We've got a lot of meat on the table, starting with a jaunt through Cincinnati in search of the perfect chili, and followed by an exploration of the overlapping worlds of the Meatpacking District — a New York neighborhood undergoing a radical transformation. Stay tuned also for an audio postcard from a particularly strange place — the imagination of Miranda July — and a report on a major sporting event: the annual NBA Mascot Conference.
Mascot Time
It may look like fun and games, but being a NBA mascot requires a lot more than a furry costume (though that does come in handy). Reporter Sean Collins attends the annual NBA Mascots Conference in Las Vegas to find out more about this unusual line of work.
Chowhounding in Cincinnati
Can the Chowhound sniff out the perfect lunch from afar? He's never been to Cincinnati, but that doesn't mean he won't take the call when host Dean Olsher phones from a street corner there to say, "What should I eat? I'm starving!"
Life in the Meatpacking District
Marla Mitchnik grew up in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, back when it was nothing but butchers and slaughterhouses. Now the meatpacking industry is migrating to other parts of the city, making way for fancy restaurants with fancy patrons. Miriama Young visits with Marla and others to create this audio portrait of a changing neighborhood. The piece is adapted from Young's longer audio documentary, "The Prime Cut."
At the Cloisters
In the 1930s, the Metropolitan Museum of Art created a castle-like home for its medieval collection, perched on a hill overlooking the Hudson River and surrounded by gardens. When Naomi Person visited as a kid, she used to find the gothic structures creepy. Now when she visits, she has a different reaction.
Five Sounds in Search of an Author
Next Big Thing contest judge Jesse Green returns to judge this month's entries.
It's Not What You Think
More scenes from that strange, familiar yet unfamiliar movie that you'll never see — created by Miranda July for The Next Big Thing. July creates her worlds in Portland, Oregon.
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