"The Public Green and the Poor"
Broadcast nationally in January 2006
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There have been many times in American history when reformers have sought to help the poor by putting them amidst nature in the belief that physical beauty can make beautiful people. It seems like an odd idea. But Thomas Jefferson believed it fervently, it's also the reason Central Park exists in New York and the town of Greenbelt exists in Maryland. This program looks at times in our past when nature was used to uplift the poor.

"Gut Reaction"
Half-hour version
Broadcast nationally in December 2005
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This is a half-hour version of "Gut Reaction" with additional material and more personal stories from the lives of people with Celiac Disease. Doctors now believe that 1-in-133 Americans have Celiac Disease, though only 1-in-4,700 gets diagnosed. Celiac is more common than diabetes and hypertension, but because the means to diagnose it are only 2 or 3 years old, the disease is practically unknown in this country -- both to sufferers and their doctors.

"My God"
Broadcast nationally in May 2005
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We follow three 12-year olds, a Muslim boy, an Orthodox Jewish boy and an evangelical Christian girl at home and at school where they, their parents and teachers talk about their understanding of their faith and their relationship with God.

"Teaching: The Next Generation"
Broadcast nationally in February 2005
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In conversations about the use of technology in schools, you'll often hear: Once we have a cadre of young teachers and administrators who've grown up with technology, computer use in schools will take off. This program examines that premise by following a young teacher, Brian Mason (7th grade American History) as he begins his second year in the classroom.

"Gut Reaction"
Broadcast nationally throughout 2004 & 2005
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There is a disease you've probably never heard of, but chances are you have it or someone you know or love has it and doesn't know. Doctors now believe that 1-in-133 Americans have Celiac Disease, though only 1-in-4,700 gets diagnosed. Celiac is more common than diabetes and hypertension, but because the means to diagnose it are only 2 or 3 years old, the disease is practically unknown in this country -- both to sufferers and their doctors.

"Who Needs Libraries?"
Broadcast nationally in November 2004
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As more and more information is available online, as Amazon rolls out new software that allows anyone to find any passage in any book, an important question becomes: Who needs libraries anymore? Why does anyone need four walls filled with paper between covers? This program looks at how university libraries, school libraries and public libraries have adapted to the new information world.

"Software Is Elementary"
Broadcast nationally in June 2004
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It's the oddest thing. From pre-school up to about 8th grade you will find dozens, if not hundreds of software programs written especially for the classroom. Then in grade 9 and up, virtually nothing. This show, in exploring the reasons why, finds they involve routine and a little bit of inertia, perception and misconception, and of course standardized tests. They are a little bit the fault of the schools and a little bit the fault of the people who write educational software. In all, they represent a huge opportunity being missed.

"People & Software"
Broadcast nationally in May 2004
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Estimates are that there are as many as 20,000 educational computer programs for children on the market. But only a tiny handful ever make it onto the desks and in front of the eyes of actual school-kids. This program attempts to explain why by looking at the human roadblocks that keep educational software out of the classroom.

"The next Next Big Thing"
Broadcast nationally in February 2004
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They are the ideas that became the Pet Rocks of American education, things like New Math and Transformational Generative Grammar. They burned white hot until they were utterly rejected and then never heard from again, except in ridicule. A look at why some ideas -- good ones and bad ones -- end up as fads in education.

"Our School"
Broadcast nationally in February 2004
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A day in the life of the far-suburbs, out near the airport, far from the city, as lived in one high school there. Three producers spend the day with the principal, a teacher and a student in a attempt (as Thornton Wilder said of "Our Town") "to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life."

"Trapped on the Wrong Side of History"
Broadcast nationally in July 2003
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In 1939, Mary Kimoto Tomita, a farm girl from outside Modesto, CA took a trip to Japan to connect with the culture of her ancestors. She got on a ship to come back home to America on December 5th, 1941. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor two days later, the ship turned around and Mary was stranded, trapped in the middle of a bloody war between the country of her birth and the country of her heritage. This story - told through Mary's personal reminiscences and her letters from the time -- is a rare glimpse at a piece of the WWII experience that is not explored.
Voted 2003's Best Radio Documentary by Asian American Journalists Association

"Revenge"
Broadcast nationally in July 2003
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It seems we all love to hear revenge stories -- the petty ones and the grand -- even when they are painful or the recipient is blameless. And we seem to love to tell revenge stories about ourselves -- even stories that make us look childish or venal. This program visits the unspoken dark place where revenge impulses lie through the stories of people who have planned revenge and those who have carried it out.

"A Tale Of Two Computer Labs"
Broadcast nationally in February 2003
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This program takes a look at the digital divide between two schools, Herndon High School in wealthy Fairfax County, Virginia which has 800 computers, and Cesar Chavez High School in the District of Columbia which has 50 computers. We look at how this disparity affects student learning and explore whether the sheer number of computers is what makes the difference, or whether it is the application of the technology with clear program goals, robust professional development and great teaching.

"Guns and Butter"
Broadcast nationally in November 2002
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In times of economic uncertainty -- say, when war looms -- we naturally want to know where things are headed. Economic forecasters say they have a good idea -- that they can tell you with considerable accuracy which way the economy is headed. Is it more than guesswork -- more than something you or I could do on our own? What tools do they use? Why do they have such confidence, and with war drums beating in the Middle East, what can they tell us about what to expect?

"The Magic Box"
Broadcast nationally in October 2002
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Today, the computer in the classroom is ubiquitous. But how did it get there? Was it an organic process, or was it driven by manufacturers looking for a new place to push their machines? Turns out it was a little of both - altruism and profit. Hear from the people who started it all; the teachers who were the very first to use computers in the American classroom, and the salespeople who put them there.

"We Were on Duty"
Broadcast nationally in September 2002
Voted Best Radio Documentary by The Society of Professional Journalists. Recipient of 2002 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence in Journalism.
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A first-person oral history of the September 11th attack on the Pentagon. One Hundred Eighty Four people died at the Pentagon while hundreds more crawled through choking smoke and over burning wreckage to safety. But because the Pentagon attack was dwarfed by the tragedy at the World Trade Center, America has yet to hear the stories of the valiance and tenaciousness of the Pentagon employees; about the horrendous physical and psychic toll the attack has taken on them and their families -- and about how they have overcome and are moving on. This hour-long program tells these stories in the voices of the people who lived them. Without narration. Many of these survivor stories are devastating. Many are inspirational. And as America looks to move forward from the trauma of 9-11, they offer important lessons.

"Traffic Jam"
Broadcast nationally in June 2002
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Across the United States, construction on new freeways, lane additions, and bridges clog traffic. With more people and vehicles on the road, the rush hour is now three hours long. So what are city planners doing about it? In the nation's capital, home to some of the worst congestion, traffic modelers are working on solutions to the problem. From understanding human behavior to designing intelligent highways, the modelers are working to make your commute easier. Producer Richard Paul reports.

"Click Here For College"
Broadcast nationally in April 2002
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Remember the dot-com craze? Then perhaps you recollect the mad dash by universities and others to ring in the virtual university. The bubble may have burst but is the online university just another bad idea? Some say yes but others say no. But before you sign up for that virtual course, click along with Producer Richard Paul as he investigates the state of the online university.

"A Small Southern Town"
Broadcast nationally in February 2000
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This two-part special examined several important historical events in the Washington area in the mid-1800s. The first program featured "The Pearl Escape," the story of a little-known episode which is the single largest recorded escape attempt by enslaved Americans. The second hour contained a re-enactment of a Congressional debate over citizens' rights to petition Congress for the abolition of slavery and it examined the memoirs of Josiah Henson, the slave who was the model for Uncle Tom in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

"Washington Goes To The Moon"
Broadcast nationally in July 1999
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This two-hour program commemorated Apollo 11 landing on the moon. Part 1 looks at the monumental battle throughout the 60's as President Kennedy's deadline for landing a man on the moon came up against the Vietnam War, The War On Poverty, The Great Society, and a growing anti-technology movement. Part 2 chronicles the aftermath of the fire on Apollo One, which killed three astronauts and called into question the most fundamental aspects of NASA's management structure.