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WSIU Public Radio

WSIU Radio Fall 2013 Community Support Celebration Oct. 21-25

WSIU Radio works hard to provide you with the best listening experience possible. Through programs like All Things Considered, Celtic Connections, Car Talk, and Sounds Like Radio, we strive to give you quality news, entertainment, and music at your convenience.

This month we’re asking our listeners to support us by participating in the Fall 2013 Community Support Celebration. Membership support is our most reliable source of funding, accounting for 30% of our annual budget, and helps to pay for the programming and services you’ve come to expect from public broadcasting.

We can’t do this alone. Help keep your favorite programs on the air by making a donation! Call 800-745-9748, or make a secure pledge online at wsiu.org. Your investment in WSIU helps keep your community engaged and informed.

Thank you!

Oct. 1: Members of the SIU Equestrian Team will discuss the annual IHSA Hunt Show.

Oct. 2: Kennedy Assassination Remembrance - a preview of the upcoming series at SIU.

Oct. 7: Remember the Armory - a look at a week-long celebration of the 1913 Exhibition of Modern Art.

Oct. 8: SIU Chancellor Rita Cheng will discuss campus rules and expectations.

Oct. 14: Wendy Weinhold of SIU’s LGBTQ Resource Center discusses programs and activities for LGBTQ Month.

Oct. 15: The SI Peace Conference is today’s topic of discussion.

Oct. 17: The Paul Simon Public Policy Institutes welcomes John Becker, Policy Advisor to the U.S. Agency for International Development, to the show.

Oct. 22: Science Café - Dr. James Garvey, SIU Vice Chancellor for Research, discusses Asian carp.

Oct. 28: SIU President Glenn Poshard addresses campus issues.

This Month on Morning Conversation

Katherine Cullen answers phones during the WSIU Radio Fall 2012 Community Support Celebration. Photo: Monica Tichenor.

Morning Conversation airs at 8:30am on Tuesdays and other weekdays, as scheduled, and repeats at 5:30pm. For updates,

check the Morning Conversation Calendar at

wsiu.org/programs morning-conversation.

Morning Conversation host Jennifer Fuller.

JACK WIDESSIRIS VOLUNTEER

Jack Wides is originally from Murphysboro, Ill. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from

Washington University in St. Louis in 1968, Wides returned to southern Illinois to put his degree to good use by helping his father manage the family’s chain of local gas stations.

Wides’ involvement with the Southern Illinois Radio Information Service (SIRIS) began when former director of SIRIS, Vickie Devenport, gave a presentation to the Rotary Club of Carbondale, an organization in which Wides has been very involved. After Devenport explained the duties of a typical volunteer, Wides thought he’d be a perfect fit since he had plenty of free time after retiring.

Wides says that SIRIS is a wonderful service for those who would not get the news otherwise. For those considering volunteering at SIRIS, Wides says, “It’s just a half hour out of your day. It takes very little time and very little effort, and it does a lot of good for a lot of people...If you want a painless way to volunteer in the community, [SIRIS] is great...It’s such an easy [organization] to volunteer for.”

Wides devotes a half-hour to SIRIS every Monday reading local news articles. “They aren’t asking for your money. They’re just asking for a little bit of your time. It’s a small commitment that does a lot of good,” he explains. In addition to SIRIS, Wides is active in the Rotary Club of Carbondale – Breakfast, which meets on Tuesday mornings.

With the Rotary Club of Carbondale, Wides has helped with the Community Yard Sale at the SIU Arena, sending exchange students at Carbondale Community High School abroad, and spreading polio awareness through the Polio Plus Campaign.

This month, the Rotary Club of Carbondale will host Carbondale’s First Annual Pumpkin Race. “People get a real pumpkin and stick wheels through it. We have a course at the underpass on Mill Street. The city is going to close the street for a number of hours…and people will put their pumpkins together and race them down the street. It should be a lot of fun,” says Wides. The

event will take place on Saturday, October 26 at 4pm.

Wides also loves to travel. “I’ve traveled a lot since I’ve retired. I was in France two weeks this summer. I did a Rotary sponsored exchange and went to Brazil for a month. I was in Panama and Columbia this year…and in Italy for three weeks. I hope to travel more in the United States next year,” says Wides. “I like to travel.”

Wides usually travels with his children, bringing his daughter, a teacher in Colorado, along on several trips with him. He also enjoys visiting his son and three-year-old granddaughter in Canada.

In the future, Wides hopes to visit more places in the United States, particularly the big national parks on the West Coast. Wides says he’s never been to Yellowstone National Park or the Grand Canyon and looks forward to visiting these attractions.

Wides is a big fan of WSIU Radio and TV. His favorite radio programs are Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, Car Talk, and jazz and classical music programs. On WSIU-TV, he likes to keep up with the Masterpiece Mystery programs and Nature. “WSIU Radio and TV adds so much to southern Illinois. I can’t imagine Carbondale, Mt. Vernon, [and the surrounding areas] without WSIU Radio and TV.”

To volunteer at SIRIS, call (618) 453-2808.

The Results Are In...The 2013 SIRIS Classic Vinyl &

Media Sale Was A Success!

WSIU, in partnership with the University Mall, would like to thank everyone who came out to the 6th Annual SIRIS Classic Vinyl & Media Sale on September 7-8.

This year we raised a total of $6,561.25!

All proceeds benefit the Southern Illinois Radio Information Service (SIRIS), a community service of WSIU Public Radio and Southern Illinois University Carbondale for individuals who are blind or print-impaired.

Many thanks to this year’s sponsors: the University Mall, the SIU Credit Union, and Wright Do-It Center.

SIRIS Volunteer Jack Wides. Photo: Christina Clayton.

Shoppers search for classic albums at the 2013 SIRIS Classic Vinyl & Media Sale. Photo: Pearl Franz.

What’s the Scoop?

Backseat Book ClubOCTOBER

NPR’s Backseat Book Club selection for October is Plunked by

Michael Northrop. It tells the story of sixth-grader Jack Mogens,

who must work to overcome his fears after he gets hit by a pitch in a

baseball game.

You can send your questions for the author to

backseatbookclub@npr.org or tweet to @nprbackseat.

Afternoon commute traffic on the Chester Creek Trail, Anchorage, Alaska.Photo: Joan Cullinane, courtesy of NPR.

Image: Emily Davis for NPR.

Commuting on Morning EditionCommuting is unavoidable. It’s something everyone who works outside the home tries to spend as little time doing as possible. National, regional, and local governments are working hard on new initiatives, but in many parts of the country, commutes are still getting longer. Morning Edition looks at how to fix a broken commute, from national, regional, and local trends, to what individuals do on a very personal level to make their commutes bearable and even enjoyable.

The reports begin Monday, October 14, and air through mid-November.

The American AutobahnMonday, October 14Austin, Texas is the second most congested city in the country, but the state won’t build more highways. One solution is a privately built toll road aimed at attracting drivers with the highest legal speed limit in the country at 85 miles per hour. Illegal speeds on this road approach those of Germany’s Autobahn. NPR’s Wade Goodwyn reports from Austin.

As Good As It Gets?Monday, October 21Ask an urban planner where the best public transportation in the U.S. is and the answer might be Arlington, Va. It may come as a surprise to the riders of the Washington area’s Orange Line, but the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor is considered the gold standard for suburban transit. Host David Greene has the story.

TrafficTuesday, October 22By far the most popular way to commute to work is alone in an automobile. But can the roads and commuters themselves continue to handle it? NPR’s Sonari Glinton talks with carmakers about existing technology that could make the daily commute quicker and easier.

The Reverse CommuteMonday, October 28In many communities, the reverse commute from downtown to the suburbs has become worse than the traditional commute. The public transit options don’t work well because newer jobs are often in newer exurbs without train lines, and some companies end up running van lines for their employees. NPR’s David Schaper reports from Chicago on keeping up with changing commuting habits.

The O-LineTuesday, October 29We’re not the only primates who commute! The National Zoo has an O Line, an overhead series of ropes that orangutans use to travel from one area of the zoo to another. Some of the principles involved could work for human commuters – a transit designer in Austin is contemplating this. NPR’s Richard Harris reports, and Shankar Vedantam discusses the behavioral science behind commuting habits.

October 5 • New ReleasesThis week we survey songs and tunes from new and recent releases from both sides of the Atlantic.

October 12 • We Banjo 3One of the leading new bands from Ireland, We Banjo 3, visited our studio for this week’s program, featuring some live recordings, as well as tracks from their debut CD and from CDs by individual members.

October 19 • Manus McGuire in Good CompanyIrish fiddle player Manus McGuire has been part of some of the leading bands in Ireland, like Buttons and Bows, Moving Cloud, and Brock McGuire Band. This week we draw tracks from his discography, including solo albums and duo work with his brother, Seamus.

October 26 • Planxty & BeyondThe Irish band Planxty introduced listeners to some of the leading names in Irish music in the mid 1970s. This week we highlight the band and follow its members in their separate careers after the band dissolved.

Saturday 7pm • Sunday 6pm

WSIU Public RadioCommunications Building 1003Mail Code 6602Southern Illinois University1100 Lincoln DriveCarbondale IL 62901

(618) 453-6101 wsiuradio@wsiu.org

B and A Travel Service, Carbondale & Marion, IL

Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, Mt. Vernon, IL

Changing Season’s Landscape Center Co., Marion, IL

Cristaudo’s Café, Bakery & Catering, Carbondale, IL

Hedman’s Vineyards, Alto Pass, IL

Illinois Wine & Art Festival, Whittington, IL

Marion Subaru, Marion, IL

Outback Concerts, Nashville, TN

Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, P.C., Carbondale/St. Louis & Metro East/Kansas

Soundcore Music & Video, Carbondale, IL

The Southern Illinois Irish Festival, Carbondale, IL

Thank You, Underwriters!Please join us in thanking the underwriters who

recently began, renewed, or expanded their partnership to make public radio possible: