"The Takeaway" debuts Monday on WNYC and elsewhere!
I'm looking forward to the launch of a brand-new public radio morning show tommorow, "The Takeaway," with John Hockenberry and Adoara Udoji.
"The Takeaway" is a co-production of PRI (my distributor), the BBC, WNYC in New York, the New York Times and WGBH in Boston. The goal is, at it's essence, to provide an alternative to Morning Edition, which is something that I think is desperately needed in public radio. (And to be clear: I like Morning Edition).
When I attended my first public radio conference six months or so ago in Minneapolis, I was really wowed by Hockenberry's brief talk about how he imagined the show. Expect a program that at least aspires to be truly multi-platform, and focused on the in-depth and analysis, which is exactly what I think public radio does better than any other broadcast outlet.
You can hear the show on WNYC (both AM and FM at different times), on WEAA in Baltimore, and on WGBH in Boston. You can also hear it online at thetakeaway.org. There's already a sample up at PRI's site.
Now, just to make this a bit more Maximum Fun-like, I will say that while I was at the conference, I saw Udoji at Saks Off 5th in downtown Minneapolis. I was looking at shirts, and she asked me what shirt size I wore. I told her (16.5x35, if you're wondering), then told her how much I enjoyed their presentation earlier that day.
"How did you..." she started, confusedly. "OH! You don't work here!"
Yes, PRI's new flagship star thought I worked at Saks' discount store.
By Carol Beggy & Mark Shanahan, Globe Staff | April 24, 2007
Celebrated storyteller Mike Daisey had barely begun his 90-minute monologue at the American Repertory Theatre when much of the audience stood up and walked out. One of the put-upon patrons even picked up a glass of water used as an on stage prop and poured it over Daisey's papers. The problem? The posse, 87 students and staff visiting Thursday from Norco High School in Southern California, objected to Daisey's dirty language. (They left during a particularly profane riff about Paris Hilton.) Daisey, who's posted the episode on YouTube, invited the aggrieved audience members to talk to him, but they bolted. "None of you have the guts to stay here and talk to me," said Daisey. "Saying [expletive] is the least racy thing I do, so I'm a little flabbergasted." Daisey's handwritten outline -- he doesn't work from a script -- was soaked, but salvageable. "If a patron in an art museum objected to a painting and slashed it, we'd be clear that that's a criminal act," the ART's artistic director, Gideon Lester, fumed yesterday. Seems the school group did inquire about the content of the show, called "Invincible Summer," and was told it includes profanity and adult subject matter. They decided to buy tickets anyway. Daisey has since talked to Cindy Lee, Norco's activities director, and received a halfhearted apology. "They keep saying it was a 'security issue' . . . They had to get their children out because of these words," he said. "It's ludicrous." The show runs through Sunday.
Here's some original reporting from the Boston Globe on the incident. Like my pal Hodgman, I apologize for spreading the rumor that it was a Christian school group. Turns out it was a *public* school group, which is even worse.
I just got an email from our friend Mike Daisey. Turns out, by coincidence, that they were taping the show the night of the walk-out. Above, you can see what happened -- apparently they were objecting to the word "fuck" being said in front of high-school students? Hard to tell, because none of them will talk to Mike as they file out of the theater.
In the video above, you can see not only the walk-out, but Mike's perplexity, then anger, then regrouping. As a special bonus, you can see a bit of Mike's great show.
Note to protesters: this was a shitty protest.
(Post-action report on our blog here, Mike's description here).
Mike Daisey show interrupted by anti-art terrorists...
You may remember monologuist Mike Daisey from our live show in New York City late last year, when he told an amazing story about his childhood in Maine. Mike is an extremely nice guy, a gifted performer, and a thoughtful man. Last night, his show was interrupted by a choreographed mass walkout.
I'm still dealing with all the ramifications, but here's what it felt like from my end: I am performing the show to a packed house, when suddenly the lights start coming up in the house as a flood of people start walking down the aisles--they looked like a flock of birds who'd been startled, the way they all moved so quickly, and at the same moment...it was shocking, to see them surging down the aisles. The show halted as they fled, and at this moment a member of their group strode up to the table, stood looking down on me and poured water all over the outline, drenching everything in a kind of anti-baptism.
If you live in the Boston area, I think the best way to respond to this kind of madness is to go to his show. If you're on the fence, try reading this rapturous review in the Boston Globe. Mike will be at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge through May 8th. It's worth your time.
"Rust, a fungus disease, sapped the
wheat crop. Production of durum wheat dropped from the 10-year average
of 31,547,000 bushels a year to 4,976,000 bushels."
I'm looking forward to the launch of a brand-new public radio morning show tommorow, "The Takeaway," with John Hockenberry and Adoara Udoji.
