February 9th, 2002
What do Jean Baudrillard, Issey Miyake, Luc Sante and Glenn Gould have in common? Not much, except that they all make appearances on this week's show. And then there's this month's Five Sounds, desperately seeking an author.
Caption Contest
Five Sounds in Search of an Author:
Listen carefully
In between these sounds is a story and it's up to you to write it. Once again, The Next Big Thing is inviting your ideas on ways to weave a plot out of seemingly unrelated sounds. Author and Next Big Thing contributor Jesse Green will choose a winner to read his or her story on our show. You'll hear the results next week. E-mail your stories by end of day on MONDAY, February 11, 2002. Please include a daytime phone number. And remember, the time it takes to read them should come close to the time it takes to hear the sounds (about 30 seconds). Good luck!
Race in Berlin, 1936
Jesse Owens remembers the day he and his teammates broke Olympic and world records on Nazi soil.
The Language of Love
Writer Henry Alford puts our "universal language" to the test, beginning with that timeless term of affection, "cutie pie."
Up on the Roof
Wood water towers provide New York City's skyline with one of its most distinctive features, while also helping to keep thousands of New Yorkers clean and hydrated. Charlie Zimmerman works for one of the few remaining companies that replace these tanks when they wear out. He's the star of this week's "New York Works," a series produced by Radio Diaries and The Next Big Thing.
Deconstructing Disaster
Is everything fair game when it comes to the postmodern project of deconstruction? Jean Baudrillard spins theories on the symbolic meaning of 9/11, and Next Big Thing producer Curtis Fox finds the effort more than a little perplexing.
Just Lucky
Bird lover Rebekah Creshkoff told us the story of one man who survived the collapse of the WTC because he left the building to rescue a bird. After we aired the piece, word reached Jared Kotz that he was being talked about on the radio. Here he is to tell his story - one that tests our notions of fate and luck.
Untold Stories
Since the September 11th attacks, folklorist Steve Zeitlin has been collecting people's stories. But what about the stories that cannot be told, because the tellers did not survive? Zeitlin turns to a poem by Luc Sante (read here by the author) to try to imagine the unimaginable.
Five Sounds in Search of an Author
It's a story writing contest, complete with sound effects. We want to hear from you!
Beautiful People Meet Beautiful Music
Classical music finds a new venue and a new audience when concert pianist Leif Ove Andsnes performs before a swanky crowd of models and celebrities on the floor of the Issey Miyake store in SoHo.
Glenn Gould on Petula Clark
In addition to his accomplishments as a pianist, Glenn Gould was a remarkable maker of radio, producing quirky and sometimes breathtaking documentaries for the CBC. But sometimes you get the feeling he had a little bit too much time on his hands...
The Next Big Thing with Dean Olsher airs on WNYC New York Sundays from 11am-12 noon on 93.9FM and at 6pm on AM820. The Next Big Thing is funded in part by the Kaplen Foundation.
WNYC archives id: 11899
