Home of the Brave
Home of the Brave: new and old stories from "This American Life" contributor Scott Carrier.
S4 E14 · Fri, March 14, 2025
Border Trilogy
Thanks for listening to these stories. This is the last one on the album. It’s three pieces from the same place—the Sonoran Desert, 60 miles southwest of Tucson, the border with Mexico. From an air conditioned car, the landscape looks beautiful and serene, but it’s actually one big open graveyard for people who died trying to walk into the United States. In March of 2005, photojournalist Julian Cardona wrote to me saying there were 1000-3000 people crossing the line, everyday, near Sasabe, Sonora. He said I should come down and he’d help me with the story. So the first part of this trilogy is with Julian on the Mexican side—the people getting ready to cross. The second and third part are with Charles Bowden on the U.S. side, where the land is a national wildlife refuge. I went there with Bowden a few days after being in Sasabe with Julian. Bowden lived nearby in Tucson and had been writing about the border for decades. He believed it was his moral responsibility as a writer to show people what was happening there. He was also on the board of directors for the wildlife refuge. That’s why the refuge security guard, Slyvester, agreed to talk to me, and it’s why he invited us to dinner with his wife and kids. This is the second part of the trilogy. The third part happened that same night. After dinner, instead of going back to Tucson, Bowden and I drove south on a dirt road, across the refuge, to the barbed wire fence marking the border. The sky had a million stars, but it was so dark I couldn’t see the microphone in my own hand. These stories aired in 2005 on NPR’s “Day to Day,” and then in 2006 on NPR’s “Hearing Voices” as part of a larger program that won a Peabody Award for reporting on the US/Mexico border in 2007. I’d like to thank Alex Chadwick (of “Day to Day”) for telling me I should put Charles Bowden and Julian Cardona on the radio. And thanks to Barrett Golding (of “Hearing Voices”) for producing the show that won the big award. Thanks for listening to these stories that aired on the radio, one time, a long time ago. Finally, thanks very much to everyone who has donated to support this podcast. I depend on your donations to keep going. If you feel like helping out, please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E13 · Tue, March 11, 2025
Over There
As the war correspondent for a men’s fashion magazine in the late 1990’s, I was given one directive: There will be blood in the first paragraph! This was a time of relative peace and calm, when it seemed the United States would rule the world for at least the next couple hundred years. My job was to go to places where people were still acting up, causing trouble, shooting and killing, and find someone who was bleeding—because this is what men (with money) in the late 1990’s wanted to read in between ads for underwear, wristwatches, and cologne. I went to “some fucked up places” and wrote the stories, but I kept failing to follow the directive about blood. So my job was on shaky ground. Then 9/11 happened. This story is about going to Afghanistan in November of 2001, the beginning of the war on terror. Esquire Magazine refused to send me, so I went on my own. The story I wrote, “Over There,” was published in Harper’s Magazine in 2002. This radio story, produced years later, is composed of excerpts from the print story. It was edited and mixed by Larry Massett, and was broadcast, in 2010, by the NPR program “Hearing Voices.” I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. Thanks very much to everyone who has gone to homebrave.com and pressed the DONATE button.
S4 E12 · Sun, March 09, 2025
A Trip to Cambodia
This story changed my life. Until then, 1997, I’d always done stories about things where I live, what I call home. When J.J. Yore (producer of “The Savvy Traveler”) asked me to go to Cambodia, I didn’t even have a valid passport. Then, when the story aired, one night in 1997, David Granger (editor of Esquire Magazine) heard it in his limousine on his way home from work in Manhattan. He listened then called me on the car phone. He said he wanted me to be Esquire’s war correspondent. “Esquire has always had a war correspondent,” he said, “but now there are no wars going on, so we’re just going to send you to some really fucked-up places.” It was like a door opened, and I stepped into a whole new world. I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. Thanks very much to everyone who has gone to homebrave.com and pressed the DONATE button.
S4 E11 · Fri, March 07, 2025
Swim Lesson
In the summer we would drive across the country to Squam Lake in New Hampshire. My wife’s parents had a house there in a quiet bay with a beach, with loons and moose. The lake was perfect for swimming. Swim Lesson was produced in 1995, with (a lot of) help from Jay Allison of Transom.org . I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free, and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E10 · Wed, March 05, 2025
Finding Amnesia
These are my thoughts after watching Trump’s speech last night: Right now, in the United States, you’re either in Trump’s gang or you are not; and, if not, you’re getting your ass kicked, over and over, for fun and pleasure by people in the Trump gang. This is what’s happening. This is the show now—a WWF Smackdown of woke-ass liberals, and the rest of the world can go to hell. Yesterday I thought I should stop what I’m doing and start talking to Trump supporters to ask them “what are you thinking?” But today I know what they are thinking—they want to kick my ass and laugh about it. There’s got to be a better plan. This morning I thought about going to Ukraine, and maybe I will, but for now I am going to finish this “album” project because it has a beginning, middle, and end to it, and it would be wrong to stop in the middle. I’m sorry, I was blown off course for a bit by difficult circumstances, but I back at it now. Finding Amnesia , produced and edited by Alix Spiegel and Ira Glass, aired on This American Life in 1997. I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E9 · Tue, March 04, 2025
Working For the Friendly Man
I am hesitant to post a 30-year-old story on this day before Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress, laying out his plans for our future. For Trump, the pedestal has never been higher, and I’m afraid he will declare that he has been chosen by God to be King of the World. This just doesn’t seem like the time to be looking back. So I will post Working For The Friendly Man , but then I’m going to pause this “album” project for a while in order to produce stories about what’s happening now. I’ll put them in Season Three. Thanks to everyone who has supported this project. I very much appreciate your help. If you would like to donate then please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button. Working For The Friendly Man , produced and edited by Alix Spiegel and Ira Glass, aired on “ This American Life ” in 1996. The introduction is by Ira Glass.
Sun, March 02, 2025
The Test
(This is the eighth part of an album I am building. For more information please go to homebrave.com .) Everything changed, for me, when Ira Glass started “This American Life” in 1996. I’d been working odd jobs, trying to support my family, and pretty much failing. Then Ira called and asked that I contribute stories for his new show. He wanted me to write about the odd jobs I’d been taking. So I went back to the beginning, just after I quit my “real” job. The Test , produced and edited by Alix Spiegel and Ira Glass, aired on This American Life in 1996. I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free, and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E7 · Thu, February 27, 2025
The Dry Wall
The next few stories come from a difficult period—for me and other independent radio producers. In the 1980’s, there was federal funding for new NPR programs and new kinds of radio stories, but by the early 1990’s the funding had pretty much disappeared. At that time, I had a family, a wife and three young kids. So I took a “real” job as a reporter for the local NPR station. For the first time, we had a regular paycheck, family health insurance, and a retirement account. I, however, just could not fit into the system, and I quit after only five months, without having a backup plan. I did odd jobs, anything to get by, and in the meantime I worked on our house, trying to make it a better place to live. I also started recording things around my house—the city ambience, my kids, friends who came by. It was a tough time, and yet so easy in many ways compared to now. The Dry Wall aired on the NPR program “Soundprint” in 1993. I think. It aired nationally, somewhere, because Ira Glass heard it and told me he liked it. I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E6 · Tue, February 25, 2025
The Death of Ruth Tuck
This is an odd one—a radio play, a docu-drama, about how we, as a culture, deal with death and dying. Ruth Tuck is a fictional character, an elderly woman who dies alone in a hospital. She has one friend, two daughters, and an ex-husband who don’t talk to each other. Before and after she dies, Ruth is cared for by professionals, people who are paid for their services. It’s a sad story, with both actors and “real” people. I wish I could remember their names, but I do not. The Death of Ruth Tuck aired nationally on a short-lived “radio art” series (the name I’ve also forgotten) in 1986. I know Joe Frank heard it in Los Angeles, because he called and said he thought it was real. I said, no, it’s a play. Thanks very much to Kenny Larsen for coming up with Ruth and her family. I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E5 · Sat, February 22, 2025
The Green River
(This is the fifth story in an album I am building. For more information please go to homebrave.com .) This story began as a series of stories produced for “Weekend All Things Considered” over the summer of 1991. I’d spend a week or so on the river then come home and send a story to WATC, and then go back and float another section of the river, come home and send another story, and so on. Here they are all together, with music by Pat King (recorded in my house). I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E4 · Thu, February 20, 2025
The Avalanche
(This is the fourth story in an album I am building. For more information please go to the website, homebrave.com .) The Wasatch Mountains, just east of Salt Lake City, are known for having the best snow in the world for powder skiing. Powder is the kind of snow that flies over your head as you ski through it. The snow flakes are big and dry—they take up space but weigh almost nothing, so skiing through them can feel like flying. When we were kids we learned to ski by riding the lifts at the resorts, but after high school, in our twenties, we realized we didn’t need the chair lifts—we could hike up and ski down the mountain, pretty much any mountain, on cross-country skis. We had the whole Wasatch range to ourselves. This was a beautiful, but dangerous thing. We knew how to ski, very well, but we were just learning about the mountains, and what can happen in the mountains. One day in April, 1979, seven young men went backcountry skiing in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Late in the day, after hiking up and skiing multiple shots, one of the slopes avalanched and swept away three of the skiers. One ended up on top of the debris, freaked out but uninjured. Another was buried for 20 minutes, but was dug out by his friends. The third, Greg McIntyre, was buried and didn’t make it out alive. Years later, I interviewed five of the six survivors, asking them to tell me the story from beginning to end. The Avalanche aired on “All Things Considered” in the winter of 1987. Thanks to Dwight Butler, Dave Carter, Chris Larson, Alan Murphy and Larry Olsen. I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E3 · Tue, February 18, 2025
The West Desert
(This is the third story in an album I am building. For more information, please go to the website homebrave.com .) I think of this story as a cultural history of the Great Salt Lake Desert, the big landscape just west of my home in Salt Lake City. It used to be covered by an inland sea the size of Lake Michigan, but the climate changed and the water evaporated, leaving only salt. The introduction is from “Roughing It,” by Mark Twain. He crossed this desert in a stagecoach in 1861. The West Desert , edited by Art Silverman and Larry Massett, was broadcast in 1989 on “The Wild Room,” a weekly show out of WBEZ in Chicago, hosted by Gary Covino and Ira Glass. I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide if they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go to the website homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E2 · Sun, February 16, 2025
The Neighborhood
(This is the second story in an album I am building. For more information, please go to homebrave.com .) The Neighborhood was inspired by Suburbia , a photo-essay book by Bill Owens. The photos are of Owens’ neighbors in a suburb of Livermore, California, during the late sixties and early seventies. They pose in their garages, bedrooms, backyards… with their stuff— their tools and toys, the accoutrements of suburban lifestyle. With each photo there is a short quote from the person in the photo. This combination, the photo with the quote, is somewhat magical. It’s like you can hear the people talking, like you are there, in the moment. The story aired in 1988 on the NPR program “Soundprint” (now defunct). I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
S4 E1 · Fri, February 14, 2025
Running After Antelope
(This is the first story in a larger album I’m building. For more information please go to the website homebrave.com .) Forty years ago, 1985, I was sitting in Art Silverman’s office at NPR in Washington, D.C. Art was a producer for All Things Considered. I was an independent producer, mainly for Weekend All Things Considered. We were working on something, I don’t remember what, and NPR Science Editor Anne Gudenkauf came by to talk to Art. “Hey, tell Anne your idea for a science story,” Art said to me. So I said, “My brother, Dave, is a graduate student in vertebrate morphology at the University of Utah, and he has a theory that human beings evolved as endurance predators, able to hunt without weapons by chasing large mammals until they collapse from heat exhaustion. This summer we’re going to test his theory by trying to run down a pronghorn antelope in Wyoming.” I thought it was a good pitch, but as I spoke I saw Gudenkauf’s eyes cross and when I was done she turned and walked out of Art’s office without comment. It seemed I had insulted her intelligence. A year later, Running After Antelope aired on All Things Considered and NPR started using it in training sessions as an example for how to produce a science story. Many people scoffed at my brother’s theory, back in the beginning, but now it’s become an accepted theory of human evolution. Larry Massett edited the story and wrote the introduction, read by Noah Adams. The music comes from Dire Straits (Why Worry) and Talking Heads (Television Man). I invite everyone to listen to these stories for free and then decide whether they are worthy of a donation. If so, please go to homebrave.com and look for the DONATE button.
Sat, January 04, 2025
Getting Up Off the Floor
A demonstrator in a Freedom for Palestine march in Berlin, November 2023. Photograph by Sean Gallup (permission requested) I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time. Donate
Thu, December 19, 2024
Nasser Hospital
Dr. Nizam Mamode speaking in the British House of Commons, 11/20/24. A couple days ago I watched a story on Al Jazeera English about how the Israeli military is using small drones mounted with machine guns to kill civilians in Gaza
Tue, November 12, 2024
Belief Over Reason
My take on what happened in the election. Donate
Sat, November 02, 2024
Fascism In America
Militiaman outside the Republican Convention in Cleveland, 2016. A short essay on what I know about fascism. Donate
Sun, October 27, 2024
Beirut Epilogue
I wrote this after I got back home the other night, but it took a few days to get it posted. I had a good trip, thanks very much for your support. Donate
Mon, October 21, 2024
Beirut Part Six
Dr. Edward Alam, professor of philosophy and theology at Notre Dame University in Lebanon. This interview with Dr. Alam gives a very good historical context for the war now going on in Lebanon. I feel lucky to have met him. Here are the links to the book he recommended for more in depth study: The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Wall-Israel-Updated-Expanded/dp/0393346862/ref=sr_1_1?crid=126L9MR5UMNNC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.J19Sa9CxbfJfdAtIMNAvlL3iSmeV_6yh2HKAfs7dBi0rXSeCD-d3C8zZQz2XYvK1pouUKv5g87pPvEOHpzxqgw.7uneS_JeqNRe3XE3F_3IY_J1F-GbFlLM-mJwMrbwNWI&dib_tag=se&keywords=the%20Iron%20wall%20avi%20shlaim&qid=1729488419&s=book
Fri, October 18, 2024
Beirut Part Five
This is the monument in Martyr’s Square in Beirut. Four more interviews with people on the street in Beirut. Donate
Sun, October 13, 2024
Beirut Part Four
On the street in Beirut. An interview with Yehya Youness, owner of Electrip , an electric scooter company in Beirut. Donate
Fri, October 11, 2024
Beirut Part Three
I lifted this image from a L’Orient Today story. I made a mistake about the date. I meant Friday, October 11th. This is a short piece recorded in my hotel room following last night’s bombing in Central Beirut. Donate
Wed, October 09, 2024
Beirut Part Two
Donate
Mon, October 07, 2024
Beirut Part One
A family camping out along the beach in Beirut to avoid being bombed in their home. Donate
Mon, March 21, 2022
Alan Chin Is Back From Ukraine
Oleksandr Kamyshin, CEO of Ukrainian Railways, with members of his management team. Photo by Alan Chin. Photographer Alan Chin was on the show over a year ago talking about the siege of the U.S. Capitol. He’s now recently returned from covering the war in Ukraine—taking photos and writing stories for Insider, an online business magazine. I gave him a few days to settle after he got home to New York City, and then I called him to find out what it was like over there. Link to Alan’s series for Insider . Olena Yaryna and Oleksandr Zhuravel take cover inside the Vrubivskiy Lyceum school building (Luhansk) as incoming shellfire struck the area. At least eight impacts striking within a mile could be heard over the next several minutes, and Yaryna and her staff took cover inside the school building away from the windows. Photo by Alan Chin.
Mon, February 08, 2021
End of Season Two
I’m going to take a break for a few months, or at least until the pandemic is over. Thank you very much for your support. This podcast has been the best thing in my life, professionally, and I couldn’t have done it without you. I hope to be back soon with more stories. Donate
Mon, January 11, 2021
A Photographer's Account of the Insurrection
The moment the police line breaks. West Portico of the U.S. Capitol, January 6th, 2021. Many Trump supporters I spoke with before the election said there would be violence after the election, and now here we are. I missed last Wednesday’s insurrection, but my friend photo-journalist Alan Chin was there. So I called him. You may remember Alan from a previous episode . I met him in 2001 in Afghanistan. We worked together there and he went on to cover the war in Iraq. He’s covered a lot of war zones. His photos are published in the New York Times and Newsweek. I’ve always been amazed by his spot-on verbal descriptions and accounts, his command of history, and his confidence in the role of photo-journalism. This is a very good report of what it was like at the U.S.
Thu, December 31, 2020
How Much Time Has Gone By: Part Two
The Yellowstone River, Montana. Following the river was a good idea, especially across the Great Plains, because it’s really easy to get lost out there. The view is the same in all directions—rolling hills of dry grass that resemble giant waves on the open ocean. It seemed I would never find my way across them. I was lost at sea. But the river knows where it’s going, downhill to the sea, and it has cottonwood trees and green meadows along its shore. Animals and birds live along the river. People come to hang out and fish. Following the river kept me sane and grounded. The music is from Neil Young’s soundtrack to “Deadman,” a film by Jim Jarmusch. I highly recommend it. Donate
Sun, December 06, 2020
How Much Time Has Gone By: Part One
Back in the beginning of September, two months before the election, I set out on a trip driving across the country talking to people about the candidates and the issues. I collected a lot of interviews and I think now is the time to play them, at length. Most of the interviews are with Trump supporters and some of the things they say may trigger you. You don’t have to listen. You may feel the time for listening is over. This is the first of three parts. The music is from Neil Young’s soundtrack to “Deadman,” a film by Jim Jarmusch. I highly recommend it. Donate <img data-stretch="
Thu, October 15, 2020
Culture War: War Zone
Kansas City, Missouri, September 20, 2020. I came upon this man who was unconscious but still breathing. I called 9/11 and an ambulance came. He was able to get up on the stretcher by himself. I think he’ll be ok. I went to New Orleans but didn’t interview anyone because I thought things were getting too sketchy with the spreading virus. So I drove home. And I’m sort of beat. It was an exhausting trip. But I recorded a lot of good interviews, maybe the best ever. Thanks very much for supporting this series.
Mon, October 05, 2020
Culture War: Home of the Blues
I’ve been driving around talking to people in the Mississippi Delta, small towns like Clarksdale, Sumner, Greenwood, and Elaine. I heard a lot of stories that I should have known already. People were very friendly. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1601915457425-O4FCG7Z0KDHDR8BA93LR/EmptyName+6.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1500x1045" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1
Mon, September 28, 2020
Culture War: St. Louis
The Missouri River meets the Mississippi River a few miles north of St. Louis. The river is like a half mile wide at this point with tug boats pushing long barges to oil refineries and railroad shipping yards. I was in St. Louis the first couple days after the Breonna Taylor decision came down in Louisville. I went to Ferguson where Michael Brown was killed by police in 2014 and no charges were brought. But it was difficult to find people who would talk to me. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/16012512
Tue, September 22, 2020
Culture War: Creeped Out
After following the Missouri across the low plains, I have come to a better understanding of Trump supporters. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1600736667973-MNH0QG084P5EM6FOPD1Z/standingrock1+4.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1811" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1600736667973-MNH0QG084P5EM6FOPD1Z/standingrock1+4.jpg?format=100
Fri, September 18, 2020
Culture War: Standing Rock
Monument in Fort Yates, North Dakota. I’m following the Missouri River now, heading south down through the Dakotas. I stopped at Standing Rock and talked to some people about the protest four years ago. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1600452011957-OX3EVKUJZ0UG0HVRP8BR/standingrock1.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1650" data-image-focal-p
Mon, September 14, 2020
Culture War: Trump Country
I’ve been following some roads through deeply red voting districts in Wyoming and Montana. I thought I would not enjoy talking to Trump supporters, but I was wrong. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1600050085021-CEKAFT5DUC3ECY92GZ6H/DSCF2271.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1699" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1600050085021-CEKAFT5DUC3ECY92GZ6H/DSCF2271.jpg?format=1000w" width="2500" heigh
Tue, September 08, 2020
Culture War: Introduction
I’m starting a new series of reports from a long trip across the country. I think we used to have a cultural divide, now we have a cultural war. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1599578805442-48PVVN3QYYHW5AAF4IY4/DSCF2276.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1667" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1599578805442-48PVVN3QYYHW5AAF4IY4/DSCF2276.jpg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1667" sizes="(max-
Sun, August 09, 2020
The Round River
I went fishing in some beautiful mountains I first visited in 1968 when I was a Boy Scout. When I was older, we took our kids there so they could see it as well. It’s still very beautiful, but things have changed due to global warming. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1597007601075-XW8FEV6U0IY253JK794J/IMG_1630.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1500x1000" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://i
Sun, July 05, 2020
Time To Get My News From A River
Photo by Kristi Jone Jones My thinking has been off, my approach has been wrong, I need to go fishing for a while. Donate
Thu, June 04, 2020
Coming To Ground
I recorded these interviews with my family two weeks ago, before George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis. Now they seem unimportant, like from another era. Except that in my family it’s the younger folk who have been mostly fucked by the virus pandemic, and it’s been young people, mostly, who’ve been out on the streets protesting. I hope their efforts lead to real change in our society. Donate
Fri, May 22, 2020
Coming to Ground: Introduction
Following the news is like watching a competition for the worst case scenario and I’ve grown weary of all the blaming and shaming. Now we can’t trust anyone, not even ourselves. But at some point we’re going to have to come together in order to survive. I’m working on a story where I interview people in my family about how they’re coping with the pandemic. Not everyone is doing well, and it’s pretty emotional for me, so I need to take some more time putting it together. In the meantime, thanks very much for your support. A link to a
Fri, May 01, 2020
The Neighborhood
It seems more of us are paying attention to our neighborhoods lately, so perhaps this is a good time to replay this story, produced in 1988. I still live in the same neighborhood, but it feels different now. It’s like there was a tall tree in my front yard but now the tree is gone and only a stump remains. I am stumped. I used to depend on trust—standing or sitting close to strangers and holding a microphone less than a foot from their faces. Now that’s not going to happen again for a while. In the meantime, here’s to remembering the good old days. Donate
Fri, April 10, 2020
Echo People by Trent Harris
My friend Trent Harris has a problem caused by the coronavirus. It’s not a big problem compared to a lot of other things that have come up recently, like the possible collapse of the economy and thousands of people dying. Trent’s problem is more like a temporary embarrassment. Basically, his reputation is on the line. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1586480814739-2N44QFOD2TUU128F96XD/secret-2.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2000x1333" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" d
Sat, March 28, 2020
Our Show by Erica Heilman
Shana from Achterarder, Scotland. My friend Erica Heilman has a podcast called Rumblestrip. She drives around Vermont and talks to people about their lives. Last week she was sitting at home, like everybody, trying to figure out what to do, and she decided to ask her listeners to send her audio recordings of what and how they’re doing under self isolation. A lot of people responded, quickly, and within a couple days Erica posted the first episode of a series she’s calling Our Show . If you’d like to send Erica an audio recording of what’s happening where you are, here’s the email address: rumblestripourshow@gmail.com. Rumblestrip website The song at the end is Atlantic City by Bruce Springsteen, performed by The Band.
Tue, March 17, 2020
The Dry Wall
This story was originally broadcast on All Things Considered in 1993. The ground was shifting under my feet back then and I had to figure out what to do. Now it’s shifting again, this time everybody’s in it together. There are things we can do, stories to tell, that can make us feel better. Thanks for listening and supporting this show. Donate
Wed, February 26, 2020
Anti-War Stories: Adrienne Kinne and Douglas Peacock
Adrienne Kinne just after basic training in 1994. <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1582754554824-G628R5MIPMZU14IUFP8T/FB_IMG_1582659975620-2.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1500x1500" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1582
Wed, February 12, 2020
Anti-War Stories: Elliott Woods
Elliott Woods as a soldier in Iraq, 2004 Today I have a conversation with Elliott Woods, a veteran who is also a very fine writer. He served a year as a combat engineer in northern Iraq. Then he came home and went to school at the University of Virginia, graduating with a degree in English literature. He thought about staying in school and becoming a professor, but he decided he wanted to go back to war, this time as a journalist. Check out Elliott’s website . Donate
Sun, February 02, 2020
Anti-War Stories: Garett Reppenhagen
Garett Reppenhagen in Iraq, 2004 I believe that sometime in the future, sooner or later, people in the United States will admit and accept that we have lost the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and demand that our troops be brought back home. Now we are in denial, which is dangerous because when you’re in denial you keep making the same mistake over and over again. I believe we need to talk about what we’ve done, the mistakes we’ve made, the crimes we’ve committed in order to move from denial to acceptance and then figure out how to change the way we respond to terrorism. This interview is the first in a series with veterans who fought in our wars and now are working for peace. Here’s a link to Veterans for Peace . Donate
Fri, January 17, 2020
Interview in Amsterdam
Last spring I was invited to speak at the Oorzaken Audio Festival in Amsterdam. I remember seeing leaves come out on the trees along the canals and tulips blooming on the bridges. The first night I was there i was interviewed on stage at the Torpedo Theater by the hosts of the Podcastclub , a Dutch podcast hosted by Lieven Heeremans and Misha Melita. This time I’m the one answering the questions. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd
Fri, January 03, 2020
The Wordshaker
His real name is Alissandru Francesco Caldiero, born into the old world on the island of Sicily, he came to the U.S. on a boat when he was nine years old, sailing past the Statue of Liberty. When I first met him, nearly 30 years later, he was screaming a Dada poem at a sandstone wall in southern Utah—repeating the same line, “This is not it,” over and over, faster and faster in a near epileptic seizure. In that moment our lives became intertwined. I think of this story as a song, a lament for not fitting in and feeling like you can’t make sense of the world around you, which is how I’ve been feeling lately. The story was originally broadcast on NPR’s Day to Day in 2003, right around the time we went to war in Iraq. To learn more
Fri, December 20, 2019
Re-Play: The Rebel Yell
I’ve been in Armenia teaching a podcasting workshop sponsored by the U.S. State Department. I think it went well, overall, and the students were exceptional. Perhaps I will write about it someday, but not now. I’ve come back to impeachment week before Christmas, a double whammy to go with my jet lag. So I’m going to re-play The Rebel Yell, a story about the 2004 Republican Convention in New York City, first podcast on this program in April of 2015. Music by the Icelandic group Mum ( We Have a Map of the Piano, The Land Between Solar Systems, Slow Bicycle ) and Kid Rock ( All Summer Long ). Donate
Fri, November 22, 2019
Encountering the Other, Part Three
My operating hypothesis is that our cultural divide is a function of our oligarchic government. If a relatively few super-rich people control our wealth and power then it would be in their interest to keep the masses angry and blaming each other, fighting amongst themselves. In this way Donald Trump is a tool of the oligarchy, dividing us by twitters—so efficient and profitable and addicting—he incites fear of the other. So, if this is true, the most effective method of fighting oligarchic control might be to give up our fear of the other. I’ve been trying to practice this method by driving around Trump Country and talking to people, listening to people, because I find that listening dissolves fear. Donate
Sat, October 26, 2019
Encountering the Other, Part Two
I was driving around rural western Colorado, near the border with Utah, near where Jack Kerouac saw a vision of God in the clouds that looked like Pooh Bear. I was looking for people I was a little afraid of—Republicans, Trump supporters—and there on the side of the highway were three signs that made me think I was in the right place. Music: Main Theme, Soundtrack for To Kill A Mockingbird by Elmer Bernstein Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squaresp
Thu, October 03, 2019
Encountering the Other
It’s not easy for me to walk up to people and ask if they want to be interviewed for my podcast. I’m afraid they will think I’m a fool, or an idiot, or be suspicious of the whole thing—fake news, etc. But on this trip, more often than not, it was other people who came up to me. Pretty much everybody wanted to talk about the cultural divide. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1570137661759-Z9UUD6ELN1Z4S80AW
Fri, September 13, 2019
Fund Drive
Yellowstone Lake, August 2019 This show is a request for funding, a responsibility for which I am ill-suited. I’m not interested in marketing and promotion. I’m opposed to advertising. I’m against monetizing my product. I don’t want my stories to go viral, I want them to go fungal like the underground network of mycorrhizal fibers that connect the roots of trees and plants in a forest, sharing food and information, a natural internet of physical connections on a cellular level. I’d rather think of my audience as trees than as data points on a graph, I’d rather grow my audience by word of mouth than by click bait. Home of the Brave is 100% funded by listener contributions. Please donate a one-time contribution through Stripe (below), or subscribe with a monthly donation through Pay Pa
Fri, August 23, 2019
The Life and Times of Solidod
Solidod in Bozeman, Montana, 2012. Photo by Jake Warga . Larry met Solidod by chance, or happenstance. He happened to be in Florida on vacation and he happened to be walking through an apartment complex in Vero Beach looking for another guy and he ended up meeting Solidod. She invited him into her apartment and then she told him her life story and they became friends. Shortly after that, Larry and Solidod went into a recording studio and made this story for Hearing Voices .
Sat, August 10, 2019
The Strait of Hormuz
I wanted to see the place where a war between the United States and Iran may begin. It turned out people over there couldn’t talk to me on tape because they live in countries without a tradition of free speech and they all feel they are being watched, and I didn’t want to get anybody in trouble. So this is a travelogue, a story about what it’s like to be there. The psychedelic Persian Gulf surf music is by Hayvanlar Alemi (he’s actually from Turkey). Here’s the link to his website .
Tue, July 09, 2019
Interview with Alan Chin
Baghdad, Iraq May 7, 2005 A suicide car bomb in Baghdad's downtown Tahrir Square killed at least 5 and wounded at least 31. PHOTOGRAPH by ALAN CHIN I worked with photographer Alan Chin covering the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in November of 2001, but then I didn’t see him again until recently, at his apartment in New York City. I wanted to know what he’d learned from being a war correspondent. Here are a some links to look at more of his work: www.instagram.com/alanschin/ @alanschin on Twitter www.muckrack.com/alan-chin Donate <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure
Sun, June 23, 2019
Let's Talk About Not Going To War
For the solstice, the sun tunnels in the West Desert of Utah. Stories about going to war come from the top down, from media corporations that manufacture consent for war among the people. Stories about not going to war move from the bottom up, starting in conversations between family and friends, people speaking out for no money but just because they feel obligated to speak. In this approach there’s a shift in context where fear is taken out of the narrative—we are not being attacked, maybe these people are not our enemy. Maybe the real enemy is our government and our media that are being controlled by the military industrial complex. I believe bottom up stories can break apart the power structure coming down from above, so this is one of them. Donate <figure class="
Fri, May 31, 2019
Dreamers
photo by Michal Story Trump’s threats to go to war with Iran made me feel powerless and lonely because I’m afraid there’s nothing to stop it. I tried to produce an anti-war story, but then realized this one by Joe is much better. Link to Joe’s website Link to the original broadcast on Unfictional Donate
Tue, May 07, 2019
Getting Into Cars With Strangers
Biloxi, Mississippi This is maybe what you’d call a pilot episode for a series that would be separate from Home of the Brave. I don’t have a title for it yet, but it would involve traveling around the world by taxi, or ride share, or just hiring drivers who can function as guides and translators. I think this is the best way to travel, but it’s expensive, so the series would need a big sponsor. Western Sound, a new podcast company in Los Angeles, sponsored this test run of the idea. Here are some links to the music used in this story: Ray Charles, Sweet Sixteen Bars from the album The Best of Ray Charles, Atlantic SD 1543 Greg A
Tue, April 16, 2019
Some Spring Time Stories
I just got back from speaking at two radio conferences in Europe. I saw the leaves come out on the trees along the canals in Amsterdam. I woke up in Ireland next to a pasture with four wooly alpacas, one just a baby. I spent days talking about how podcasting works from the bottom up, forming a lattice of connections that reach around the skin of the earth. This is better than the top-down fear-mongering of the corporate media. I said these things with confidence, because of you. I get letters from every continent including Antartica and they all sound like they were written by the same person...because we’re all in the same lattice. For more music by the Mermen click here . Donate <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure
Thu, March 14, 2019
The Pacific Northwest Trail
This is a story I produced last summer for The New Yorker Radio Hour. It’s about a controversy over one of the newest long-distance hiking trails in the United States. It was a difficult story to cover and explain, but I had excellent help from the NYRH producers and editors. I’d like to work for them again. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1552577015806-ZZH5FE1737E7COI0G9OB/
Tue, February 19, 2019
Warriors Zulu Nation Honduras
A day inside the gang-ridden community of Chamelecon, Honduras. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1550550159369-J4TQ1FPLLKGXLMEPXG3X/IMG_0293+%281%29.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1667" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1550550159369-J4TQ1FPLLKGXLMEPXG3X/IMG_0293+%281%29.jpg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1667" sizes
Tue, February 05, 2019
Tegucigalpa
Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1549328580222-HP3OEB4YIR7VFJ2Z0ZX9/IMG_0082.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1761" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1549328580222-HP3OEB4YIR7VFJ2Z0ZX9/IMG_0082.jpg?format=1000w" width="2500" height="1761" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, (max-width: 767px) 100vw, 100vw" onload="this.classList.add("loaded")" srcset="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4
Sun, January 20, 2019
Honduras Part One
Some of the new caravan before departing from the bus station in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. January 14, 2019. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1548010803627-1UCHG8MT4ZDDCBUAELRF/IMG_0456.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1963x1360" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1548010803627-1UCHG8MT4ZDDCBUAEL
Sat, December 22, 2018
Tijuana
Ruth Pena and her daughter, from El Salvador, at the beach in Tijuana. That’s the border wall in the background. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1545507933532-RT0TK93P12GHUQ8ZA86U/DSCF0666+%281%29.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2500x1764" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming=
Wed, December 12, 2018
Across the Desert
A sticker on one of the steel columns of the border wall south of Las Cruces, NM. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1544638635155-TPPF7XBFCI44SDNAOARW/IMG_0243.jpg" data-image-dimensions="2278x1557" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1544638635155-TPPF7XBFCI44SDNAOARW/IMG_02
Tue, December 04, 2018
Casa del Migrante
At Casa del Migrante in Juarez, the wrists of Estela Magdalena Simon Esteban, 23 years old, and her three-year-old daughter, Zaida. These numbers are their place in line to apply for political asylum at the El Paso port of entry. Photo by Julian Cardona . <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/
Wed, November 14, 2018
No Solution
Immigrants crossing the border near Agua Prieta, Sonora, 2005. Photo by Julian Cardona . Welcome to Season Two of Home of the Brave. This is the first of a series about the US/Mexico border and the present immigration situation. For background, I replay an interview with Charles Bowden recorded just a couple hundred yards from the barbed wire fence separating the two countries in the spring of 2005. Donate
Tue, May 08, 2018
End of Season One: A Walk On the Beach
I need to take a break so let's call this the end of season one. And I'd like to play the second story I produced for the show, an interview with Alex Chadwick. Thank you very much for your support. I'm going to turn off the subscription service (Pay Pal), but you can still donate and buy tee-shirts, tote bags, and patches. I hope to be back soon. Music: Slow Bicycle by Mum .
Fri, April 27, 2018
Rumble Strip: It's a Podcast
Erica Heilman produces Rumble Strip from her home in Calais, Vermont. I like it because I never know what she's going to do next. This is a satire about modern life in America. Donate
Wed, April 18, 2018
Lick the Crickets by Larry Massett
Collage by Charles Hope From following the news lately I feel like I don't know who to believe or who to trust, like I don't know what's going on or why and things are only going to get worse and there's nothing I can do about it. In times like this maybe surrealistic poetry and Dada make more sense than realism. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b
Sat, March 31, 2018
Bear's Ears, Part Six: Industrial Tourism
Which is worse--a campground or an oil well? Donate
Thu, March 15, 2018
Bear's Ears, Part Five: Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Firewood in Monument Valley, collected on Cedar Mesa to heat Navajo homes. A story about the origin of the Bear's Ears proposal. Round River Conservation Studies website Donate
Wed, February 28, 2018
The Hopi Way
Comb Wash A conversation with Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, Hopi elder. Donate
Tue, February 13, 2018
Bear's Ears, Part Three: The Sand Island Petroglyphs
From "Early Rock Art on the San Juan River" by Joe Pachak Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1518
Tue, January 30, 2018
Bear's Ears, Part Two
Bear Ears Buttes in the background. Looking north from the top of Cedar Mesa, San Juan County, Utah. Elevation 7000 feet. A conversation with author Terry Tempest Williams about the source of the problem in the battle over public lands in southern Utah. Click here for a link to some of Terry's work. Music by Glenn Gould playing Bach's Goldberg Variations . Donate <figure class=" sqs-bl
Tue, January 16, 2018
Bears Ears, Part One
Looking south towards the Navajo Reservation from the top of Cedar Ridge, Utah. The first in a series of reports about the controversy over public land in southern Utah, plus a story by radio genius Joe Frank, who passed away January 15, 2018. Donate
Mon, January 01, 2018
Two More Stories About Mountains
A stitched panorama of the Salt Lake valley, from the north end.
Wed, December 06, 2017
Ski Lesson
I don't know who took this photo, but it sure is a good one. Maybe it's Thor. Something to get your mind off the sorry state of affairs these days. You can make a one-time donation by Stripe, below, or hit the Pay Pal button in the menu bar to subscribe for as little as on dollar a month. Thanks for listening. Donate
Wed, November 22, 2017
The Bicycle Artist
One of Grant Petersen's personal bicycles. An interview with Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycles Works in Walnut Creek, California. Music: Slow Bicycle by Mum Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1511362043863-NH3DMPOFREX4MF0NZ3OX/Scan+4.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="1059x886" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-im
Mon, October 30, 2017
War of the Worlds
This is a Halloween special for people who have not heard the original 1938 CBS broadcast. <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1509383970802-0UKBXLGWU5IKY8GGD8X1/u473814acme.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1072x838" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1509383970802-0UKBXLGWU5IKY8GGD8X1/u473814acme.jpg?format=1000w" width="1072" height="838" sizes="(max-width:
Sun, October 22, 2017
Basin and Range
Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1508696909596-WX2VY2ELWGAVEVQKWOEK/untitled+%2819+of+259%29-2.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1000x750" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1508696909596-WX2VY2ELWGAVEVQKWOEK/untitled+%2819+of+259%29-2.jpg?format=1000w" width="1000" height="750" s
Sun, October 08, 2017
We Thought It Was a Movie
<img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1507498219265-W0RUFJBFR3PULJQWXZVA/untitled+%2818+of+55%29.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1000x667" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1507498219265-W0RUFJBFR3PULJQWXZVA/untitled+%2818+of+55%29.jpg?format=1000w" width="1000" height="667" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw,
Fri, September 29, 2017
NFL Sunday
A short commentary on the protests. Donate
Fri, September 01, 2017
The Oracle
My friend Alex and I try to visit the Utah Data Center, 20 miles south of my house in Salt Lake City. DONATE BY TEXT 801-876-1913 Check out The Sonosopher , a documentary about Alex Caldiero. James Bamford's article on the Utah Data Center in Wired Magazine . Music from the film The Day the Earth Stood Still .
Fri, July 07, 2017
The Continental Divide, Part Two
I try it again, this time with some respect. The short clip of music in the middle of the story is by the Icelandic group MUM . The music at the end is a North Vietnamese boys' choir, a recording given to me by Alex Chadwick. <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1499452483568-V7469YKZRFL1YQEZEN35/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2000x1403" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://i
Fri, June 16, 2017
The Continental Divide
The top of the highway through Rocky Mountain National Park. <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1497636090079-Q32IJTY6EXKR4RFK2QNR/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2000x1333" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1497636090079-Q32IJTY6EXKR4RFK2QNR/image-asset.jpeg?forma
Fri, May 26, 2017
The Green River
Paul Brennan, Creighton King, and myself at the Green River Lakes in the summer of 1991. I thought, considering the recent mind-fuck of news, it would be good to play a relaxing story. This is a re-run from a couple summers ago, although I originally produced it in 1991 for Weekend All Things Considered. Donate
Wed, May 10, 2017
Trump's Wall: Your Neighbor
An undocumented farm worker in New England, USA. Photo by Erica Heilman. Donald Trump promised to build a wall along the border with Mexico but at this point there is little support in Congress to actually fund the construction. And there's been a sharp decline in illegal immigration since Trump took office, even without an actual wall. Perhaps the reason for the decline is the fear generated by Trump's deportation policy. So this story is an interview with an undocumented farm worker. He talks about why he left home and what it's like working 16 hours a day, and how he's afraid to leave the farm for fear of being deported. And there's about 12 million other people here who feel the same way. Donate
Fri, April 21, 2017
Trump's Wall, Part Two
The opening of Santa Elena's Canyon, Big Bend National Park. The left side of the canyon is in Mexico, the right side is in the United States. Interviews with people on both sides of the border in and around Big Bend National Park, Texas. Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1492809203758-966EQQ6KMBH6WF40OS95/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2000x1333" data-image-focal-poi
Thu, April 06, 2017
Trump's Wall, Part One
The Rio Grande in Bend Bend Ranch State Park, Texas, just west of Big Bend National Park. The first part of a series about the proposed wall along the border. A visit to Big Bend National Park. Music: Down By the River by Neil Young Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/149
Wed, March 15, 2017
My First Radio Story
I-10, Texas, 1983 This is how I started producing stories for public radio in 1983. I was extremely lucky. Some people say I still am. Music during the introduction: Slow Bicycle by Mum Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1489600082145-GHE4BIBTM9BK0QJV3AAW/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="1333x2000" data-image-f
Thu, February 23, 2017
It's All Over Now
photo by CNBC Who is this guy? Who is he really? We think of him as a villain, but perhaps he's more the tragic hero, doomed to lose everything he cares about. The link to Bonnie Raitt on the David Letterman show Donate
Thu, February 16, 2017
What's Happening at Standing Rock: An Interview with Jenni Monet
Photo from jennimonet.co m. (Her name is misspelled in the photo.) On February 8th, the Army Corps of Engineers approved the permit for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under the Missouri River. This is an interview with Jenni Monet, an independent journalist who's been embedded at Standing Rock since the first week of December. She was arrested February 1st along with 75 protestors/water protectors. Her many news reports and the account of her arrest are at jennimonet.com . Donate
Wed, February 08, 2017
i thought i'd throw out this idea and see if it has legs
drawing by Creighton King I started to work on a new story, then decided to change tactics. Music: Soundtrack from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid by Bob Dylan Donate
Thu, January 19, 2017
Listening to the Winners
Donald Trump is a manifestation of our collective fear and anger. We created him. This show is a collection of interviews with people who supported Trump leading up to the election. They are not easy to listen to, but I think we should try in order to better understand what happened, and what is happening now. Music: What's Opera Doc? from "Bugs Bunny on Broadway". Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squ
Tue, January 03, 2017
The Test
This story originally aired on This American Life in 1996, but there's a new rant at the end. Music: White Rabbit by Grace Slick, performed by Mayssa Karaa for the American Hustle soundtrack . Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1483569571213-EHMXCDJC2CX1Z2ZT0DAG/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="2000x1335" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="fal
Mon, December 19, 2016
Standing Rock, Part Three
Thousands of veterans join the Water Protectors, and the Army Corps of Engineers denies the permit for the pipeline to go under the Missouri River. Music: One Monkey by Gillian Welch <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54dd0f40e4b084e8da72e7db/1482191047629-5SCHVUDUQXUAJN5ZOGY7/image-asset.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="1500x1002" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" alt="" data-load="false" elementtiming="system-image-block" src="https://images.
Tue, November 29, 2016
Standing Rock, Part Two
The Missouri River at Lake Oahe, one mile downstream from the proposed crossing of the Dakota Access Pipeline. What it's like at some of the more peaceful anti-pipeline protests or "actions" in North Dakota. Music by Max Richter from the HBO series The Leftovers . Donate <img data-stretch="false" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/
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