We resurrect voices from the past. And piano performances. And seances. A rock musician takes us on a ghost-hunting tour through Iceland. Glenn Gould comes back to life. Using only opera, Musician Matt Glaser penetrates the fog surrounding his mother. And, finally, surrounded by voices from the past, host Dean Olsher looks for words to bid them a proper goodbye.

The Last Great Escape
It was the tenth anniversary of the death of the great escape artist Harry Houdini: October 31, 1936. To mark the occasion a séance was held. On a table were laid a trumpet, some handcuffs, a chalkboard, a bell and a tambourine. The spirit of Houdini was called to return from the dead, and make himself known. The result? A disturbance of atmospheric proportions. Produced by Jane Cramer.

Glenn Again
A recently unveiled technology is being touted as having the capability to bring dead pianists back to the concert stage. Among the first "live performances," at the Fletcher Opera Theater in Raleigh, North Carolina, last month, featured Glenn Gould. Sort of. Aside from whether or not the technology actually delivers, media arts professor Joe Milutis asks the question: do we even want what this technology promises?

Walkman Busting
A guy walks up to you on the street and asks you what's playing on your Walkman. You tell him. But wait - now he says he wants to listen. Before you know it, he's plugged his recorder into your player and he's taping your music. That's right, Gideon D'Arcangelo is at it again with his "Walkman Busting." And now we plug in to HIS player, to find out what he heard. Produced with Pejk Malinovski.

Ghostbusting
In Iceland there are probably more ghosts per capita than in any other country in the world - at least according to its inhabitants. When they build new roads there, they often consult "ghost experts" to make sure no other-worldly creatures will interfere. Kira Kira, the stage name of Krístin Björk Kristjansdottir, an Icelandic musician and sound artist, went on a car trip across Iceland looking for ghosts with her country's leading ghost expert and turned it into this "radio road movie." Produced by Tim Hinman, Rikke Houd and Pejk Malinovski.

Opera Mom
In her last few years, Next Big Thing contributor Matt Glaser's mother had difficulty recalling the most basic day-to-day information. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. But if Glaser played her a recording of Verdi or Mozart, his mom, once an opera singer, would easily pick up the soprano part. Matt is a musician himself, and it was through music that he was able to connect with his mother in the last years of her life. He recorded this piece in 2001. Mrs. Glaser died last summer.

Bye Now
It seems we're rarely given the chance to say a proper goodbye. Things we know, and love, quietly take their leave, and it's only later that we realize they are gone. Host Dean Olsher reflects on goodbyes, and why he so resists them.

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