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Playlist: Hillary Frank's Portfolio

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Lucy and the Bike Girl

From Hillary Frank | 10:27

Lucy can never meet her best friend in person because it might cut her life expectancy in half.

Bike_bell_small_small Lucy, a 28-year-old with cystic fibrosis, meets the "Bike Girl," who has the same disease, in an Internet chat room. They are both, against the advice of friends and doctors, trying to get pregnant. They quickly become friends but can never meet in person, because the Bike Girl carries a bacteria in her lungs that is toxic to anyone with cystic fibrosis. This piece is an experiment in combining fact and fiction. The interview tape is all from a real interview; the narration is semi-fictional.

Staying Sober; Reinventing Fun

From Hillary Frank | 08:12

A college addict goes sober and has to figure out new ways of having fun.

20080326_sober0_25_small Sam started smoking at 13. By 17, he was addicted to cocaine. In college he started binge drinking and taking Adderall. He chose Augsburg University in Minneapolis because it was near his dealer. Little did he know, Augsburg was home to StepUP, one of the few on-campus recovery programs in the country. Eventually, after hitting rock bottom, Sam decided to join StepUP. But then came the hard part: sobering up while still living with his party-animal jock roommates. And he had to figure out new ways of having fun--something to replace all the drugs, pill, and booze. To his surprise, Sam finds that he has a passion for classical music and tragic theatre, things the old Sam would've laughed at.

Sleepover!

From Hillary Frank | 06:46

Two reporters spend the night at 10-year-old sleepover parties--one with the boys and one with the girls.

Playing
Sleepover!
From
Hillary Frank

Nprsleep5_small Hillary Frank and Jonathan Menjivar brave the world of PJs, "Blob," and midnight pranks to see what goes on at 10-year-old sleepover parties. Hillary and Jonathan go to two sleepovers, the girls and the boys respectively, and they stay through the botched prank calls, jumping on beds, and secret-telling until the kids fall asleep.

The Rocks at Rock Bottom

From Hillary Frank | 09:30

The story of a man who hits rock bottom when he's surrounded by a whole lot of rocks -- and how he uses those rocks to get over heartbreak.

Stone_skipping_small Jerry McGhee was living in Spain, near a beach full of flat rocks, when he and his wife spilt up. He started taking daily walks on the beach and hurling rocks into the water in anger. Throwing the rocks hard and watching them skip made him feel better. He thought of his rock skipping as a solitary activity -- until one day he skipped a stone over 50 times -- and found that had an audience of hundreds of people. This is the story of how Jerry McGhee became a world champion rock skipper...by accident. Originally aired on This American Life's "Desperate Measures" show.

Election Signs

From Hillary Frank | 04:30

Graphic designer Michael Bierut answers the question: Why do all election signs look the same?

Mcgovern_poster_small Around election time, you?re likely to see more and more red, white and blue bumper stickers, buttons and lawn signs cropping up all over. Graphic designer Michael Bierut explains why so many of these campaign signs look the same, no matter what side of the fence they?re planted on. First aired as part of Studio 360's ongoing series "Design for the Real World" on 9/25/04.

Narcoleptic Christmas

From Hillary Frank | 07:24

A woman discovers she's narcoleptic at Christmastime.

Thumbnarco_small Twenty years ago when Mali Einen was 24, her baby daughter said something funny and before she knew it, Einen's muscles went limp and she collapsed into the Christmas tree. That's when she discovered she was narcoleptic. It turns out that narcolepsy is a lot different from what we think it is. When Einen fell down, she hadn't suddenly fallen asleep--she was actually wide awake and her body had just become temporarily paralyzed. The whole episode was triggered by extreme joy.

Your Singing Really Interferes With My Going-To-Sleep Process

From Hillary Frank | Part of the The Longest Shortest Time series | 07:45

A music teacher tries to stop her newborn’s crying with lullabies. Turns out it’s the worst thing she can do.

Jacob_baby_crying-1_square_small Anne Sailer teaches classes with the popular children’s music and movement franchise, Music Together . When her newborn son, Jacob, started his nightly ritual of screaming for hours on end, she thought, “I know, I’ll sing him a lullaby!” To her horror, the singing sent Jacob into a back-arching frenzy. But 10 years later, after bumping into Jacob's science teacher, Anne learns that her songs had a powerful effect on her son.

Nurse, Get the Handcuffs

From Hillary Frank | Part of the The Longest Shortest Time series | 14:24

A mother unexpectedly breaks down and apologizes to her 34-year-old daughter for not being able to breastfeed her.

Baby_hf_newborn_1_web_small When Hillary Frank was pregnant, she tried to imagine what childbirth would be like. And since she didn't really have anything to go on, she figured it would be a lot like her mom's experience. Natrual, no drugs. Painful, but the pushing would be a relief. Turned out, Hillary's labor and childbirth was much more complicated than her mother's and she couldn't help feeling envious of her her mom for having the childbirth that she'd hoped for. But once Hillary sits down to talk to her mom about this, she finds that her mom's experience wasn't as dreamy as she'd imagined.