Our Common Nature: West Virginia Coal
Radiolab introduces a special episode from the series "Our Common Nature" in which host Ana Gonzalez and cellist Yo-Yo Ma explore West Virginia's coal country to understand how coal, music, race, and nature shape people's lives. Through stories from miners like Chris Saunders and his mother Zora, poet-activist Crystal Good, musician Kathy Matea, and others, the episode examines the pride, danger, and environmental harm tied to coal, as well as the resilience and community that persist in Appalachia. The journey weaves together mine history, the Upper Big Branch disaster, iconic songs, rafting on the New River, and intimate moments of grief and connection.
#615 - Ken Burns
Filmmaker Ken Burns discusses his career in historical documentary filmmaking, including the origin of the "Ken Burns effect" and how the early loss of his mother shaped his lifelong drive to "wake the dead" and keep the past alive. He dives deeply into his new six-part, 12-hour series "The American Revolution," arguing that the Revolution is the most important event since the birth of Christ, unpacking its ideas about equality, citizenship, virtue, and the pursuit of happiness, and correcting common myths about key events and figures. The conversation broadens into a reflection on American identity, media and social media, polarization, public institutions like PBS and the national parks, and the ongoing need for self-examination and civic responsibility to keep the American experiment from "dying by suicide."
SYSK's Fall True Crime Playlist: The Unsolved Indiana Dunes Disappearances
Hosts Josh Clark and Charles "Chuck" Bryant examine the unsolved 1966 disappearance of three young women-Patricia Blau, Ann Miller, and Renee Brule-from Indiana Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan. They reconstruct the women's last known movements, the delayed but extensive search, and eyewitness reports involving mysterious boats. The hosts then explore multiple theories ranging from accidental drowning to links with an illegal abortion clinic and a violent Chicago crime figure, emphasizing how little hard evidence exists and how haunting the lack of resolution is for the families.