Thursday, November 13 2008 - Rethinking HydroPower

Thursday, November 13 2008 - Rethinking HydroPower

Fred Ayer

Politicians are all talking about alternative sources of energy. One such energy source is hydroelectric power, something Fred Ayer knows a lot about. Fred is a fisheries expert who's been involved with hydroelectric projects for decades. After emotional court battles over dam construction took a personal toll on him, Fred started consulting with environmental groups.

He talks to Dick Gordon about how he now uses his expertise to bring together opposing sides. Recently, he helped negotiate the successful purchase of three dams along the Penobscot River.

• Learn more about the Penobscot River Trust
• See photos of the dams, and what it may look like when they're removed

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Friday, November 21 2008 - BLUES OF HIS OWN

(SECOND INTERVIEW)

Friday, November 21 2008 - BLUES OF HIS OWN

Andrew Questell larger >>

Like the blues masters who preceded him, Andrew Questell has been playing the blues since he was just a kid - 10 years old. He's now 14.

Drew talks with Dick about how he got into this kind of music and how his skill is catching the attention of local blues enthusiasts. Drew even had the opportunity to play with one of the musicians he's always admired, John Dee Holeman.

• Hear more of Drew Questell's music
  
• Hear Dick's interview with blues legend John Dee Holeman
• Learn more about John Dee Holeman

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Monday, November 24 2008 - BEYOND THE GANG

Monday, November 24 2008 - BEYOND THE GANG

Danny Mora more photos >>

These days news coverage is glued to economic woes. But difficult economic times filter down to the streets, and police say they are facing a worrisome increase in gang activity.

Danny "Big Dan" Mora once roamed the streets of East Oakland, Calif., as a gang member. Danny Mora now is a senior at the University of California at Berkeley with plans to attend Harvard next year. Danny believes it is important to not leave the community. In fact, he mentors young people, encouraging them to stay out of gangs.

Danny talks to Dick Gordon about why older gang leaders grant him permission to recruit younger members off the streets - and why he believes weathering the violence in his old neighborhood will create positive change.

• View Danny's public service announcement about peace
  
• Listen to Danny's songs "Let's Take a Ride," "A Fif of Memory" and "RIP Omar" (explicit!)
• Learn more about Danny's work, and Youth Alive!, a program that helped him
  

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Monday, December 01 2008 - Latinos and HIV

Monday, December 01 2008 - Latinos and HIV

Joe Zamora

Today is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Among the many groups struggling to slow the spread of the virus are Latinos. In Los Angeles County, they make up almost half of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases.

After he found out he was HIV positive at 17, Joe Zamora became an activist for gay Latinos and people with HIV in the Los Angeles area. He believed he was making a measurable difference, but a year ago, Joe became disillusioned after seeing healthy Latinos with HIV become overly dependent on social services and purposely having unprotected sex. He talks with Dick Gordon about how sex parties and AIDS myths in the Latino community are fueling the spread of the virus.

• Pledge to stop AIDS today
• Learn more about the Latino Commission on AIDS
• Read an HIV/AIDS student magazine

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Monday, December 08 2008 - Forgiving Child Soldiers

Forgiving Child Soldiers

Monday, December 08 2008 - Forgiving child soldiers

Janet Sumo

Rebel leaders in eastern Congo are adding thousands of new fighters to their ranks. Many of them are children, taken forcibly from their families and trained to kill.

Janet Sumo spent a lot of time with child soldiers when she was younger, and she's been angry ever since. As a young teenager in Liberia's first civil war, she became so disillusioned from adults, she began spending her time with child soldiers. She saw them commit unspeakable acts of brutality.

It was only recently, after reading the memoir of a former child soldier, that Janet was able to forgive. Janet says her stories are horrifying to tell and to remember. As she tells Dick Gordon, she hopes to one day heal herself, by becoming a doctor.

• Learn more about the memoir, "A Long Way Gone"

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Wednesday, December 10 2008 - LESSONS FROM A DROPOUT

Lessons From a Dropout

Wednesday, December 10 2008 - LESSONS FROM A DROPOUT

Gerrin Hayes Craig Zeno

Among many other concerns in a faltering economy is the dropout rate - in some U.S. cities, as many as half of entering freshmen fail to graduate. Policy makers say that means we'll have fewer educated minds to grapple with economic problems, and an increased burden for social services.

Twenty-year-old Gerrin Hayes just dropped out of high school. He says growing up in a crack house made it impossible to focus on studying. But Gerrin still has hope. He has a mentor, Craig Zeno, who once was a dropout himself, and he makes a strong case for the value of school.

Gerrin tells Dick Gordon why it's still important to him to earn a high school diploma. And Craig talks about how working with tough cases like Gerrin's motivates him to keep doing this work.

• Learn about the dropout assistance program where Craig works

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Wednesday, December 17 2008 - Helping Coach

Wednesday, December 17 2008 - Helping Coach

Craig Dudnick and Coach more photos >>

When Craig Dudnick first met Mrs. Viola Hillsman, he was just 19. He was a student at Northwestern University - she was the 76-year-old cook in his fraternity house. The two became close friends, and Craig came to depend on Mrs. Hillsman's advice. In fact, he and the other frat boys had nicknamed her "Coach."

A few years after he graduated, Craig found himself back in Chicago, needing a place to stay. He moved into Coach's basement and soon realized she needed his help. Her husband died, and eventually she developed dementia. Craig ended up caring for Coach for 20 years.

He talks with Dick Gordon about what he learned from Coach, and how their close friendship changed his life.

• Learn more about Craig's film, "Evanston's Living History"
  

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Thursday, December 18 2008 - TV Shopping

Thursday, December 18 2008 - TV Shopping

Meg Favreau

We are headed into one of the diciest holiday shopping seasons in recent memory. Will consumers open their wallets or not?

Meg Favreau knows what makes people buy. Meg worked for a television shopping channel. She talks with Dick about how she got sucked into the vortex of TV commercialism and why she didn't stop customers who were bitten by the bargain bug.

• Read Meg's blog, "I hear you like stories"
• Read Meg's essay, "Tales of a Home Shopping Employee"
  

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Friday, December 26 2008 - Permanent House Swap

Friday, December 26 2008 - Permanent House Swap

Sherry Crosslin and Jerry Stussman

With the dramatic rise in foreclosures, some people have gotten creative with how they buy and sell their homes. Sherry Crosslin and Jerry Stussman took a novel route: They swapped houses.

Sherry's property was nestled along the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. She tried to sell her house the traditional way but got no responses. So she went online with the idea of trading homes. A week later, Jerry got in touch with her and they made a deal.

Dick Gordon talks to both Sherry and Jerry about their house swap - and how they figured out they could trust one another.

• See Sherry's Hampton, VA, house
• See Jerry's Thousand Oaks, CA, home
• Read more about house swapping at GoSwap and DomuSwap

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Tuesday, December 30 2008 - Coming to America

Tuesday, December 30 2008 - Coming to America

Mawi Asgedom immigrated to the United States from Sudan after living in a refugee camp for four years. He says before coming to the States, his family lived in a small hut made of straw and mud, surrounded by thousands of other refugees. Although those years in the camp were difficult, his father always found a way to make people laugh. As the family adjusted to life in the American suburb they moved to, however, Mawi says he eventually watched his father's resiliency fade into the background.

Mawi tells Dick Gordon about the funny and embarrassing moments of the family's immigration, and how his view of his father changed.

• Learn more about Mawi
• Hear Mawi's poem "I wish I knew my father"
• Learn more about Mawi's mental karate program

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Wednesday, December 31 2008 - Aging WITH HIV

Wednesday, December 31 2008 - Aging WITH HIV

Dennis Golay and Larry Gibson - larger >>

Drugs that combat HIV have prolonged millions of lives. But for some older people, these drugs are also making them age faster.

Larry Gibson and Dennis Golay are in their 60s. They've been together for 27 years, and both have felt the side effects from their medications. Dennis lost his teeth, had a heart attack and developed a humped back. Larry's skull protruded outwards and he's undergone numerous facial injections. Despite their wavering health, Larry and Dennis have outlived 60 of their closest friends.

They talk with Dick Gordon about how they maintain their optimism - and how a pact they made two decades ago keeps them moving forward.

• Read Dennis and Larry's article "With HIV, growing older faster"
• Learn more about the Desert AIDS Project

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Thursday, January 01 2009 - Hail Mary Football

(DOUBLE FEATURE)
Thursday, January 01 2009 - Hail Mary Football

Don Stancavish and John Fenimore

Playing in a New Year's Day bowl game is the pinnacle of success for college football players. Don Stancavish never played college football, but he vividly remembers the catch of his life as a high school wide receiver. He caught the game-winning touchdown pass against his school's arch rival with just seconds on the clock.

Twenty-four years later, the same ball he caught showed up in a package on his front porch. Don talks to Dick Gordon about what it felt like to have a piece of his youth handed back to him.

Don's former coach, John Fenimore, also joins in the conversation. He talks about highlights from the game and why he returned the football.

• Check out Don's book, The Pass
• See a photo of the football

AFRICAN JAZZ

Somi - larger>>

Since she was a child, Somi has used music to explore her identity as a Rwandese-Ugandan who grew up in the United States. Somi identifies deeply with her cultural roots, especially the idea she was taught while very young: that everyone has a song worth hearing. Somi specializes in jazz music. Her latest album is Somi: Red Soil in my Eyes. Dick talks to Somi about how her intercontinental family helps inspire her music.

• Hear more of Somi's music
• Read Somi's blog
• See one of her music videos

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Friday, January 16 2009 - Beyond Civil Rights

Friday, January 16 2009 - Beyond Civil Rights

Gloria Richardson, credit Joe Fitzgerald. Below, facing National Guard troops larger>>

One woman named on the program of the 1963 March on Washington never got to speak.

Gloria Richardson was a well-known confrontational activist from Cambridge, Md. She successfully fought there for equal economic and social rights for all African-Americans citizens. But when she stood at the podium at the march, she says the microphone was taken away: she was seen as too radical.

• See some of Gloria's photographs
  
• Learn more about Gloria's upcoming biography "The Struggle is Eternal"
• Hear a 1964 interview with Gloria Richardson

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Monday, January 19 2009 - Dedicated to the Proposition: One Woman Sings

(DOUBLE FEATURE)
Monday, January 19 2009 - Dedicated to the Proposition: One Woman Sings

Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon >>More

Today we continue our series of stories that explores what the inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow means for those who actively fought for civil rights.

Yesterday, Barack Obama spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and recalled the words Martin Luther King spoke at the March on Washington. Bernice Johnson-Reagon performed at the 1963 March on Washington with the Freedom Singers. The day before the march, they finished a gig in California and took a red-eye flight to D.C. Bernice says although she was not nervous, she was overwhelmed by the large number of people who decided to come to one place and take a massive stance against racism.

One Story from the Crowd

Donna Perkins-Potts

Yesterday at the inauguration festivities, actor Samuel L. Jackson talked about the March on Washington. He said that the power of the march came from the fact that so many ordinary people attended it. Donna Perkins-Potts was one of those ordinary Americans. She was only 17 years old in 1963. After hearing Dr. King's speech, Donna returned to her semi-segregated college motivated to create change.

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Tuesday, January 20 2009 by - A Summer with the King Family

Tuesday, January 20 2009 by - A Summer with the King Family

Gurdon Brewster - photo: Jeffrey Foote

Gurden Brewster spent time with the family of Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was a young man. In the summer of 1961 when he was a seminary student, Gurdon volunteered to work at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He stayed with Dr. King's father, Daddy King.

As a white northerner in the South, Gurdon struggled with two kinds of discrimination that summer - from both African-American parishioners and his fellow white clergymen. He talks with Dick Gordon about his many close conversations with Daddy King over the breakfast table - and what it's like to watch today's inauguration having been through the civil rights movement.

• See a photo gallery of Gurdon's time with Daddy King
• Learn about the music played during Gurdon's interview
• Learn about Gurdon's book, No Turning Back: My Summer with Daddy King

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Thursday, January 22 2009 -A View From Inside

(SECOND INTERVIEW)
Thursday, January 22 2009 -A View From Inside

Earl Echard

Earl Echard also remembers segregation. He grew up having to sit on hard, straight chairs in the back of the doctor's office as a kid - only white people could sit in the waiting room. Earl grew up to become a physician assistant, and has chosen to spend his career working in low income housing areas and prisons. As he tells Dick, Earl is less optimistic that having an African American president will improve life for the many young African Americans born to disadvantage.

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Friday, January 23 2009 -Building a Promise

Friday, January 23 2009 -Building a Promise

Milton Ochieng

Milton Ochieng grew up in a rural part of Kenya. Even as a youngster, he was aware that people in his community frequently died of preventable diseases. Milton’s father planned to lessen those odds by opening a local health clinic. But before they could lay the first brick his father died unexpectedly.

Milton talks to Dick Gordon about the rocky road to fulfilling his father’s dream. Milton has finished medical school in the U.S., and he has moved back to Kenya to open a medical clinic there.

• Check out the Ochieng's Clinic
  
• Learn more about the “Sons of Lwala” documentary

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Wednesday, February 04 2009- Your Story- A HORSE IN THE PROJECTS

(SECOND INTERVIEW)

Wednesday, February 04 2009- Your Story- A HORSE IN THE PROJECTS

Aretha Crout

Aretha Crout was only 14 years old when she saved enough money to buy a horse. The catch was that she didn’t have her parents' permission and she lived in the Northern Long Beach projects. Aretha tells Dick Gordon how she used a tense moment with her new pet to help other children from the projects change their behavior.

• See a photo of Aretha riding her first horse, Naya
• Read about her organization, Pawsabilities

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Monday, February 23, 2009- Saving Each Other

Monday, February 23 2009 - Saving Each Other

Patricia and Pat Harris

Researchers are just beginning to understand how active duty combat affects women and men differently. One thing they have learned is that female soldiers are more likely to experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Pat Harris served in the first Gulf War and came home with classic signs of PTSD. She would crack the windows to find enemies and shop online to avoid the supermarket meat aisle. But while Pat was gone, her then 9-year-old daughter Patricia was going through trauma as well - in her case, at the hands of an abusive caregiver. The two women talk with Dick Gordon about how they helped one another reintegrate to normal life.

• Learn more about the organization Pat Harris founded to help women veterans
• Music in this story: My Girl by Laurence Juber for the album Pop Goes Guitar
  

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Friday, March 06 2009 - To Save a Horse

To Save a Horse - Friday, March 06 2009

Claire Pass (above) Diane Branton and Quervo (below) <

The poor economy is forcing thousands of horse owners to give up their companions and, in some cases, euthanize them. When Diane Branton’s work hours were cut and gas prices rose, she could no longer afford to feed her horses. After 25 years of caring for Poncho and Quervo, Diane had to make a painful call. She asked a horse rescue center to take both horses and euthanize them at a free clinic.

Claire Pass of the Norcal Equine Rescue also joins the conversation. Claire says that although Poncho was euthanized because of poor health, financial help arrived in the nick of time for Quervo and he was reunited with Diane. Dick Gordon talks with Claire, Diane and Cheryl Austin, the woman who volunteered to financially support Quervo for the rest of his life.

• Learn more about the Norcal Equine Rescue
  
• Explore Claire’s Organization Save the Critters

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