October 31, 2000

Sounds of All Saint’s Day

A gospel song and a graveyard party: the unique sounds of New Orleans on the Day of the Dead.

October 30, 2000

All Saints’ Day in New Orleans: Holt Cemetery

Among the graveyards of New Orleans, Holt Cemetery is exceptional. Here, the dead are actually buried in the ground.

October 27, 2000

All Saint’s Day in New Orleans: Arthur Smith

Folks in New Orleans make special visits to cemeteries on All Saint’s Day. But one local man has pretty much spent his life working and making art in the town’s graveyards.

October 26, 2000

All Saint’s Day in New Orleans

Right now in New Orleans, they’re preparing for All Saint’s Day, when the dead are honored with both reverence and humor.

October 25, 2000

Microbat – Nature

Scientists have designed an aircraft that flaps its wings like a bird and weighs about as much as a nickel.

October 24, 2000

Microbat – Design

A new aircraft the size of your palm is designed to maneuver into tight spaces and take pictures.

October 23, 2000

Congo – Thumb Piano

The thumb piano is an instrument played throughout Africa, but the Mbuti pygmies are true virtuosos.

October 20, 2000

Congo – Ashumba

When the Mbuti pygmies hold a ceremony called an Ashumba, it’s as if the trees are making music.

October 19, 2000

Congo – Honey Song

When the trees burst into bloom in Africa’s Ituri rainforest, the pygmies celebrate with a special syncopated song.

October 18, 2000

Congo – Honey Season

Honey season is a time of joy and music for Africa’s Mbuti pygmies.

October 17, 2000

Congo – Okapi

In the rainforest of central Africa, a rare giraffe with stripes like a zebra can disappear before your very eyes.

October 16, 2000

Congo – Poaching

The Ituri rainforest of central Africa is home to animals that live nowhere else on the planet. But political strife is putting these creatures at risk.

October 13, 2000

Memories of Migration

A listener in New Orleans shares his memories of autumns past.

October 12, 2000

Birch Bark Canoes – Building

If you’re going to build a canoe the way the Native Americans did, you have to be able to split wood with your bare hands.

October 11, 2000

Birch Bark Canoes – History

The Native American tradition of crafting birch bark canoes is being kept alive by a master builder.

October 10, 2000

Bioengineered Arteries – Challenges

Scientists have developed bioengineered arteries to be used in coronary bypass surgery. But before the arteries can be transplanted, they have to get some “exercise”.

October 9, 2000

Bioengineered Arteries

Doctors may one day perform coronary bypass operations using arteries “grown” in the laboratory from the patient’s own cells.

October 6, 2000

Bird Song – Luis Baptista

A world expert on bird song found his passion early in life, when he taught his pet canaries to sing.

October 5, 2000

Bird Song – Dialects

People aren’t the only creatures that have regional accents. Birds of the same species sing in different dialects depending on where they live.

October 4, 2000

Bird Song – Learn

Just as children learn to talk, young birds learn to sing from the adults around them. Some baby birds are apparently listening from inside the egg.

October 3, 2000

Bird Song – Why

Why do birds sing? What may sound like light-hearted entertainment is often very serious business.

October 2, 2000

Bird Song: Music

The most famous four notes in classical music may have been taken from the song of a bird. Just listen.