Shop. Click. And the next day, your purchase is on your doorstep. Amazon has changed the face of shopping, but at a surprisingly high human cost. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming soon, we look at what’s behind those smiling packages and expose the dangers of working at Amazon. We start with an investigation from Reveal’s Will Evans into workplace injuries and safety culture at Amazon warehouses. While Amazon touts its workplaces as safe and efficient, Evans finds that many are much more dangerous than the industry average. Next, with cities all over the country vying to attract companies such as Amazon, Anjeanette Damon from the podcast “The City” looks at Reno, Nevada, which several years ago persuaded Tesla to build a battery factory there. We meet one of the colorful characters who made it happen. We end with a story about unforeseen problems created by Tesla’s arrival in Reno. Even though it brought thousands of jobs, it also prompted a housing crisis that’s put thousands of people on the edge of homelessness.

This week it’s Thanksgiving Rules: turkey, cranberry sauce and cake versus pie. We chat with Stella Parks about her pumpkin pie secret and a fresh twist on à la mode; Vivian Howard invites us to her kitchen for North Carolina turkey and sides; chefs, authors, listeners and friends share their favorite Thanksgiving memories; Dr. Aaron Carroll talks food safety and stuffing; we make a quick Cranberry and Candied Ginger Buckle; and Adam Gopnik talks the magic of leftovers.

An Afterglow special designed just for the Thanksgiving holiday. In the Great American Songbook, there are no real songs for “Thanksgiving.” However, Thanksgiving is usually a time many of us go home, spend time with our families, and maybe gather around the fireplace, with this chilly November weather. And in the Great American Songbook, there is no shortage of songs written about home life. On this episode, we’ll hear some songs of home, including “Back In Your Own Backyard,” “The Nearness Of You,” and “My Blue Heaven,’ sung by June Christy, Frank Sinatra, Norah Jones, and more. Hosted by Mark Chilla.

In a liberal democracy, individuals should have the freedom to give money to charities of their choice. But there’s a difference between charitable giving from ordinary individuals and philanthropic giving from extremely wealthy individuals. Whose interests are served when the wealthy give? Should the state continue to encourage big philanthropy with massive tax breaks for the rich? Or should it focus more on taxing extreme wealth? Is big philanthropy destroying democracy? Josh and Ken take alms from Stanford political scientist Rob Reich, author of Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better.

As families come together and give thanks, A Feast for the Ears helps set the atmosphere and provide deeper meaning to the Thanksgiving holiday. A two-hour program, A Feast for the Ears reflects on the rich history and traditions of this well-loved American holiday and highlights music by American composers such as Aaron Copeland, Virgil Thomson, William Billings and Charles Ives, along with some undiscovered treasures by Rick Sowash and Mark O?Connor. Host Mark Perzel presents a melodic and intriguing exploration of Thanksgiving history, lore and roots in early European harvest festivals, as well as a thoughtful examination of the holiday's evolution and contemporary traditions.

Hear the The Seldom Scene, Tom Paxton, Barbra Streisand, Christopher Cross, Crystal Gayle, The Front Porch String Band, Kathy Mattea, Simon & Garfunkel, and tons more, including music from TV, movies, and Broadway.

World-renowned naturalist Joe Hutto , subject of the Emmy winning BBC documentary "My Life As a Turkey", discusses how he became a wild turkey mother in the hammocks of Florida. Plus: Fourth-generation pilot Eric Walden gives a play-by-play of the ninja-like moves of the wild turkey—mid-air.  And: The once-scorned bronze-feathered turkey is making a comeback, with the help of organic, free-range farmers like Paul Kelly. Also: Jay Sullivan sends his students off to Thanksgiving Break with a poem about a young engineer’s ingenuity and of course, a turkey.

Later in the show: With Good Reason takes a look at the indigenous perspective of a Thanksgiving table. Anton Treuer , author of Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask , shares how he and his family give thanks. Plus: Minnesota Chef Sean Sherman gives us a taste of pre-contact American Indian cuisine.

Margaret Visser, the author of Much Depends on Dinner, is best known for her books about the history, anthropology, and mythology of everyday life. Now she has turned her scholarly eye towards gratitude. The result is a book called The Gift of Thanks: The Roots, Persistence and Paradoxical Meanings of a Social Ritual. It's published by Harper Collins.

A lot of folks scratch their heads over the concept of a Thanksgiving themed Blues radio program; but when you boil it down to its essence, it comes down to simply playing songs about food, family, and gratitude - and there is certainly no shortage of songs dealing with those topics.

This week's installment of Full-Time Blues Radio is a cornucopia filled with an abundance of great Blues music that won't make you sleepy after you consume it! The featured selection from inside "Johnny's Mailbox" is the title cut from Freddie Vanderford's album Greasy Greens. The album was released in 2010, but conveniently arrived this week at our studios.

Full-Time Blues Radio is the home for new and independent Blues music. The weekly series is hosted by "Johnny Full-Time" and features new material by today's stars, tomorrow's legends, and self-produced indie artists. In addition, each week we dig inside "Johnny's Mailbox" to spotlight a new album that just arrived in the last seven days.

More information, archived artist interviews, and much more can be found online at http://www.fulltimeblues.com

In this special holiday episode, we're taking a look at the indigenous side of a Thanksgiving table. Minnesota Chef Sean Sherman (the Sioux Chef) gives us a taste of pre-contact American Indian cuisine. We'll also take a look at the complicated history of the most well-known reservation food, fry-bread. And talk with American Indian scholars Anton Treuer and Karenne Wood about their food traditions.

Later in the show: An oldie but goodie from our archives… W ith Good Reason invites you to a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but nearly everything on the table is grown, made, or brewed within 100 miles of our studios in Charlottesville, Virginia.

So, let me ask you, how many times have you said "thank you" today? Maybe 10 times or
more?  Has "thank you" become a hollow phrase in our lexicon that's overused and undervalued?  Today on the program, we present an award-winning episode of the CBC Radio program "Definitely Not the Opera" that considers if thank you has lost its meaning.

Most of us say "thank you" dozens of times a day, but how often do we really mean it?   And why do we feel so hurt if we're not thanked?
In this week of giving thanks, we present Margaret Visser discussing her book The Gift of Thanks. Visser discusses how and why we're taught to say thanks, how different cultures express thanks, and she offers a brief history of
gratitude. 

Beat Latino, hosted by Catalina Maria Johnson, celebrates in every hour a different facet of the extraordinary diversity of the Latin/Latino musical universe. From banda to bachata, and salsa to sevillanas - this special edition of Beat Latino presents songs that give thanks to accompany the holiday. Not your usual pilgrim fare! Rather, songs that include the word "gracias" and celebrate life, love and music. Broadcasts nicely in November.

'Debts of Gratitude' is a variety of light hearted conversations and a retelling of experiences about the way we say "Thank You" and why sometimes we don't say it at all.  

Lost opportunities to say thank you. How does an anonymous organ donor ever say thank you to the person who gave them a second chance at life?  When Canadian actor Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy) made her thank-you speech at the Golden Globes, who did she struggle to remember?  Also, hear about the etiquette of "thank you" in North America, and how it contrasts with the customs of some folks from Somalia, Iran and Burma. 

Hosted by the CBC's Alan Neal, 'Debts of Gratitude' is a Thanksgiving Program that won silver at the 2010 New York Festivals Radio Program and Promotion Awards.

Kaleidoscope's "I Remember Radio Series": A delightful nostalgic account of the heyday of radio with all the legendary performers, music, drama, commercials, comedy, newsmakers and newscasters, the soaps, the songs, the bands, the kid's shows, the horror and sci-fi programs, the mysteries, the public service presentations.

This 45 minute program features selections from "The Stan Freberg Show," "The Jack Benny Show," and "Our Miss Brooks" for a Golden Age of Radio Thanksgiving.

World-renowned naturalist Joe Hutto, subject of the Emmy winning BBC documentary "My Life As a Turkey", discusses how he became a wild turkey mother in the hammocks of Florida. Plus: Fourth-generation pilot Eric Walden gives a play-by-play of the ninja-like moves of the wild turkey—mid-air.  And: The once-scorned bronze-feathered turkey is making a comeback, with the help of organic, free-range farmers like Paul Kelly. Also: Jay Sullivan sends his students off to Thanksgiving Break with a poem about a young engineer’s ingenuity and of course, a turkey.

At this point, most of us know the Thanksgiving story about the Pilgrims and the Indians happily indulging in a joint feast is a vast oversimplification of what actually happened. 

But how many of us still have an idea of Native people that’s stuck in the past? “People didn’t believe that I was Native because I was from North Carolina,” Lumbee Indian Malinda Maynor Lowery says. “The only thing they learned about Indians in school, maybe, was that we were removed from the Southeast.”

In this first episode of Gravy, meet a tribe of Indians who are very much still in the Southeast– and whose food reflects a distinct hybrid of Southern and Native history. The Lumbee’s story is one that spans centuries, and includes new windows into periods you may think you know– like the Jim Crow era. Plus something you’ll be eager to eat: the collard sandwich.

Whether you're the host or the guest, whether the table is set for two or twenty, feasts are memorable occasions. They may mark holidays, special events, or simply the celebration of family and friends. This program features three works that focus on feasts. Sarah Webster Goodwin talks about Isak Dinesen's short story "Babette's Feast"; Kari Salkjelsvik explores Laura Esquivel's novel _Like Water for Chocolate_; and Gail Kern Paster talks about Ben Jonson's poem "Inviting a Friend to Supper." Well-suited to Thanksgiving. Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.

It's Thanksgiving- a time of hospitality and good will- right? But not everyone feels the love- some people just get downright cranky. So, how about a reminder of the things that make you happy.  Frank Faulk presents a piece he calls "I Thank Therefore I Am, I Think."  It's about being grateful in spite of ourselves.

In Virginia, there are eleven Indian tribes, some several thousand people in all. Yet the United States doesn’t believe they exist. The seeds of this denial were planted in the early years of the last century by one man with a narrow vision and unrestrained power. Charles McGuigan recently visited the Indian Council Grounds in Charles City, Virginia and heard the story from one of the assistant chiefs of the Chickahominy tribe.

Thanksgiving is the favorite holiday for many Americans, but what is it like for those who are from other countries and celebrate it too? This piece gives you a glimpse of how special American Thanksgiving is to foreigners.

From turkey farm to supermarket, the life and death of a turkey.

Commentator Andrew Lam remembers his first Thanksgiving in America, when he was a teenage refugee, fleeing war in his native Vietnam.But it was neither American history lessons nor Puritan cuisine that taught him the meaning of the holiday.... (this is a debut piece)

On June 18, 2013, singer/songwriter Stephen Kellogg released a brand new solo album, Blunderstone Rookery (mixed by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes). The album debuted on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and was released to great praise.

CMT Edge said, "his memorable melodies keep the music moving while the lyrics pull you into a deeper story" while The Seattle Post Intelligencer chimed, "Anyone who appreciates the singer-songwriter tradition needs to know Stephen Kellogg."

The album was inspired by a challenging year that Kellogg endured in which his grandmother and mother-in-law passed away, his long time backing band The Sixers went on hiatus, his wife (who he met when he was 15) had their fourth daughter, and he had to repair his family's home from the ground up. While it was a tough year, Kellogg didn't let it get the best of him. You can watch his inspirational TED Talk called "I Can't Get No (Job) Satisfaction" HERE.

The album winds down with the ten minute opus "Thanksgiving." You can watch the offical video for the track HERE. 

This piece is an interview segment with Stephen Kellogg that discusses the track "Thanksgiving" for use at your station. Please note that there is a long version that is 03:52 minutes long and a short version that is 02:23 minutes long. 

For more information, please feel free to contact Joe Sivick: jsivick@missingpiecegroup.com

 

Thanksgiving is just over a week away. A day when many of the grateful wash down turkey and stuffing with a glass of wine, or celebrate visits from old friends over a cold beer, or two.

One New Hampshire farmer hopes we’ll try sipping on artisanal cider instead. Hard cider is a New England tradition that dates back to the Founding Fathers, and as falling apple prices leave orchard owners struggling to stay afloat, a cider revival could provide a lifeline to New Hampshire growers.

Producer Avishay Artsy went to taste for himself.

"Oh, I love it. You can't live without corn bread. And you gotta cook it in that skillet, too! ... Corn bread basically was poor man's food that everybody loved. To this day my favorite meal is pinto beans, corn bread and buttermilk." Pour a tall glass of buttermilk and come with us to the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. This short, non-narrated postcard is a whirlwind sonic celebration of Southern food and culture.

Cancer survivor and NY tImes bestselling author Susan Chernak McElroy recounts two related tales of giving thanks - one from her cancer recovery, and the other a story from her book "Animals as Teachers and Healers," about a woman, changing circumstances, and her beloved cat Sammy. A handy and beautiful filler for this time of year. This is a lifted excerpt from my complete pilot "For Kindred Spirits," also available on PRX.

My five year old hopped into the car "What did you do today?" I asked. She couldn't wait to tell me. "We learned that boys are different from girls," she chirped. Looking into the rearview mirror, I could just see the top of her head. "My teacher told us that boys have a thing the girls don't," she added. "Well, yes they do…" I said cautiously...

A sonic impression of accentuated actualities revolving around my extended family gathering around the dining room table to listen to my grandfather's Thanksgiving day speech.

Lacar Musgrove reads "A Moveable Race" about a 19th Century bicycle race on Thanksgiving Day in New Orleans.