Emily Botein

Conversations with careful observors of forward motion, from astrophysicist Janna Levin to Sam Easterman, a video artist who's taken to strapping video cameras on water buffalo, tumbleweeds, and other natural entities. Stops along the way include a sound portrait of professional track and fielders, dispatches from an idiotic road race, ...

Crossing to the other side, and crossing back. Donald Semenza tells stories of the mob "family" he left behind. Photographer Jamel Shabazz goes back to the New York City streets of his youth. The creators of a company selling interracial wedding cake figures consider some of the obstacles for couples ...

Living in a hearing world when you're not hearing. Listening to music that's fallen out of tempo, but not out of pitch. And losing oneself, or at least trying to, amidst the clinking mugs and collegial conversation at McSorley's Wonderful Saloon. Also, breaking news about the Word of the Year ...

A look at the rather non-traditional relationship between a North Dakota museum and a New York artist. Jazz pianist Kenny Barron playing as only he can. And a vicarious wander through the streets with a man who tunes in to other people's personal listening devices.

A Jury ...

We look back at the life and exploits of artist Joe Brainard, as remembered by his friend, poet Ron Padgett. And writer/performer Josh Kornbluth summons up his earliest memories of ... tax. Also, listeners share with word mistress Erin McKean their choice for words to get rid of as we ...

We turn things on their head. Sound poet Tracie Morris finds what she calls the "Afrofuturistic" in everything from Star Trek episodes to nursery rhymes. Author Joshua Wolf Shenk researches Abraham Lincoln's melancholic side. And poet Jim Behrle tries out being millionaire-for-a-day. Also, the unusual habits of Glenn Gould, as ...

We visit with sailors aboard a merchant ship, and Quebecois Christmas tree sellers, whose livelihoods require that they spend weeks, months or even years far from the comforts of home. Also, a radio play about going home, starring Lili Taylor and Glen Fitzgerald. And a profile of portrait photographer Elsa ...

A widow chronicles the year after her 30-year marriage to architect Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee. We look back at the news, big and small, of 2003. A reporter collects 30-second life histories on the street. Also, testimonials to the existence of Santa Claus. And pianist Jeremy Denk on some music that ...

Two starkly different forms of communication — the painstakingly handwritten letter, and fast-talking broadcast news. We hear from Marianne McCune, reporting from Mexico City on the labors of "public writers," and from news anchor-gone-comedian Bob Wiltfong. Also, excerpts from a play about a woman writing her last letter, presented by ...

From the grocery check-out line to the midnight refrigerator raid, this is your life - in food. Along the way, we stop in on a chef at work in the kitchen of a fancy restaurant, and a man making soup at home under the influence of two long-deceased grandmothers. Also, ...

We bend notes, explore lower frequencies, and examine one part of the city where people of different class backgrounds have no choice but to get along. Also, the story of a kidnapping that ends relatively harmoniously. And an all-night visit with Haitian immigrants in New York who unite with spirits ...

Find out how a state penitentiary, a post-Halloween pumpkin, and a children's wind-up toy are all put to surprising and unusual uses. Also, Jonathan Katz as host of a talk show that's not really a talk show, and Jonathan Ames performing excerpts from Eric Bogosian's "Notes from Underground."

WNYC archives ...

We delve into the big questions — like how one slave exporting country attempts to forge relations with Africans in the diaspora; how a Vietnam vet has navigated life after war; and how anyone makes sense of the concept of infinity. On the lighter side, superhuman efforts in book reading ...

We tip our hats to marathon runners, to the outgoing second-term maverick mayor of Bogota, Colombia, and to a jar of rhubarb chutney that's still edible after 34 years. Also, we consider the possibilities of an "old food" movement. And, finally, we've got a short story by David Cale about ...

This week: Voices from other dimensions. We've got blood-curdling screams from the folks who brought us "The Toxic Avenger." Digital voices gearing up to replace actors. The voice of a modern-day oracle, speaking by way of an electronic billboard on Flatbush Avenue in Brookyn. And the surprisingly passionate voices of ...

Noise of the news, of the street, and of kids playing rock'n'roll in their basements. Also, perspectives on noise — pro and con — and Julia Sweeney (of SNL "It's Pat" fame) on the clamor that has accompanied her entry into single motherhood.

WNYC archives id: 36991

We examine our commitment to various national leaders and baseball teams. We swear our allegiances to political parties left and right. And we just plain swear (in a piece about cooking written by Ian Frazier). Also, more "Walkman Busting," and a new, creepy meditation on criminals and those they pursue ...

The pleasures and pains of translation. Cognitive and computer scientist Douglas Hofstadter on why he likes to re-write poetry and lyrics. Los Angeles Times Book Review editor Steve Wasserman on the politics of translation. Writer Jonathan Ames, speaking the language of caffeine. And singer Barbara Cook, who makes other people's ...

Stand-up comedians Ahna Tessler and Lauren Engel take their not-yet-screenplay to Hollywood. Listeners try to get their made-up words into the dictionary. And writer Henry Alford ventures into new territory with a singing coach. On a more serious note, Steve Mumford makes art out of war. This week, we track ...

Who says you can't build a roller coaster in your backyard? Who says you have to go to Harvard to go to Harvard? Who says you have to keep your house exactly as the architect wanted it to be? This week, encounters with people who live by the rules, and ...