State Of The Re:Union Returns To VPR!

State of the Re:Union is coming back to the VPR Saturday Special. For the next ten weeks, enjoy new episodes with host Al Letson.

Courtesy of State of the Re:Union

For those of us who can't travel to all corners of the country, State of the Re:Union is a welcome addition to the Saturday Special line-up. It's a show dedicated to digging deep into communities to find out what makes them tick. State of the Re:Union looks for the common history that ties people together and gives voice to those who are experiencing a common problem that's both unique to the place and universal to the human experience.

These new episodes will take us to Baltimore, the Ozarks, and Tucson--just to name a few! We'll revisit the State of the Re:Union episode on Vermont, and we'll also hear something new: an episode dedicated not to a physical place, but a group of people whose members exist everywhere: comic book fans! We'll also hear an entire episode dedicated to the strange, fascinating ways the Internet creates communities.

Listen Saturdays at 4 on VPR and let us know what you think!

Learn more about State of the Re:Union.

VPR News Special Calculates “The Irene Effect”

From Senior Reporter Steve Zind:

Just below me on my Braintree road, there’s a strip of land where a neighbor’s house stood before being destroyed in Tropical Storm Irene. For me that spot, empty but for some scattered household belongings, is a daily reminder of the incredible loss some Vermonters experienced in the storm and how, months afterward, many people are still living with the devastating floods of August 28th.

That ongoing struggle is one of the messages of “The Irene Effect” airing on VPR next Wednesday, December 14th at noon and 7 p.m. Producer Lynne McCrea and I have been visiting individuals and communities changed by the storm and we’ve been listening to the dozens of stories VPR reporters have done in the past several months, tallying the effects and the lessons of Irene.

“The Irene Effect” tells many stories: The young couple whose lost farm can’t be replaced, a mother who found the strength to speak out on behalf of mobile home owners after her own home was inundated, and a community that discovered it could take care of its own when Irene cut it off from the outside world.

We also take you out on our roads and rivers, to see how they’ve been rebuilt and reshaped, and find out if we’re better protected from future storms.

“The Irene Effect” takes stock of where Vermont stands nearly four months after the historic flood. I hope you can check it out Wednesday, December 14th at noon and 7 p.m. on VPR, Saturday December 17th at 4 p.m., Wednesday the 28th at 9 a.m., and online at VPR.net.

Photo Credits: AP/Tony Talbot,

Special Programming This Week

Best wishes from all of us at VPR for your Thanksgiving Holiday. We're grateful to everyone in the VPR community - our listeners, friends, business partners and volunteers - for helping us bring you great public radio every day.

VPR and VPR Classical have some special programming to listen to while you're shopping, chopping, washing dishes and relaxing:

VPR:

Wednesday at Noon: Counting Vermont, a VPR Documentary examining the meaning of the 2010 Census. Counting Vermont is made possible by The VPR Journalism Fund. (Vermont Edition returns Friday at noon)

7pm: The Moth Radio Hour. A special broadcast of "true stories told live with no notes."

Thursday 11am -1pm: Turkey Confidential with Lynne Rosetta Casper, a two hour live call-in program. Lynne offers solutions for your Thanksgiving dilemmas, along with recipes and great conversation. Call (800) 537-5252.

7pm: The Hidden World of Girls, hosted by Tina Fey. The first in a two part series about girls around the world and the women they become. Listen Friday at 7 for hour 2.

Friday at 7pm: The Hidden World of Girls, Hour 2.

VPR Classical:
Thursday at noon: Thanksgiving with Cantus. Join one of America's best male vocal ensembles for an hour of singing and story telling about gratitude.

8pm-10pm: Giving Thanks with John Birge, a Celebration of Fall, Food and Gratitude. John Birge is joined this year by authors Nora Ephron and Roy Blount, Jr. Hear the premiere of "Table Grace", Matthew Brown's choral setting of a grace by Garrison Keillor, sung by VocalEssence.

Remembering 9/11

Like so many others, I’m reflecting this week about the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

I didn’t work at VPR back then, in fact, I had only recently moved to Vermont. Without cable or internet in the old Shoreham schoolhouse that was my new home, VPR was my only link to what happened that day. I didn’t even see video footage of the attacks until a week later. Ten years on, I am still grateful to VPR for being both my source of information and of comfort in the days that followed.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks and Tropical Storm Irene are very different events, of course, but as we have received comments and calls from listeners about our coverage of the storm and its aftermath, I can’t help but draw comparisons. It is a big responsibility to be your lifeline and a source of comfort in times of crisis, but it is one we take very seriously.

This week, VPR is remembering 9/11. Listen for interviews, stories, commentaries, and an audio “memory quilt” of your reflections, which was produced in partnership with the Vermont Folklife Center. On Friday, join a conversation about 9/11 on Vermont Edition at noon and 7 p.m. And on Sunday, listen beginning at 8 a.m. for special coverage from NPR.

You can explore our coverage and share your reflections online here.

Studs On The Radio

"Working With Studs" will air at 7 p.m. July4th on VPR.

In all honesty, when I saw the name of this program, I thought it might be some ironic piece about beautiful radio hosts whose faces are never seen.

It didn't take me long to find out that Studs is a singular proper noun. "Studs" is the name everyone called Louis Terkel. Studs Terkel, I learned, is THE original iconic radio voice of Chicago.

I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of him before! Talk about long running shows, The Studs Terkel Program aired on 98.7 WFMT Chicago five days a week from 1952 - 1997. He's known for preserving the oral history of the American working class, in their own words.

Studs' energetic voice is nothing short of inspirational. His charisma and curiosity brought out the truth people didn't even know they had in them until they were interviewed by Studs.

Our own Walter Parker interviewed Studs Terkel in 2005 to promote his book, And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey. And after his passing in 2008, Commentator Bill Mares recalled his experience with Studs Terkel.

Tune in Monday night at 7 for "Working With Studs," a remembrance told in a seamless blend of documentary and reminiscence by a crew of Stud's co-workers paired with previously unheard tapes of Studs himself.

VPR Examines the Future of Big Wind

There has been a lot of talk about whether industrial-scale wind energy projects should be built on Vermont's ridgelines. But so far, that's been about it: A lot of talk and very little construction.

So what is the future of wind energy in this state that prides itself on its dedication to renewable energy and preservation of the environment?

We may begin to find out in the next year. The Public Service Board will begin considering in early February the largest project yet proposed, on Lowell Mountain. And the U.S. Forest Service likely will rule on a project in Searsburg and Readsboro that would be the first commercial wind project in a national forest.

VPR News goes behind those headlines to explore the issue in a series, Big Wind's Future. What divides communities where projects are proposed? Are they capable of producing as much electricity and reducing greenhouse gases as much as supporters contend? How are they financed? And where do the profits from them flow?

Tune in to Morning Edition and All Things Considered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to learn the answers.

Reverend Al Sharpton in Burlington

The Rev. Al Sharpton was the keynote at Burlington’s MLK Day Celebration Sunday. The Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center hosted the event at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Attendees were also treated to uplifting musical selections by the Abundant Life Gospel Choir. Senator Bernie Sanders and Evelyn and Modisane Kwanza of Alpha Baptist Church received Martin Luther King awards for their work.

Sharpton told the audience that King's dream had not yet been realized, because it is not just a dream of racial equality but of economic equity. Click here to listen to Sharpton’s speech.

Listen tonight at 8 for a special program called Say It Loud: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity. The program traces the last 50 years of black history through stirring, historically important speeches by African Americans from across the political spectrum.

Beautiful Voices for the Holidays

We had such a great time last Friday at VPR's annual Winter Concert. Bella Voce gave a wonderful performance - you can see photos from the event below!



The music and celebration continues this week. Listen tomorrow night at 9 for Paul Winter’s 30th Winter Solstice Celebration live from New York City. Christmas Even starts with Willem Lange’s Favor Johnson at 7:50 a.m., followed by A Christmas Carol told by Willem at noon, A Vermont Christmas with Counterpoint at 8 pm, and then Holiday Jazz until midnight. Christmas morning brings A New England Christmas with Willem Lange at 9:30am.

On VPR Classical, tonight at 8 we'll hear L’enfance du Christ on In Concert @ 8. A few other highlights include the Rose Ensemble at 8 p.m. tomorrow, Magnificent Magnificats with Joe Goetz at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Echoes of Christmas Thursday at 8 p.m. followed by A Chanticleer Christmas at 9. We’ll hear the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols live from King’s College in England on Christmas Eve at 10 a.m., and A Vermont Christmas with Counterpoint at 8 p.m.

You'll find our full holiday schedule online here, and best wishes to you for a joyous, peaceful, and healthy holiday season!

Bring VPR To The Table This Thankgiving!

We hope you’ll invite VPR to your table to celebrate Thanksgiving. After all, we’re just like family…except we won’t take the last slice of pumpkin pie or overindulge on the wine and make inappropriate comments. Heck, we’ll even help with the cooking!

Listen Thursday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. for Turkey Confidential from The Splendid Table. Lynne Rossetto Kasper will be available to answer your cooking questions live. Quickly becoming a Thanksgiving morning tradition, past shows have included everything from a cross-country trucker cooking his Thanksgiving dinner on the manifold to a panicked first-time cook who didn't realize a turkey needs to be thawed. Lynne will be joined by renowned chef and food advocate Jamie Oliver; restaurateur and PBS host José Andrés, wine entrepreneur Joshua Wesson, and restaurant guides Jane and Michael Stern. Call with your questions at 1-800-537-5252 or learn more here.

Check out the rest of our Thanksgiving program lineup below, and you’ll find our full holiday schedule online here. From all of us at VPR, we wish you a warm, safe, and enjoyable holiday!

Thursday, November 26: Giving Thanks With John Birge

7-8 p.m. on VPR; 8-10 p.m. on VPR Classical

Host John Birge creates a thoughtful, contemporary reflection on the meaning of the holiday. This year, he’s joined by author Deepak Chopra, who reflects on gratitude in India, his pilgrimage to America, and shares poems of thanks by Rumi. The program also features food writer Nigella Lawson on the tradition of feasting, and brings along suggestions for turkey leftovers.

The program also features classical music, including Simple Gifts from Yo-Yo Ma, a hymn of Thanksgiving from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, the autumnal lyricism of Mark O'Connor's American Seasons, and a cornucopia of Bach.

Friday, November 27: Best of the Best

Noon (Hour 1) and 7 p.m. (Hour 2) on VPR

Best of the Best showcases the winning entries of the 10th annual Third Coast Audio Festival. This is the place to hear the most accomplished producers and best emerging talent from around the world, artists who are shaping the future of public radio.

(The photo above is courtesy of Flickr).

Behind The Mic: Vermont Reads

Vermont Reads producers Melody Bodette and Betty Smith shared their thoughts about this year's series, airing this week on VPR:

Each year VPR partners with the Vermont Humanities Council to produce a series on their Vermont Reads, state-wide reading program. This year, the council picked The Day of the Pelican by acclaimed Barre author Katherine Paterson. The book follows an Albanian Muslim family forced by war to flee Kosovo. They are resettled in Vermont and try to rebuild their lives here.

While the book is fiction, it was inspired by a family Paterson's church sponsored in the 1990s. And it's a story that's repeated over and over in our small state, as the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program brings 300 people here each year.

Our series combines interviews with Paterson, former refugees and the people who work with them, plus excerpts from the book. One of the challenges in a project like this is finding a reader who can embody the characters in the novel. We were fortunate to find Nijaza Semic, a home-school liason in the Burlington school district. Nijaza left Bosnia after war broke out and came to Vermont with her husband. In addition to giving us a compelling interview, Nijaza used her skills as a former newsreader in her native country to become the voice of the novel's narrator, Meli Lleshi.

This project also allowed us to learn more about some of the great work that goes on at the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, just one street away from us in Fort Ethan Allen!

You can hear the entire series online.

The Long Trail At 100

The Long Trail turns 100 this year, and VPR is planning a month-long series to mark this milestone. We’ll explore the history and future of the Long Trail, learn about the ins and outs of hiking and camping, and meet the people who hike and maintain it today.

And that’s where you come in. If you’re out on the trail this summer, let us know about it! Why do you love the Long Trail? What are your favorite hikes and sections? What was your best (or worst!) experience on the Long Trail? Send your thoughts, photos, and favorite recipes for camp meals and trailside snacks to community@vpr.net.

Planning for this project has gotten me thinking about my own experience with the Long Trail. While I have yet to hike it end-to-end (one of my lifetime goals!), I’ve spent many happy days and nights on the trail. A few memories that stand out for me:

• Hiking the last 10 miles of the Long Trail with friends who were thru-hiking, and high-fiving Canada.
• Getting held up by a giant moose on Mount Mansfield. We watched him from a distance for over an hour!
• Trekking up to the Twin Brook tenting area for dinner because we knew the ramen would taste better if it was cooked in the woods.
• Losing my balance on snowshoes and falling into a snowy ditch, thereby earning the nickname “Meesh in a Deetch.”
• Hiking Camel’s Hump on New Year’s Day. I’ve done this almost every year since moving to Vermont. There’s never a view but what a way to start a year!

I even think fondly of my less-pleasant memories, like getting mild hypothermia in October, then yelling at my best friend for trying to force-feed me a peanut butter sandwich. But that's the beauty of the Long Trail: hardship and challenge are as much a part of the experience as the victories. Millions have followed this path, but no one has the same experience twice. Each excursion, whether a day trip or a thru-hike, adds to the Long Trail's storied history.

So, come on. Share with us. And happy hiking!

Piecing Together Memories With StoryCorps And The Shelburne Museum

VPR Commentary Series Producer Betty Smith shared some behind-the-scenes thoughts about this week's special series, Piecing Together Memories. It features elder Vermonters speaking with one another about their fondest recollections, and about the memories they've begun to lose. These interviews were recorded by StoryCorps, and are included in an exhibit at the Shelburne Museum this summer called Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece. The exhibit includes the interviews, photos and quilts made by people who have dealt with Alzheimer's Disease.

For the past few weeks, I've been part of an ambitious project combining the resources of three impressive organizations: The Shelburne Museum, StoryCorps and VPR. It all started when the Museum learned that it would host the nationwide traveling quilt exhibit called "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece By Piece" that contains 52 quilts - each interpreting Alzheimer's in some way. The concept was inspired and the quilt's graphic images are powerful - to say the least.

As museum staff began brainstorming other exhibition elements to accompany the quilts, someone mentioned hearing segments of StoryCorps' Memory Loss Initiative on NPR's Morning Edition - in which people affected by memory loss shared stories with friends and loved ones. Initially, the idea was to invite StoryCorps to set up a recording booth in the exhibit itself to record visitor stories and comments, but it quickly grew into something more complex - and challenging.

So last January, StoryCorps' Memory Loss Initiative came to the Arbors and Wake Robin in Shelburne, and Project Independence in Middlebury, to record a number of interviews - each one about 45 minutes long. The goal was to select and edit several excerpts to feature at listening stations in the exhibit. Would VPR undertake the editing and consider airing some of the results? The answer was yes.

Ten of these interviews were selected by StoryCorps staff and sent to VPR for editing five excerpts down to a length suitable for possible broadcast and listening stations in the museum exhibit - two or three minutes at most. I got the assignment, and I must say it's been intense. The production process was a little like panning for gold: seeing a glimmer, then finding and polishing an important nugget. It's been very moving. The stories are personal, the atmosphere intimate, and the details range from funny to profound.

And in the end, it feels deeply satisfying. I believe that these stories, with their emotional content, will provide an effective complement to the artistic images in the museum exhibit, yet powerful enough to stand alone on the air in Piecing Together Memories.

At least, I hope so. I look forward to hearing what you and museum visitors think.

No Starburst Were Harmed in the Making of this Documentary (well, not that many...)

On Tuesday evening, VPR will air "States of Marriage," a documentary examining how several states have approached legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples. VPR's Patti Daniels shared her experience producing this project:

Most mornings last week I came in to work thinking, ‘this might be the final day of production and we’re done!’ But today it’s official – VPR’s documentary on same-sex marriage airs tomorrow evening and we’re ready to go. Our crack production engineer Chris Albertine and I will finalize a few details this afternoon, but right now I have a few minutes to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the final stage of producing a radio documentary.

We’ve logged many hours over the past few weeks in an editing suite working to finalize the elements of this broadcast. This is the detail work, tinkering around the edges. We stare at a computer screen with row upon row of audio files as Chris engineers the sound to make it just right.

The bigger part of the challenge has already been overcome by now. We started in the spring with one big question: how to tell the story of so many different states finding their own approach to the question of same-sex marriage? Our initial research generated a multitude of possible directions. Over the summer Jane Lindholm and I recorded at least 20 interviews, some of them lasting hours, with key political and advocacy leaders in five states. In addition to that, we combed through hours of archival sound to document the events that unfolded in Vermont and elsewhere. All of those dozens of hours of tape needed to be transcribed, prioritized, and developed into a cohesive, compelling story... all in just 51 minutes. Throughout the project, we wrestled with journalistic questions of balance, interpretation, and historical record.

And now, Chris and I are down to the nitty gritty: fueled by coffee and Starburst candies, we fixate on mere seconds of audio: should the music fade in more gently here? Where can we shave off seconds to meet the time limit? Do we have another take of that voice track? Can we get more cowbell? (Just kidding about the cowbell...)

You can learn more about States of Marriage at VPR.net. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

-- Patti Daniels, producer, “States of Marriage: The Debate Over Gay Rights”

On a Curiosity Bender

It’s been almost five years since we first heard about this crazy new program from WNYC in New York, Radio Lab. I still remember the first time it was explained to me: “Radio Lab is an investigation. They take One Big Idea and explore the science and culture behind it. It’s a patchwork of people, sounds, music, stories, and experiences.”

Oh, well that explains it. Wait….no it doesn’t. I still had no idea what I was in for. But the first time I listened, I was hooked.

But five years and countless episodes later, I still can’t really explain it any better than that. That’s because Radio Lab is all about sound. And you really have to hear it to get it. If you’re a fan of the show, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, you’re in for a real treat. Either way, I hope you’ll tune in for Radio Lab on beginning this Saturday at 4 p.m., through December 5. The big ideas examined in this new season include afterlife, stochasticity, parasites, the “new normal,” and numbers.

Learn more about the series here, and please let us know what you think!

Boo!

Things get downright spooky at Vermont Public Radio for Halloween. Friday evening on VPR, put down your torch and pitchfork and join the Capitol Steps for Politics Takes a Holiday. They'll musically skewer everything left, right and wrong with the country today!

At 10, George 'Spooky Jazz' Thomas will have you under his spell 'til midnight.

VPR Classical presents eerie offerings throughout the day, including “Son of Frankenstein.”

Saturday at 4, Radio Lab revisits War of the Worlds.

At 8, treat yourself as well as your trick or treaters to a Halloween "spooktacular" on Joel Najman's My Place.

You can learn more about our Halloween tricks and treats online here.

The Moth Radio Hour - More to Come!

Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact.
— Robert McKee, author of Story

Stories are the essence of public radio, whether it’s a news story that connects us with an American soldier on patrol, a funny story about automobiles and relationships on Car Talk, or a compelling narrative on This American Life.
For the past five Saturdays, VPR has broadcast The Moth Radio Hour – people telling their stories with no script and no props. The power of storytelling has brought laughter, tears, and driveway moments to VPR listeners throughout the region. Here is a sampling of the emails we’ve received:

I am crazy about your new show The Moth… I am always amazed at how brave and clever each storyteller seems... I have found myself really deeply connecting with these brave souls through radio – just my ear and their voice. - Allie Clark Leicester

I was on my way to the grocery store, listening to VPR, and heard a story about a father who was Instant Messaging with his son, and didn't realize that "lol" meant "laughing out loud," not "lots of love." I got to the store and sat in my car in the parking lot for a few minutes to hear the end of the segment. Turns out I was listening to New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik on the Moth Radio Hour. What a great story! Please keep this program on the air. - Cathy Resmer, Winooski

I am so pleased that you are broadcasting The Moth Radio Show. I am a long term contributor and this kind of radio show is exactly the reason why I continue to contribute. I know of no other radio station that puts on this kind of entertainment. - Mary Judy Hurd, Newport Center

I have enjoyed, laughed and cried listening to the series, and am sorry to see that it apparently is only a five episode set, so this Saturday will be the last? I hope you will consider making it a part of your regular schedule. - Barbara Lawson, Champlain New York

So what is the future of The Moth Radio Hour? VPR will rebroadcast The Moth Radio Hour pilot series this winter (dates and times TBA). I can also tell you that there are plans to produce at least 10 more episodes in 2010. We hope The Moth becomes a weekly radio program. (In the meantime, you can subscribe to The Moth podcast of individual stories)

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison, award winning producer of the public radio series This I Believe. Listener support makes programs like this possible. Thanks for listening and letting us know what you think about The Moth.

Franny Bastian
Senior Producer

Inside Vermont Reads

VPR Commentary Producer Betty Smith offered these reflections about producing Vermont Reads on VPR:

Producing a broadcast project based on When The Emperor Was Divine has been a fascinating experience. To begin with, the book is beautifully written and brings alive a significant but little known episode in our history. And it's quite easy to see how the human rights issues it raises relate to current, post-9/11 events.

What was less clear at the outset was any direct connection to our particular region. After all, the internment of ethnic Japanese occurred almost exclusively on the West Coast. But once we began to research the topic within our own community, it didn't take us long to discover people and events that very effectively bring the story home. The amount of work involved in conducting that kind of research and follow-up has been considerable but the results have been extremely satisfying.

You can listen to VPR's 2009 Vermont Reads series online.

The Moth is Flying

We have been getting great feedback from listeners about The Moth Radio Hour, which has been airing Saturday afternoons at 4 p.m. A sampling of emails we've received:

"The readers are so touching, so real. I've laughed and I've cried listening to their stories."

"Please keep the Moth going! It's simply amazing and it touches me so deeply. Thanks for getting it out there."

"I can tell already that this will be right up there with This American Life - one of my VPR top favorites!"

We're right there with you. In fact, I've taken to listening to the show while running, and I've had to stop multiple times - sometimes because I was laughing hysterically, and others because I was sobbing.

Along with this high praise we've been getting requests to continue airing The Moth Radio Hour on a weekly basis. And we’re right there with you. What you're hearing on Saturdays this month is a five-part 'pilot' series produced by Jay Allison, who also produces StoryCorps. A number of public radio stations around the country are experiencing similar enthusiastic response. With only five hour-long episodes available right now, this series will conclude on September 26. However, right now Jay says he plans to produce 10 new episodes in 2010, with a long-term goal of making The Moth Radio Hour a weekly program.

If you need a fix in the meantime, we hope you’ll subscribe to the weekly podcast of The Moth. Several of us here at VPR have been listening to it for years. And thanks as always for your feedback!

Queen City Radio Hour Returns

Listen tonight at 7 for the latest Queen City Radio Hour. Tom Bodett hosts an hour of comedy and music featuring Rusty Dewees, music by Anais Mitchell and Quebec’s Lost Fingers. We’ll peek behind the scenes at speed dating in South Burlington, take you on a turkey drive to Boston and tell a tall tale of Samuel de Champlain’s misadventures.

The program was recorded before a live audience during Burlington's Lake Champlain quadricentennial celebration. VPR's Neal Charnoff, who produced the program, writes: "As with any theatrical production, seeing the actors take words on a page and make them come alive in performance was a small miracle. Jay Craven was a calm and wise ringleader, and Tom Bodett was as funny, easygoing and friendly as he sounds on the radio. The most pleasant surprise was the enthusiastic, rock-star-worthy response from a near capacity crowd at the Flynn."

I hope you will tune in and let us know what you think!

Win Tickets to Queen City Radio Hour

We're giving away tickets to The Queen City Radio Hour, live at Burlington's Flynn Theater on Thursday evening, July 2. Hosted by Tom Bodett (Vermonter and panelist for NPR's Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me), the variety show celebrates the Champlain Quadricentennial and features Rusty Dewees and musical guests The Horse Flies, Anais Mitchell, and others.

The show is produced by Vermont independent film maker Jay Craven (at left) and will be taped for later broadcast on VPR. Enter to win tickets online here.