Great to hear these guys getting their due. What a fantastic interview with Jody Stephens.

I checked this out because of its title (I'm a diner enthusiast), but stuck with it because its characters were so compelling -- and then the story got me. What shines through is the sense of a community banding together to save a local institution. Even when the chips are down, when people are cutting back, you get the sense that places like the Tinman will survive, simply because its customers won't allow it to die.

The piece is well-produced and sound-rich, with a nice balance of narration, background/ambient effects and interviews.

I hear you, brother: Hanukkah is definitely the pinnacle of assimilation. As usual, Molinsky shoots and scores, laying out his argument neatly, with facts, humor, and best of all, the sound of frying latkes. He sets the scene beautifully, interviewing a former Orthodox Jewish woman (in Brooklyn, we all seem to know one) and a rabbi to tease out the 'ugly truth' about the secularization of one of our favorite holidays -- both today and in ancient times.

Perfectly mixed, and just the right length, this is an ideal piece for this crazy, mixed up time of year.

Having co-produced a piece this year about a woman grieving for her late transgendered husband ("How Are You Who You Are?"), it was fascinating for me to hear this dispatch from the eye of the storm. In my piece we heard from a woman who learned to live with her husband's predilection for cross-dressing. Here one has the advantage of hearing from both parties, a wife and her transgendered husband, now a woman, and the result is a painful but human glimpse into a marriage that couldn't compromise. No fairy tale endings here. It just didn't work.

I could have done without the metronome-like soundtrack pulsing throughout, but on the whole, this is an affecting, honest, and well-mixed human interest piece. Bravo.

I think it was the title that pulled me in. It's something you don't really think about: the fear certain people (in this case, men) have of using urinals in public restrooms. But Hammad Ahmed dives in full-force, and the result is a revealing and surprisingly candid portrait of men who are, apparently, going through hell each time they step up to the plate.

Only comments: a bit more about the psychology behind the paralysis brought on by paruresis would have been helpful. We get a sense of the human toll, but it might have been nice to learn what actually happens inside the brain at the moment of truth.

The choice to include the urinating sounds may be a chancy one, but it helps you get the picture.

And yes, to a greater or lesser extent, most of us have been there. Thanks for sharing this experience.

This is one of those stories that makes you wonder about the so-called flyover states, wonder about the people there, what they do and why they do it. That's a good thing, in my book -- especially when the subject is as innocent and playful as that in Zachary Barr's piece on High Plains High School's determination to win the state basketball title. My God, only forty-three students in grades 9-12? There were 1,000 kids in my high school (in the Northeast), and that was considered small. And only a few well-wshers turned out to support our team -- here, the entire community shows up.

This is a quick, short piece that shines a spotlight on a tiny, out of the way place. Attention should be paid to such places, and to such pieces. I won't spoil the fun by giving away the outcome, but I will say this: when one proud father congratulates his son towards the end of the piece, it's impossible not to be moved.

Bob Franke is a national treasure, and sometimes it takes a show like River City Folk to bring him out into the spotlight. Speaking as someone who's been following Franke's career since the age of 18 (me, not him), it's always refreshing to hear the man speak in simple terms of his simple faith, and to hear clips of his beautiful, inspiring songs -- including a live, in-studio take of "The Great Storm Is Over." Albums like "For Real," "One Evening In Chicago," and "The Desert Questions" (released after this was recorded) are modern folk classics that deserve a place in the American pantheon. Tom May's audio portrait allows Franke to opine on all things musical, name and play some of his influences, and to provide a dash of insight on his own process. It's a thoughtful, well-produced piece, that like Franke himself, deserves a wider audience.

Nice work. Having just returned from my ultra-patriotic home town in Massachusetts and survived throngs of children shrieking at the top of their lungs every time a firework lit up the sky, I am definitely feeling the need for this piece. While Mr. Pryor's aim seems to be to defend Americans' rights of expression, what he ultimately says is, Do it if you must, just stay the hell away from me.

I have to say, after this past weekend, I agree with that sentiment 100%. Only I'd add, keep the people away from me as well. They may be the ones getting damaged by firecrackers, but their enthusiasm practically burst my eardrums.