The one-room schoolhouse is the conduit through which we meet the inhabitants of Monhegan- an community that is isolated, tightly-knit, full of vibrant characters. Through their voices, their activities, listeners become aquainted with a whole town in 13 minutes.
And despite the reference in the intro to the "one room schoolhouse" as an institution from another time, once we're in the classroom, it's clear that this is a living-- and essential-- part of this small community.

The best moments in this piece are the action: the play rehearsals in the school, a local resident whipping up egg nog, children sledding, the community christmas party that caps the piece. The narration seems a bit wistful; as if longing, to some degree, for a time when this sort of insular community was more commonplace. On the whole, though, this is a loving and rich portrait of a place.

The chaos of the school office is immediately apparent from Paul's construction of this piece-- the subject can barely get a word in to us, her audience, between demanding children, phones ringing, greeting people. The effectiveness of this piece lies in the way it communicates this juggling of responsibilities, the way in which we depend upon the staff of public schools to accomplish a somewhat super-human collection of tasks.

Mr. Paul's entrance into the piece (presumably a host intro would reveal who he is!), asking questions and offering the subject a summary of the situation, sometimes interrupts the flow of the piece; it also could be just as effective if a minute or two was cut. However, overall, the piece does a great job: with rich sound and characters,
a "secretary" is revealed to be a massively important figure in the school, both to kids and the functioning of the institution.

A group of poets (lead by the inimitable Andrei Codrescu) wander a New Orleans neighborhood searching for fodder for their writing and man, what they find! A hot dog seller who writes songs, a bar owner espousing the power of dreams, and a Burlesque performer with a masters degree in counseling that Codrescu describes as "a model New Orleans citizen that has developed an aggressively post modern form of strip tease." Codrescu leads this troop of writers through the neighborhood (and us through the piece) with his usual wit and eloquence. PDs: as April is National Poetry Month, this would be a great addition to the mix.

The sounds of these instruments alone make this one worth a listen . But producer Aaron Henkin manages to make it more than just a "wow, isn't this dude cool" kind of a radio piece. By situating Neil Feather in the wider context of musical evolution throughout history, Henkin gives Feather's instrumental creations a new depth. Well written and well recorded.

This piece hit me so hard I had to listen to it twice in a row, just sitting there at my desk. For someone of my generation (I'm 22), whose knowledge of the Vietnam War was little more than a series of cliches about protests and government mistakes, this documentary brought the war to life. Airing this piece at any time would make a vast impression on listeners, but especially now, as our country struggles with another controversial war in Iraq, we need radio like this to help us experience what war is really like,