This is the time of year when people all over the world aren’t just buying gifts and planning holiday menus – they’re trying to help their neighbors. But for one community in Manchester, New Hampshire, private acts of charity aren’t just a holiday tradition. They are a display of Libertarian -- even Anarchist -- principles. Emily Corwin reports.
Here in the US, the political divide often seems as vast as the Grand Canyon. Commentator Chris Tucker finds himself wondering about the personal price we pay for our political opinions.
3:05 Tucker Conflicts PRX
Chris Tucker is a Dallas-based writer and literary consultant.
And here’s a different take on the spirit of giving from commentator Margaret Agard. A fire truck in the driveway, 20 at the table for meals and buying by the dozens (the better for sharing) Agard’s father believed in being Santa Claus all year round.
My Father was Santa 6:12
Coming up, listening to the northern lights.
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Sometimes it's the little things that help us feel like we belong in the world. Jasmine Gonzalez of Curie Youth Radio in Chicago explains why one cup of coffee made her day.
1:49 Dunkin Donuts
Produced by Jasmine Gonzalez of Curie Youth Radio, a writing and radio production workshop at Curie High School in Chicago.
We’re heading into the dark season – the cold season…the season when the night sky looks like a cold lake sprinkled with crystals. It’s captured perfectly in the poem Winter Stars by Sara Teasdale.
I went out at night alone;
The young blood flowing beyond the sea
Seemed to have drenched my spirit's wings --
I bore my sorrow heavily.
But when I lifted up my head
From shadows shaken on the snow,
I saw Orion in the east
Burn steadily as long ago.
From windows in my father's house,
Dreaming my dreams on winter nights,
I watched Orion as a girl
Above another city's lights.
Years go, dreams go, and youth goes too,
The world's heart breaks beneath its wars,
All things are changed, save in the east
The faithful beauty of the stars.
And if you are lucky enough to be in the right place, you may see a light show dance across the night sky.
Have you ever heard the sound of the Northern Lights? It’s the sound of the earth’s magnetic field…and a perfect reminder of how small we all are in the vastness of space. Natural Radio recordist Steve McGreevy was in Canada last year for the Northern Lights: Producer Barrett Golding has more.
7:31 Northern Lights PRX
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That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Katie Britton for production assistance. Our theme music is by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock.
Thanks so much for joining us…we’ll be back next week with another edition of 51% The Women's Perspective.