January 30, 2004

Redback Spiders-Vibrations

For Redback spiders, the web is an extended sensory organ.

January 29, 2004

Redback Spiders: Mating Sacrifice

For Male Redback spiders, wooing a female means courting death.

January 28, 2004

Redback Spiders-Sexual Cannibalism

For the female Redback spider, the key to successful mating is simple: find a male spider, mate, and then eat him!

January 27, 2004

Song of the Dong

The Dong people, one of about 50 minority groups in China, have long used song as a means of recounting and preserving their history.

January 26, 2004

ICE HARVEST- Storing

For members of a dairy farming community, keeping perishables cold year-round has always been a necessity.

January 23, 2004

ICE HARVEST – The Process

A retired ice harvester takes us through the process of transporting hundred pound blocks of ice.

January 22, 2004

Chinese New Year in Malaysia

In Malaysia, the Chinese New Year celebration is a time for dressing in new clothes, giving gifts to family members and acting on one’s very best behavior.

January 21, 2004

ICE HARVEST

In the days before refrigerators, winter was the season for ice harvesting.

January 20, 2004

Thaipusam – Story of Lord Murugan

The holiday of Thaipusam celebrates the victory of the Hindu god Murugan over a human devotee with a bad case of over- ambition.

January 19, 2004

Thaipusam – Trance

The Hindu festival of Thaipusam is a day where devotees turn their attention away from the physical world.

January 16, 2004

Sounds of the Sun – Inside

Scientists are using sound to answer one of mankind’s oldest questions – what might be taking place inside the sun?

January 15, 2004

Sounds of the Sun

The sun is in constant turbulent motion, like the contents of a fiery cauldron, causing it to ring like an enormous bell.

January 14, 2004

Alaskan Russian Orthodox Christmas – Christmas Gifts

In rural Alaska, carolers wend their way from house, carrying an ornate star, and sharing in communal gifts.

January 13, 2004

Alaskan Russian Orthodox Christmas: Starring

Russian traders left the legacy of their traditions in Anchorage Alaska, including the Christmas-time practice of “starring”.

January 12, 2004

Plough Monday – Tradition

Imagine a holiday like Halloween, with a bit of Mardi Gras thrown in, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what Plough Monday was like – in 18th century rural England.

January 9, 2004

Three Kings Day: Traditional Music

The Christmas season in Puerto Rico lasts from Thanksgiving to January, and it’s filled with traditional local music.

January 8, 2004

Three Kings Day – Parranda

“It’s Christmas caroling – Puerto Rican Style!” In the days leading up to the Feast of Epiphany, the sounds of Parrandas are heard throughout the island.

January 7, 2004

Three Kings Day – Holiday Foods

In Puerto Rico, Three Kings Day is a festival for the palate, with savory traditional foods such as roasted pig.

January 6, 2004

Three Kings Day – The Magi

One of our listeners returns to his homeland of Puerto Rico each year for the celebration of the Epiphany.

January 5, 2004

Plough Monday – Purpose

Once a year, riotous behavior gave farm workers an escape from social constraints in 18th century England.

January 2, 2004

Mummers Parade: History

The flamboyance of the Mummers’ Parade arose from the grand masquerade balls of Philadelphia society in the 1800’s.

January 1, 2004

Mummers Parade: Participants

The Mummers Parade is a spectacular orchestration of costume, music, and dance.