1/12/06

Orange Houses: Guerilla Urban Art

Description
With the Superbowl around the corner, efforts to clean up Detroit have increased. But there are still a lot of abandoned and dilapidated buildings that the city hasn't demolished yet. So a group of artists got together to pool their resources and talents to see if they could help speed up the demolition process. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has more:

Interviews
Mike Artist - Detroit Disney Demolition
Christian - Artist Detroit Disney Demolition
Jacques - Artist Detroit Disney Demolition
Amru Meah - Director Building and Safety Engineering Department, City of Detroit

1/20/06

A Motown Song That Never Was: The Motown Building That Is No More

Description
The former corporate headquarters of Motown Records in downtown Detroit is no longer. The mid-rise office tower has been mostly empty since Motown abandoned Detroit in the early 70s, and moved to L.A. The owners of the building tore it down to make room for a parking lot in time for the Super Bowl. The building still held a number of Motown relics, and now those relics have been lost forever. Michigan Radio's Dustin Dwyer has this story.

Interviews
Jim Tantalo - Urban Explorer
Rocky Pastor - Urban Explorer

1/24/06

A Prayer Place: Spiritual Time In-Between Class

Description
Monday four of Michigan's universities announced a new initiative to increase the number of under-represented minorities earning baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, enginerring and math. As schools become more diverse, so do the needs of the student body. Michigan Radio's Richie Duchon has more.

Interviews
Uzair Ali - Student, Unviersity of Michigan
Noha Elmouelhi - President The Muslim Engineering Student Association, University of Michigan
David Strauss - Dean of Students, Wayne State University

1/24/06

Kids Sing: Then And Now

Description
Musical tastes change over the decades. Each generation of teenagers listens to music that is different from that of the previous. But little kids tastes in music can have everything and nothing to do with what is big on the charts. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra recently had reason to think about what kids like to sing.

1/28/06

Something Fresh: Songs About Food And Michigan

Description
Fifteen Michigan singer-songwriters are featured on a new disc of food-inspired tunes. The songs are meant to inspire people to eat foods from the local farmers market or from the backyard. Interlochen Public Radio's Linda Stephan has a taste of the new disc.

Interviews
Seth Bernard Musician, "Something Fresh"
Daisy May - Musician, "Something Fresh"
Jen Sygit - Musician, "Something Fresh"

2/2/06

Vlogging: Everyone Can Be A Producer

Description
First there were text only web logs called "blogs." Then, if you threw in some photos, you'd have a photo blog. Now, the latest buzz word in the techno-sphere is "vlogs" as in video blogs. And they're popping up all over the Internet. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has more.

Interviews
Josh Leo - Vlogger, Grand Rapids
Brad Pass - Vlog Watcher, Atlanta, Georgia
Robin Sloan - Current TV

2/3/06

Detroit's Architecture Museum: Touring the Buildings

Description
Detroit visitors this weekend will have a lot of entertainment options related to the Super Bowl. The Motown Winter Blast and the NFL experience will attract thousands of people before the big game. And, visitors also have a chance to look at the city's history. Preservation Wayne is leading several walking tours of downtown skyscrapers, offering a peek at Detroit back in the 1920s. Michigan Radio's Michael Leland went along this morning, and has this report.

Interviews
Francis Grunow - Head "Preservation Wayne"
Kevin Kiepert - Tour Guide, Detroit Architecture Walking Tour
Sandy Askew - Belleville Resident on the Tour

2/12/2006

Museum of Life & Death: Considering Technology and Humanity with Theater

Description
The musical The Museum of Life & Death opened a couple days ago in Milwaukee, and it's headed to Ann Arbor this week. But before you break out your tap shoes and jazz hands, you should know that this particular musical has a lot less in common with Chicago and Cabaret than you might think. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reports.

Interviews
Andy Kirshner - Professor of Music and Art & Design, University of Michigan & Creator, Museum of Life and Death

2/13/06

Humor: A Serious Look

Description
Even if you don't regularly read the New Yorker magazine, you're probably familiar with its cartoons. They're usually in black and white, with a single frame. There's also usually a caption to the drawing. So, they're more like the Far Side than Garfield. A new study is using New Yorker cartoons to study how people process humor. Michigan Radio's Dustin Dwyer has more.

Interviews
Mason Smith - Research Specialist, Psychology, University of Michigan
Rick Lewis - Professor of Psychology and Linguistics, University of Michigan
Bob Mankoff - Cartoon Editor, The New Yorker.

2/14/06

Red Ink: Using Empty Space for Art

Description
In the typical industrial part of any city you don't expect to see too many people out after dark. But on a snowy night last December, a crowd of 1,500 people were gathered in a warehouse in Flint. This is because a California idea for fixing up a run down area has come to town. Michigan Radio's Richie Duchon has the story

Interviews
Joe Butts - Sculptor, Red Ink Studio, Flint
Todd Diamond - Founder, Red Ink Studios
Erin Onweller - Development Director, Red Ink Studio, Flint

2/15/06

Legal Learning: A Museum of the Law

Description
Three years ago, state officials created the Michigan Supreme Court Learning Center. The Center is the only one of its kind in the country, designed to introduce people from elementary school age on up to Michigan's legal system. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton accompanied one fifth-grade class as it toured the Center and she files this report.

Interviews
Rachel Drenovsky - Coordinator, Michigan Supreme Court Learning Center
Michael Cavanaugh - Supreme Court Justice

2/20/06

Detroit Zoo: Will it Stay or Will it Go

Description
This weekend the Detroit city council cast a vote that has put the future of the Detroit Zoo in doubt. Yesterday, Detroit leaders began preparations to shut down the zoo. But, it's still not certain that the zoo will have to close. Michigan Public Radio's Dustin Dwyer has more.

Interviews
Andrew - Detroit Zoo Patron
Ron Kagan - Director, Detroit Zoo
James Canning - Spokesperson, Detroit Mayor

3/1/06

Poetry Exchange: Bridging A Divide

Description
Dearborn is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States. Next door, in Detroit, African Americans make up the majority of the population. And while the two groups might live near each other, there's this perception that they don't get along. So a group of professors from the University of Michigan-Dearborn hosted a poetry exchange between Arab Americans and African Americans in an effort to bring the two communities a little closer together. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has more:

Interviews
Ahmed Rahmen - Professor of African American Studies, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Omari Barksdale - Poet

3/12/06

Deep Woods Press: Hand Printed Books

Description
Digital printing techniques have made paperbacks really cheap to produce. But one Northern Michigan printer still does things the old-fashioned way ...setting each book page by page, letter by letter. These books are considered works of art. And can sell for up to 12-hundred dollars a piece. Interlochen Public Radio's Linda Stephan reports.

Interviews
Ann-Marie Oomen - Author
Chad Pastotnik - Founder & Artisan, Deep Wood Press

3/13/06

The Walking Project: A New Look at Community

Description
When you look at a map, what do you see? Probably some street names, interstates, maybe the names of a few parks and buildings. But for those who walk around a city instead of drive through it, chances are their maps would look a lot different. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has this report.

Interviews
Hilary Ramsden - Creator, Walking Project, Walk & Squawk
Erika Block - Creator, Walking Project, Walk & Squawk

3/28/06

Multi-Cultural Arts Education: A New Perspective

Description
For most art teachers, "multiculturalism" has been a buzz word for the past twenty years or so. The thinking is that since classrooms are becoming more culturally diverse, lesson plans should, too. But some educators don't think current multicultural art lessons are going far enough. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has this report.

Interviews
Laura Mulkoff - Student Teacher, Lansing Area Schools
William Charland - Professor of Art Education, Michigan State University

3/28/06

Native American Arts Institute: Teaching & Preserving Tradition

Description
There's an effort underway to build an art institute in Grand Rapids. It would nurture and showcase Native American art and artists. If successful, it will be the first to focus on tribes from the Great Lakes region. Michigan Radio's Kaomi Goetz has more.

Interviews
Courtney Biggs - Artist
Bill Harris - Member, White Pigeon Group
Levi Rickert - Member, The White Pigeon Group & Member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation

3/29/06

Cultural Re-Alignment: Privatizing Museums

Description
The Detroit city Council voted last week to put operating control of the Detroit Historical Museum in private hands. The deal is similar to one recently passed for the Detroit Zoo, and one passed in 1997 for the Detroit Institute of Arts. And with tight city budgets across the state, more are considering such agreements. Michigan Radio's Dustin Dwyer has the story.

Interviews
Mary Meier - Docent, Detroit Institute of Arts
Nettie Seabrooks - Chief Operating Officer, Detroit Institute of Arts and Former Detroit Deputy Mayor
Ed Able - President, American Association of Museums

3/30/06

Detroit Archdiocese Announces Reorganization

Description
Catholics across southeast Michigan got word today of the Detroit Archdiocese's plan for reorganizing its schools and churches. As Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett reports, the church hopes the closings and mergers will help strengthen congregations in the face of continued flight from Detroit and its older suburbs.

Interviews
Adam Maida - Detroit Cardinal
David Crumm - Religion Reporter, Detroit Free Press
Dolores Baber - Parishoner, St. Anthony's
Renard Gueringer - Former Parishoner, St. Anthony's

3/30/06

Interfaith Outreach: Does it Work?

Description
After events like 9/11, where religion is a factor, we often see a spike in the number of efforts by religious groups to talk with each other about their differences. It's often called interfaith outreach. Michigan Radio's Richie Duchon took a look at a couple of these efforts and how we can measure their success.

Interviews
Loretta Poisson - Organizer, Ask A Muslism", Islamic Center of Ann Arbor
Sally Howell - PhD Student, University of Michigan
Reverend Dan Krichbaum - President and CEO, National Conference for Community and Justice
Amjad Tarsin - Participant,1" A Day in the Life of a Muslim", Muslim Student Association, University of Michigan

4/14/06

Virginia Ham: Feminism and Camp Theater

Description
The University of Michigan Institute for Research on Women and Gender is turning ten this month. So to celebrate, the IRWG commissioned a performance art piece to get people thinking about feminism. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra dropped by during the cast's dress rehearsal and has this story.

Interviews
Holly Hughes - Playwright, Who's Afraid of Virginia Ham; performance artist; & Assistant Professor, University of Michigan's School of Art & Design
Jim Leija - MFA candidate, UM School of Art & Design

4/22/06

Searching for Bigfoot: Finding Ourselves

Description
Call it Bigfoot, Yeti or Sasquatch, stories of giant Apes in North America generally are associated with the Pacific Northwest. But there's a long tradition of Bigfoot lore here in the Midwest as well. Sure, most people say the creature doesn't exist. Michigan Public Radio's Dustin Dwyer says, even if it doesn't, there's a deeper story in all those Bigfoot tales.

Interviews
Bruce Ochs - Bigfoot Searcher
Jerry Bacon - Bigfoot Searcher

4/24/06

Farewell to the Mackinaw: The Past and Future of the Icebreakign Vessel

Description
The historic Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw docked for a final time in its homeport of Cheboygan. The vessel is scheduled to be decommissioned at the beginning of June, after more than six decades of service on the Great Lakes. Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett visited the ship on its farewell tour of the lakes, and has this report.

Interviews
Pat Pietrolungo - Crewmember, Coast Guard Mackinaw
Hugh O'Connor - Visitor, Coast Guard Mackinaw

4/26/06

Church Comes To Your i-Pod: Podcasting

Description
Recently, religious congregations have reported a drop in attendance, especially among young people. So to try to entice those folks back into the fold, some religious institutions are taking a digital approach to help people keep the faith. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra prepared this report.

Interviews
David McDonald - Pastor, Westwinds Church, Jackson
Quentin Schultze - Chair of Faith and Communication, Calvin College.
Stephanie Olson - 23-year old Grand Rapids

5/12/06

Cities Get in the Branding Game: Branding Towns

Description
I Love New York, Virginia is for Lovers, Great Lakes, Great Times for decades states and big cities been branding themselves. They use slogans and taglines to encourage businesses to invest, tourists to flock, and residents to nest. And now smaller cities are doing it as well. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has this report:

Interviews
Sharon Evoy - Executive Director, Grand Rapids Downtown Alliance
Julia Winfield-Pfefferkron - City Branding Researcher, Art Institute of Charlotte

5/13/06

Town Crier Competition: It's An Earful

Description
The town crier was once a community's chief means of mass communication. It's likely considered an extinct profession now. But don't tell that to the 13 town criers who dueled Friday in a competition in Holland. It was part of the West Michigan city's annual Tulip Time festivities. Michigan Radio's Kaomi Goetz got an earful.

5/14/06

The Flocking Party: Imaginary Avian Flu

Description
There's been a lot of talk about what might happen if or when bird flu comes to the US. But even before the avian flu scare began, one Michigan based artist had been thinking about the impact such a virus could cause. As Michigan Radio's Richie Duchon reports, at least in art, it isn't always clear if an invasive organism is a postive or negative thing.

Interviews
Chris Landau - Artist, The Flocking Party & MFA Candidate, University of Michigan School of Art and Design
David Jude - Research Scientist, School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan

5/31/06

Blood Money: Growing the Next Generation of Patrons (mp3)

Description
Gone are the days when the symphony or the opera could count on young patrons' subscriptions to help sustain them. Many cultural institutions are now playing catch-up with cultural habits that changed years ago. Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett looks at what museums and performance halls are doing to cultivate the next generation of arts patrons.

Interviews
Joe Posch - President, Founders Junior Council, Detroit Institute of Arts
Amanda Moncur - Board Member, Founders Junior Council, Detroit Institute of Arts
Bernadine Wu - Chair New Leaders, Detroit Symphony Orchestra
David DiChiera - Founder and Director, Michigan Opera Theater

6/1/06

Sculpture Turning Heads in Grand Rapids: Tom Otterness from the Gardens to the Grand (mp3)

Description
For the last couple of days, dozens of bronze sculptures by artist Tom Otterness have been popping up around Grand Rapids' downtown and at Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. Today marks the start of the show, Tom Otterness in Grand Rapids: The Gardens to the Grand and it's already turning heads. Michigan Radio's Kaomi Goetz reports.

Interviews
Tom Otterness - Artist
Joseph Becherer - Curator, Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
Various bystanders, Grand Rapids

This is a Michigan Humanities Council-funded project.
Link here for more information.

6/6/06

Casting for the Rigth Cast: Does Race Matter? (mp3)

Description
The last time you went to the theatre, did you notice anything different? Were the actors the same race as the characters they were portraying? Or were families mixed and couples interracial? Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra visited a couple local theatres for a look at their casting practices and has this report.

Interviews
Gary Anderson - Co-founder & Artistic Director of Plowshares
Edmund Allen Jones - Actor, University of Michigan
Sharon Jenson - Non-Traditional Casting Project
Evelyn Orbach - Founder, Jewish Ensemble Theatre

6/15/06

Paying for Art Therapy: When is it a Treatment? (mp3)

Description
Since the 1950's, if a physician prescribed art therapy for a patient, the patient would generally have to pay out of pocket. But now art therapists in Michigan are trying to get health insurance companies to cover the costs of their service. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has more.

Interviews
Brittney McNally - 16 years old
Shannon Scott - Certified Art Therapist, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital
Dean Smith - Associate Dean of Public Health, University of Michigan
Dr. Daniel Monti - Director of Investigative Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

6/22/06

Incarcerated Teens Sing the Blues: Learning to See Yourself Through Song (mp3)

Description
On Monday, nine juvenile offenders will stage a concert for their peers. It's part of a project to teach the incarcerated youth about roots music. These incarcerated teenagers have spent six weeks learning about roots music -- the early American music that was sung in fields, in churches, and on front porches. And as Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett reports, they're turning their own stories into song.

Interviews
Mike Ball - Writer
Donald - Teenager WJ Maxey Boys Training School
Cheryl Scott - Music Therapist Maxey Boys Training School

This is a Michigan Humanities Council-funded project.
Link here for more information.

7/5/06

The Future of Lodges: Elks for the Future (mp3)

Description
Fraternal organizations have been around for centuries. George Washington was a Mason, Will Rogers was an Elk- even Fred Flinstone belonged to the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes Lodge. But according to fraternal organization officials across the country, lodges aren't as popular as they used to be. But that could be changing. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reports:

Interviews
Al Elias Board Member, Royal Oak Elks
Seymour Greenstone - Ann Arbor Mason
Sean Dykehouse - Mason
Gary Brown - Kalamazoo Elk
Robert Putnam - Public Policy Professor, Harvard University

7/8/06

Beat Jazz Up North: Improvising to Music (mp3)

Description
The term "beat jazz" may conjure up images of the TV character Maynard G Krebs or smokey clubs in San Francisco or New York. But performance poetry didn’t end with the beatnik generation and it defiantly didn’t stay on the coasts. Interlochen Public Radio’s Linda Stephan has the story of two artists who create poetry for the ear, not for the eye.

Interviews
John Alberts - Performance Poet, Charlevoix
Jim Owen - Pianists, Traverse City

7/11/06

Opus 21: New Classical (mp3)

Description
According to the National Endowment for the Arts...the number of young adults who attend live, classical concerts has dropped by 4 percent in the last twenty years. Many younger people find the concerts too stiff, or boring or rigid. But a music group in West Michigan is trying to update that old, stuffy image. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has the story:

Interviews
Richard Adams - Co-founder and Artistic Director, Opus 21
Gail Hoegstratton - Concert Goer
Tim Page - Classical Music Critic, Washington Post
Renata Artman Knnific - Violinist, Opus 21

7/11/06

Mastodon Remains Found in Oakland County: It Walked Here Before Us (mp3)

Description
On Tuesday, Scientists began sorting through dozens of mastodon bones from a rare find at a construction site in Oakland County. Workers pulled the first bones out of the ground near M-59 in Rochester Hills on Friday. On Monday, researchers from the Cranbrook Institute of Science showed up to help get the rest of the bones. Michigan Radio's Dustin Dwyer was also there. And he has this story

Interviews
Jim Persinger - Oakland County Road Commission
Mike Stafford - Director Cranbrook Science Institute.
Bill McEntee - Head of Environmental Concerns, Oakland County Road commission.
Nanette Mayette and her sons Rex and Braun

7/19/06

The Impact of Art Fair: Economics and Other Motivators (mp3)

Description
Ann Arbor kicked off its annual Art Fair Festival today. It's just one of ninety-five Michigan festivals taking place in July alone! Michigan Radio?s Jennifer Guerra has this look at why so many communities across the state host them:

Interviews
Nick Miller - Ann Arbor Convention & Visitors Bureau
Carol Lopez - Owner Peaceable Kingdom
Jay Platt - Owner West Side Bookstore
Nicola Rooney - Owner Nicola's Books
George Erecheck - Analyst, Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Lisa Hooper - Wyandotte's Downtown Development Authority
Mark Maynard - Organizer, The Shadow Art Fair Festival, Ypsilanti

8/16/06

The Future of Unions (mp3)

Description
Michigan's industrial history is intwined with the history of organized labor. But union membership is on the decline. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: union members made up just twelve percent of the work force last year. Compare that to a high of twenty percent in the early 1980s. But as Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra found out, some of the union's youngest members are trying to turn that trend around.

Interviews
Mark Gaffney - President Michigan AFL-CIO
Rachel Parsons - 24 year old member, Teamsters for a Democratic Union in Michigan
Mandie Yanasak - Youth Worker Outreach Program Coordinator, United Food and Commercial Workers Union

8/26/06

A Musical Tribune to Ypsilanti (mp3)

Description
Songs about NY, Chicago and Detroit are pretty common...even Kalamazoo makes it into a song every now and then. The same can't be said for Ypsilanti. It's a small, mostly blue collar town in Southeast Michigan. That is, until now. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra has the story:

Interviews
Charlie Slick - Musician, Ypsisongs
Dave Lawson - Singer/songwriter,Ypsisongs
Mark Clague - Assistant Professor of Musicology, University of Michigan.
Brandon Wiard - Musician and Creator, Ypsisongs

9/1/06

A Decline in Furniture: Michigan's Historic Industry is Troubled (mp3)

Description
This week, the Hekman Furniture Company in Grand Rapids announced it is ceasing its local production of high-end residential furniture. The move is the latest in a string of West Michigan companies to end production. Insiders say it's also the end of an era of an industry that first built Grand Rapids.

Interviews
Peter Jacob Designer, Kindel Furniture Company.
Mike Dunlap - Furniture Industry Consultant
Gordon Olson - Grand Rapids Historian Emeritus

9/9/06

Antlers: An Audio Postcard, A Slice of Life Up North (mp3)

Description
Starting school after Labor Day helped out Michigan tourism. The big attractions got one last strong weekend of visitors before the kids had to go back to school. But for many, it's not just the big attractions that draw their attention. Some like discovering the out of the way places... the oddities that help make up the character of the state. Michigan Radio's Lester Graham recently visited one of those places that he tracked down.

Interviews
Walt Kinney - Owner, Antlers

10/26/06

Museums, Museums Everywhere?: MCAD (mp3)

Description
The new Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is set to open to the public this weekend. There have been a lot of questions about why Detroit needs a new art museum?and whether it could be a drain on the art community in Detroit. Michigan Radio's Richie Duchon reports.

Interviews
Christopher Fachini - Musician and Artist
Marsha Miro - Acting Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
Mitch Cope - Resident Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
David Magidson - Director, Center for Arts and Public Policy, Wayne State University

11/02/06

Michigan Meets Hollywood: Family Friendly Films (mp3)

Description
When you think of the silver screen, chances are the Great Lakes state doesn't come to mind immediately. But as Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reports, Michigan's ties to Hollywood are closer than you might think:

Interviews
Dick Rolfe - Founder, Dove Foundation
Vickie Vermeer - Parent
Tom Long - Film Critic Detroit News

11/9/06

Shakeseare Cometh to Ann Arbor: Royal Shakespeare Company (mp3)

Description
The Royal Shakespeare Company is wrapping up its third and final residency at the University of Michigan. But as Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reports, the final curtain has yet to come down on the RSC's presence in Ann Arbor.
Professor Ralph Williams - Professor of English, University of Michigan

Interviews
Rob Carrol - Actor, Royal Shakespeare Company
Theo Katzman - Student, University of Michigan
Ken Fischer - President, University Musical Society

11/10/06

Sphinx: Bringing Classical Music to City Kids (mp3)

Description
The Detroit-based Sphinx Organization is expanding beyond its well-known competition. It's established an education program in Detroit's urban center to train the next generation of black and Latino musicians. Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett reports.

Interviews
Jaslyn Ivey - 13 years old Violinist
Aaron Dworkin - Founder Sphinx Competition
LaTonya Woods-Acosta - Instructor, Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute

12/1/06

Fixing the Past & Building A Future: Training Kids in Historic Preservation (mp3)

Description
Politicians and pundits in Michigan love to talk about the need for high-tech jobs, and for training students to do those jobs. But a program in Detroit is going in the opposite direction. It's training a group of vocational students in centuries-old construction trades. The idea is to prepare those students for employment, and spur inspiration in historic preservation.
Michigan Radio's Sarah Hulett reports.

Interviews
Jim Turner - Restoration Contractor
Ervin Goldsmith - Student, Randolph Randolph Career & Technical Center
Roddy Rivers - Teacher Randolph Randolph Career & Technical Center & Organizer Preservation Field Study: Building Arts Lab
Janese Chapman - Detroit's Historic Designation Advisory Board

12/04/06

Arts and Graduation Requirements: Reading, Writing, 'Rithmatic, and 'Rts? (mp3)

Description
Earlier this year, the Michigan legislature passed a new list of classes every high school student needs to take in order to graduate. Included in the mandate is an arts credit. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reports.

Interviews
Heather - Senior, Pinckney High School
Hallie Levine - Art Teacher, Pinckney High School
Yvonne Camaal-Canual - Director, Office of School Improvement, Michigan Department of Education

12/6/06

Public Art Fuels Tourism: The Creative Draw (mp3)

Description
In tough economic times, cities often look for creative ways to bring more people into their downtowns. And more cities are turning to public art to do that. Michigan Radio's Richie Duchon has more.

Interviews
Jack Becker - Editor and publisher, "Public Art Review"
Gayle Lipsig - MCACA Conference Presenter and Chair, "Art Round Town"
Kate Lawrence - Former Mayor, Brighton

12/8/06

All Aboard The Fish Train: Fish, Hemingway, and a Train Car (mp3)

Description
Head to almost any body of water and chances are you'll find someone there fishing. We take it for granted that lakes and streams have fish in them. But most waterways can't produce enough fish to keep up with demand. For over 100 years states around the nation have been stocking the water with fish. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports..

Interviews
Tim Tebeau - Writer and Fisherman, Petoskey
Maureen Jacobs - Interpreter, Michigan Fishery Visitors Center
Gary Whelen - Fish Production Manager, State of Michigan

12/21/06

Catching A Model Trail Back in Time: Nostalgia Trains (mp3)

Description
For many people who celebrate Christmas, the scene isn't complete if there's not a model trains circling the tree. Model trains seem to be intrinsically linked to Christmas for some families. Lester Graham jumped on board a model train show in East Lansing to find out what it's all about.

Interviews
Bob Cable - Vendor, Model Railroading Show
David and Nathaniel Riggs - Visitor, Model Railroading Show
Gary Caldwell - Visitor, Model Railroading Show
Connor Warren - Visitor, Model Railroading Show
David Knight - Visitor, Model Railroading Show

12/30/06

Composing for Music & Dance: Alvin Ailey's Michigan Composer (mp3)

Description
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is considered one of the premiere modern dance companies in the country. Most of their dances are set to spirituals or African-American themed music. But for their latest season, which kicked off earlier this month, one of the company's choreographers was searching for a different sound. So he commissioned a new dance score from University of Michigan Music & Dance professor Christian Matjias:

Interviews
Christian Matjias - Music & Dance Professor, University of Michigan