Audio by Adam

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:34 — 14.3MB)

A survey look at what being Irish is all about deep down –from the “fairy faith” to its music, to Celtic myth, to sean nos and storytelling. Collected entirely in the West of Ireland down some very very back roads.

See also “Visions and Beliefs in the West Ireland,” which focuses on the spirituality and folkways of the Irish Gaeltacht.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:26 — 17.8MB)

In the mid-1990s, I was the initiator, designer and lead producer for a very ambitious series about the emerging field of conflict resolution and its applications. It covered everything from war, to marital discord to the role of the media in preventing or stoking discord, to the psychology of violence, peace and forgiveness. This 20 minute story was the first in the series (which also took me to South Central LA and South Africa, among many other places) that explained the field, and explored its potential range.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:53 — 4.7MB)

Americans were shocked by the boldness of the graft and other crimes allegedly committed by indicted former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and by the 20-plus politicians and others indicted for corruption in New Jersey recently. But corruption is nothing new in American politics, although the scope and definitions of corruption have changed over time.  This piece, which features Harvard University (and New Yorker Magazine writer) Jill Lepore and others, takes the long view.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:44 — 8.0MB)

After articles about the President and “dog bites man,” the obituaries are among the most popular articles the New York Times features. Part news story, part profile, obits attempt to sum up a person’s life and significance, and no more. Indeed, how many “column inches” a person is expected in the paper to get when he dies is closely guarded knowledge at the Times.  In this story,   I crash the gates of Hell, and spend some time with the people who make the Obit Section work, and their overseers. As with many of my stories, Chopin is included at no extra charge.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:17 — 3.9MB)

Oysters may seem like humble shellfish, but ecologically, they tower above many other species. They are a tasty food source for a variety of creatures, including humans. But more importantly, oysters help to filter pollutants from coastal estuaries, places where fresh river waters and ocean salt waters co-mingle.Fourteen out of 20 of the world’s largest cities are built near estuaries, and urban pollution, development and other factors are now threatening these delicate ecosystems. In response, some grassroots groups, are using oyster beds to help restore and stabilize damaged estuaries. New York and New Jersey Baykeeper is one of them.

Original VOA posting of this story

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:11 — 3.8MB)

I was living in Washington at the time of the September 11th 2001 attacks, but was able to get the first train into Manhattan when the island opened on the morning of September 12th. I worked 17 hours a day in the week following, chronicling the human impact of the World Trade Center attacks on the city I love and have always loved. This story was one of several I filed in those first days.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:41 — 5.2MB)

Labor Day in America is a day most Americans associate with a three day weekend and a farewell to summertime. However, this national holiday is also a time to honor workers and the central place their labor has in our lives. For this report, Adam asked a range of New Yorkers about what “work” means to them.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:50 — 9.0MB)

The Masons have long been the subject of curiosity, derision, persecution and admiration for their tight brotherhood, which claims millions of members worldwide, and which has been a mainstay for most American presidents and untold numbers of movers and shakers. The purported “secrecy” of their rites and symbols,  which are sometimes riffs on the belief systems of non-Christian cultures, notably that of Egypt and ancient Greece, has added to their allure and cache.  I met with a group of elite Amercian Masons, who described for me the spiritual path that Masonry can represent for men, and was granted some insight into how this fraternity works.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.3KB)

Memorial Day in America is supposed to be a time to remember those who have died in our wars, and to thank them for their sacrifice.  However, for many of us, Memorial Days does not mean much more than a three-day weekend, and perhaps some flag-waving and parades.  I wanted this piece to serve as a counterpoint in which  veterans from World War One, World War Two, and the wars in Korea, Vietnam and the First Gulf War actually remember and speak about someone they personally knew who died alongside them in combat — who were they, what were their names, how did they die, how did they live?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:00 — 11.9MB)

The middle class suburb of Middletown New Jersey lost upwards of 45 people in the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, devastating the town. This piece checks in a year after the event on some of the families who lost loved ones that day, along with town officials, as Middletown continues its path toward recovery — or not.

It is a follow-up from a mini-doc made with many of the same people in the immediate aftermath o 9/11.