monster stash

I know it's about 5 days out of fashion right now, but I was just thinking about Halloween as sort of like an American secular cultural exorcism, clearing the way for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's as though, in order to enjoy all that heartwarming family buying power, we have to get all the darkness out of our systems first.

When I was a very young kid, I remember Halloween seriously freaking me out. Anything could be real at that age. I mean, I still believed in Santa Claus, and if he’s real, all bets are off. But however scary it got, the next morning it was always ameliorated by a fresh bucket of candy for my mom to hide from me. That candy was like my heavenly reward for surviving the darkness.

But I’m older now and, while some of you may still cling to the hope that (as of November 1st) we’ve rid the world of the beasts that haunt your soul, I know better. Which is why I offer to you this piece, recently re-broadcast on Studio 360. It's about monsters. It was originally produced in 2003, click here to listen.

Two more pieces that recently aired:

October 26th, on Marketplace Morning Report, a (brand new!) piece I produced about a play that's been running in New York for 18 years, called "Perfect Crime". Click here to listen.

And Studio 360 is airing the Peabody Award-winning episode about Moby-Dick this weekend (check out the nifty new American Icons website design).


(pumpkin photo by Timothy Bates)