtsEdge at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This podcast instructs a young person in what to think about when writing his or her own musical. It includes excerpts from an interview with Stephen Schwartz who wrote “Pippin,” “Godspell” and “Wicked.” Narrated by Heather Nathans, Associate Professor of Theater at the University of Maryland.

Broadcast January 2008
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Broadcast on the program “The Best of Our Knowledge.” Statistics appear to demonstrate that Historically Black Colleges and Universities are better than their counterparts when it comes to keeping African-American students in college studying science and mathematics through the PhD and MD level. This story looks at a program called DNIMAS at Norfolk State University that’s designed to achieve this goal. It explores what’s needed, both in the classroom and out.

Broadcast nationally throughout 2008

Listen at the Talent Quest website

This program is hosted by one of the winners of the Public Radio Talent Quest, a national competition to find The Next Big Public Radio Host. It takes a closer and slightly more skeptical look at the world.