I don't always get the chance to preview an entire hour-long special. However, I had to listen to this whole hour. It is another excellent special from veteran-producer Richard Paul. The tone and flow are excellent. I also learned a tremendous amount over the hour about the modern state of pharmaceutical research and why prescription drugs are so expensive.

This special should stay relevant for quite some time - it is definitely worth scheduling for a special, holiday or showcase slot.

-Arvid Hokanson
Asst. PD
94.9 KUOW & 91.7 KUOW2

This is an excellent doc. Congratulations to David Brown on a job well done.

For those of us, myself included, who only know a little bit about the life and music of Willie Nelson, this is a great learning experience that is also compelling radio.

The biographical info, with a good narrative arc, combined with the rare music clips, provides good public service. The early recording of Willie is a real gem, one I would bet most people have not heard.

I would recommend this special anytime, not just around Willie's birthday.

Here is an interesting hour about our brains and music. Listeners can be quickly drawn in with the not-overly-done analysis of the Talking Heads' "Once in a LIfetime".

Chris Lydon is a radio pro and did a smart thing by putting some of the evergreen episodes of Open Source up on PRX. This show would be great for a showcase slot, holiday or anytime you need an hour to fill. However, I would recommend an evening or weekend. Some of the music analysis gets a bit inside baseball at times, but should keep most listeners engaged.

The program also does a nice job of mixing in elements and Daniel Levitin is a thoughtful guest who has written a well-received book.

If you air the program, make sure to provide a link to the Open Source blog for listeners to read.

I like this letter from Elizabeth to her aunt Tia. It's touching, and gives us a personal story that is easily lost in the debate about immigration policy. The piece is just the right length, it's not overdone, but still gives us a touching story about what a niece would give to her aunt.

This also gives us the perspective of youth - something else that we don't always hear in stories about immigration.

This will make a good drop-in for a magazine or local talk show.

This is a half-hour of music with a bit of commentary thrown in. I would much rather have the ratio be the other way around. There are so many places to hear new music these days, that I look to NPR to help me learn about music, musicians and bands. I heard one track from the Battles. I didn't know who they were before this show, and I still don't know anything about them.

This show is also weak on formatics. It needs more resets and to better tell listeners who the hosts are, what we're listening to and why. People don't listen to radio programs continuously from start to finish - and even for the few that might, this program doesn't give listeners enough information to stay engaged.

Host Bob Boilen needs to slow down while reading his script and be more conversational.

These shows need some radio 101 work before they are ready for broadcast.

This is a fun, first-person audio essay on one teen's effort to get a date to the prom.

I like the simplicity of this piece - it's not overdone and it's a subject most of us can relate to. The one question left though, did he get a date?

This piece works as an easy drop-in to the cutaway slot in WESUN, WESAT or Day to Day. It's also timeless, so in can work in future years around prom, homecoming etc.

This well-crafted piece pulls back the curtain on public radio. Rather than being ear candy only for fellow pubsters, it gives listeners an entertaining idea of how we make great radio. It's fun to hear reporters and producers at work - performing all the tricks that we do.

The quality of this production made me think it came from ABC Radio National's The Night Air - which is a high standard to match.

This would make a good segment for a night-time show, especially for a weeknight.

This is a program that public radio does well and I'm glad local stations take the initiative to craft this kind of radio.

It's produced so that you need to listen to it from start to finish. Anyone tuning in mid-program will most likely be lost and not sure what is playing on the radio.

With a few concessions to formatics, including some resets, this would work well on any station. It would fit nicely into an evening slot or weekend slot.

This is a show/podcast for film buffs - it gets pretty "inside baseball". It gets very detailed from the opening discussion about the recent film, Reign Over Me. With the show out of Chicago, it reminds me of Ebert and Roper.

I find that you must pay fairly close attention to this show to follow it. That isn't the best model for lifestyle listening - which is what radio is. However, I do like the addition of interviews with guests to add flavor to the show.

The show is okay on formatics, but needs improvement with resets and a few simple things, like saying the phone number slower and more than once when calling out to listeners.

Niche shows like this appeal to a small segment of listeners. It would work well for a late Friday night slot or possibly weekend nights.

The Sunday Edition and CBC have a well deserved reputation for producing and broadcasting outstanding documentaries. This one continues the tradition.

First person documentaries are hard produce, but this one is engaging and well written. It has a flowing narrative and teaches us about the little known disease Aphasia. The writing is meant to take us along with the story, rather than talking to or at us.

I like the sound of the pencil writing, each time bringing us back to the scene of Teresa and her father communicating.

This is a great documentary to place into a showcase slot.

Although this piece is a first person essay about a personal topic, I found it to be rather flat. The voicing sounds overly scripted and the piece could use a good edit to tighten it up. If it's to get any carriage in the future, it should be edited down to 3:00 to 3:30 to fit into optional cutaway slots. It would work for a future St. Patrick's Day.

I like the topic and some of the visual imagery in the writing. However, in order to draw in the listeners, Jeffrey needs to put the script down and work on more conversational voicing. The cadence and reading, except for the last 30 seconds, feels too tight. This is especially noticeable when Jeffrey discusses the connection with the police officer and the tear that comes to his eye.

Also, there seems to be an editing error at 2:23 into the piece.

Listeners hear a lot of commentaries on the national magazines, so the bar for writing and voicing is high.

This poetry reading has a great cadence and tone to catch listeners. It grabbed my attention immediately, especially since we usually don't hear poetry performed on the radio.

It's well written and the length makes it quite flexible to drop into any optional cutaway slot, including WESUN, WESAT or Studio 360.

This piece has too many problems that prevent me from recommending it for broadcast. It contains rough micing in several spots, poor levels and it's too long to keep the listener engaged. I am a big fan of youth work, but without a good edit, both for content and length, it's not presentable for air.

I do like LaShauna's personal reflection on why she likes basketball and the use of tape from both her brothers and her mom. I also like the use of ambiance.

With some editing, this would work well as a drop-in to Weekend America, Only a Game or a local magazine.

Wen Ou does a wonderful job of leading us through her feelings for missing her native China. From the food and bustle of her hometown to the lack of family in New York, we are told about her struggle against home sicknesses and to adapt to life in Queens.

This is a great piece with a strong narrative and good detail. It does require listening closely to follow the whole story. I like the use of ambiance and Wen's detail of what she misses about China and what she wants about of the basics in life.

This piece would be a nice drop-in for Pacific Time, WESAT/WESUN or Day to Day. It would also work for a youth/holiday special.

What is life like in the bustle of New York City versus the more laid back life of the Dominican Republic? In particular what is it like for a teenager straddling both places? Angely gives us a portrait of her struggle to identify with her homeland of NYC and her ancestral homeland of DR. The Dominican Republic seems to have a stronger family culture, a less hectic pace and wonderful sandy beaches and clear water. Most of us know NYC as least from the movies, with its frenzied pace and endless landscape of concrete, brick and steel.

I like this story for the intimacy and narrative. She also has good interviews and uses the interviews and music well to help the flow of the story. It's also good to hear why she wants to stay in NYC. Her voice is pleasant and engaging.

I would have to liked to hear more from Angely about her impressions of NYC. Is there a strong community of ex-pats from the DR in NYC? How does she identify with NYC? I also thought it would have helped to move up the portion about why her family came to NYC and why they stayed. I felt this was an open question for too long in the story.

This would work well for a drop in piece for the weekend magazines, Day to Day or Weekend America. It would also work on Latino USA. Consider packaging a few of the Radio Rookies pieces together for a strong half-hour segment.