Recent & Upcoming Specials

Radio Lab: Laughter
Friday, August 8, 2008 at 9:00 PM
We all laugh. But why? If you look closely, you’ll find that humor has very little to do with it. This episode explored the power of laughter…

America Abroad: Missiles, Money, and the Mainland: The Taiwan Dilemma
Friday, August 8, 2008 at 10:00 PM
In recent years, Taiwan’s loud talk of independence has raised fears of conflict between the US and China. This program explored Taiwanese identity…

Whole Lotta Shakin’: Rebels with Guitars
Friday, August 8, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Rockabilly was a bold, young upstart.  This program profiled rockabilly rebels Gene Vincent, Link Wray, and the fightin Burnette Brothers, Johnny…

Radio Lab: Deception
Friday, August 15, 2008 at 9:00 PM
The program looked at lies, liars, and lie catchers, and asked: can you lead a life without deception? They consulted a cast of characters, from pathological…

Saving the Sierra
Friday, August 15, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Urban development threatens rural communities across America. People who live and work in these beautiful landscapes face some tough decisions about…

Whole Lotta Shakin’: The Cradle of the Stars
Friday, August 15, 2008 at 11:00 PM
A revolution on the radio was launched in Shreveport, Louisiana with the Saturday night broadcasts of The Louisiana Hayride. The Hayride helped introduce…

Radio Lab: War of the Worlds
Friday, August 22, 2008 at 9:00 PM
An examination of the power of mass media to create panic. In Radio Lab’s very first live hour, they took a deep dive into one of the most controversial…

Hearing Voices: No Place Like Home
Friday, August 22, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Scott Carrier had a cultural history of the Great Salt Lake’s “West Desert,” a land of polygymists, bombing ranges, and toxic waste…

European Jazz Stage: Jazz Adventure
Friday, August 22, 2008 at 11:00 PM
A wonderful concert by the late wizard of keys and sounds: Joe Zawinul.  He brought his syndicate to the 2007 North Sea Festival for this recording,…

Radio Lab: So-Called Life
Friday, August 29, 2008 at 9:00 PM
What are the consequences when humans start playing with life? The human imagination has always dreamed up fantastic creatures, but now biotechnology…

Liner Notes: Sand Still In My Shoes
Friday, August 29, 2008 at 10:00 PM
In summertime we are not ourselves.  Thank goodness.  We fall in love.  We rediscover the ocean, trashy novels and the hot fudge sundae. …

European Jazz Stage: Europe Goes Tropical
Friday, August 29, 2008 at 11:00 PM
A blend of styles from Latin America made this program steam and swing.  Hermeto Pascoal, founding father of Brazilian free jazz, happily mixed…

Pete Seeger: How Can I Keep From Singing?
Monday, September 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Pete Seeger is perhaps America’s best-known folk musician, the songwriter/adapter of such hits as “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”…

The Best of the 2007 Detroit International Jazz Festival
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Performers included:  The Curtis Fuller Super Band, Poncho Sanchez, Maria Muldaur, Brubeck Brothers Quartet, Kurt Elling, Regina Carter, and more.…

Radio Lab: Pop Music
Friday, September 5, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Why do some songs mercilessly stick in our heads and repeat themselves over and over? What makes these hooks so hooky? And how does a songwriter will…

Cleveland City Club Forum: Michael Chertoff
Friday, September 5, 2008 at 10:00 PM
United States Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff speaks at the Cleveland City Club.

1959: Jazz’s Vintage Year
Friday, September 5, 2008 at 11:00 PM
The year of 1959 saw an unprecedented spate of jazz masterpieces. Among the albums released or recorded that year were Miles Davis’ groundbreaking…

Cleveland City Club Forum: Dr. Lawrence Krauss
Friday, September 12, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Dr. Lawrence Krauss, Director, Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics, Case Western Reserve University, will speak at the Cleveland…

Hot Summer Jams: The Newport Jazz Festival 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008 at 10:00 PM
The Newport Jazz Festival has been a magnet for top jazz performers every year since it began in 1954, as well as the source of storied jazz recordings,…

America Abroad: Feeling the Heat: The Global Politics of Climate Change
Friday, September 19, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Images of polar bears perched on melting glaciers and erratic and dangerous weather have focused much of the globe’s attention on climate change.…

Pushing the Boundaries: Live from the Newport Folk Festival 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008 at 10:00 PM
In this two-hour special, NPR Music took listeners to the historic Newport Folk Festival, which this year left behind traditional folk music in favor…

Ask Your Lawmaker
Friday, September 26, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Description coming soon.

After the Vanguard: the Return of Bill Evans
Friday, September 26, 2008 at 11:00 PM
After jazz journalist Gene Lees heard Bill Evans for the first time, he told the pianist that his recordings “sounded like love letters written…