Presenter: Here we are then from Radio 1 and in a corridor with Spin, a pop-⁠star.

Speaker: Hello.

Presenter: Spin, is this your name then?

Speaker: No, it’s not; it’s just that most people think that ‘Crispin’ is too embarrassing to call me. They call me Spin because it’s the only kind of abbreviation that you can make from a terrible name like Crispin.

Presenter: Fine.

Speaker: It’s not my fault, you know; it’s my parents’. From a very early age, when they called me it, I would cry for months in my cot, and they didn’t know why, because I couldn’t explain that it was because they’d named me Crispin. But then I got it out of my system. It could have been worse; I could have been called Darrell.

Presenter: Where did you study?

Speaker: Yeah, my parents said over and over again that university could improve my chances of career development. So, I went to Sheffield. I did philosophy and theology but I dropped out after two years. I took a year off to get into pop music, and I always thought I might go back, but I’d never enjoyed school. And I used to get into a real panic before the exams. In fact, even now I feel nervous about all this stuff and the idea of going back never happened. No, I don’t really like universities as places, to be honest. They give me the creeps.

Presenter: What were you like then when you first went to college?

Speaker: You know, I was 18, and I was into this kind of Communist thing, and I thought I was a real Communist but it never occurred to me to join the Communist Party. We got a house of our own, and we were the only people in the whole of Sheffield University to have a house of our own so it became like a commune and we were like members of some secret society. In fact, our secret life was rather innocent. You know, everyone would come around, and there’d be 20 or 30 people there having parties.

Presenter: Have you learned much in this last year? Because, you know, you’ve just grown, and people’s respect for you has grown so much in the last year.

Speaker: We were pretty much ignored last year. And then it started changing for our people all of a sudden this year. I think it’s because everyone’s kind of revived themselves. We brought back to life some forgotten ideas and we also got interested in folk music. I think we’re doing something new now. Our work is really creative and rewarding. This is the greatest satisfaction of my life. I’ve met many people, some of whom have been an inspiration to me. That really is Hollywood. It turns into a film; it’s just like a fantasy world.

Presenter: Have you written any new songs then? Is there an album coming out?

Speaker: There is. I’ve got a kind of library of ideas. But the problem is that I have to be on my own. It’s like, you know, when you’re a little kid, and you’re playing in the corner of the living room with your cars or whatever. You’re in the middle of this fantasy, and the moment you notice your mum saying ‘Ah, how sweet,’ and looking at you, the magic charm disappears instantly. But I’ve increased this library, and I’m going to leave in December. I’m going to rent a cottage in the middle of nowhere, and work really hard.

Presenter: You’re one of the few pop-⁠stars that we never hear talking about cars or your bank account. What do you do with your money? Better yet, what’s the first expensive thing you bought?

Speaker: The first expensive thing that I bought was a house.

Presenter: What was it like owning your first home?

Speaker: At the time I bought it, I had no idea how famous I really was. It was across the street from a school and we had kids coming across all day knocking on the door. It was crazy. The house was on a main road, it was a busy road full of cars but that didn’t bother me. The problem was the people around. Sometimes when I went out I had to cover up most of my face. So we put an end to all these problems, sold the house, lost a part of money and bought a new house. That’s probably the best investment I’ve made, my new house.

Presenter: It all sounds as though you don’t like your fame and your fans.

Speaker: Why? Music fans are among the most reasonable groups of people in the whole world.

Presenter: Sounds great! Do you mean that fans going wild at the concerts are perfectly reasonable?

Speaker: You know, I don’t like people to go wild. But I’m sure that keeping feelings of irritation and annoyance bottled up is a really bad idea. For starters, where would you find a bottle big enough to contain the oceans of anger created by someone calling your favorite band ‘rubbish’ or ‘good dinner-⁠party music’? If you leave all that stuff inside, you’re asking for headaches and other health problems. So, let your emotions out!

Interviewer: Our guest today is Chris Nash, who is widely recognised as one of the most creative photographers in his field. He has held over 40 exhibitions of his dance photographs worldwide and has worked with world renowned dance companies and choreographers, and my first question is: what inspired you to become a photographer?

Chris: I kind of came at it from an odd angle. I was studying fine art at college and as part of the course we spent a week in the darkroom. I found it a bit like magic watching the pictures develop. At the time, I was making a lot of big pieces of sculpture and because I didn't have anywhere to store them, I would have to take photographs of them and then destroy the sculptures. This was a bit heartbreaking, really, so I took real pride in the images and gradually began to develop a greater interest in photography.

Interviewer: Did you have any formal training?

Chris: Not really. I spent more and more time in the darkroom. The tutors were the artists making work that was photographic based. The darkroom technician at the college was great. He was a professional photographer and introduced me to John, the photographer I assisted when I left college. I wanted to do things and John would tell me what I would need, what equipment, what books to read. I kind of taught myself, but he was there to help with any questions I had. The best way of learning is doing.

Interviewer: You just said you worked as an assistant. Is this a good way into that career?

Chris: Yes, absolutely! In fact, I think it is the best way. When you see a photographer working on the job, you come to realise, get a clear idea of what photography is about. You have to deal with a lot of talented people: models, performers, makeup artists, etc. All of them have their particular habits and eccentricities. You need to be able to draw the best out of them and to be really patient. Ideally, when you are at college, you are taught all the basic techniques, but when you come out there is a whole lot of other stuff to learn.

Interviewer: What was your first camera or the first photo you took?

Chris: A really cheap plastic camera. I had that when I was twelve, and then I bought a single lens camera when I got to college. Then I went back to a plastic camera. I saw this exhibition where a photographer had to use a really cheap camera called a Diana. It had a cheap plastic lens on it, which made everything go fuzzy and dreamy. I wanted to get the same effect, so I went to a lot of markets to try and pick up a second-⁠hand camera. I had two which I would carry around with me.

Interviewer: When did you become interested in dance?

Chris: It was while I was studying in London. At that time the dance centre was at a college, so I met a lot of dance students and saw a bit of contemporary dance. I thought this would make a great subject for photography, so I encouraged one of the dance students to go into the studio and let me take some photographs. I was fascinated by the results and sent the pictures into a competition and I won. I won 50 pounds worth of photographic materials. That got the ball rolling. This was about 1979.

Interviewer: Do you go to dance performances of the people you photograph?Chris: Yes, but not very often. The way I work is a bit back to front. When I take pictures, it's usually way in advance of the actual piece being created. Working with the dancers, I can only imagine what the future performance will be like, and it is interesting to find out if the work I have done corresponds to the real play. So, sometimes I will go and see the premiere. It is important for me to see if the photographs make any sense and if the piece is how it was originally described to me.

Interviewer: What do you enjoy most about your career?

Chris: With the exhibitions I've done, I've got to do lot's of travelling. I've got trips abroad on shoots, which can be a great thing. Also, I have really enjoyed working with dancers and working with creative people. Dancers always have a lot of energy and are always active. When you ask them to do things, all those little directions, they have absolutely no objections. When you work with other people, who don't have the physical training, it can be difficult to work in the same way. I love going to see dance performances, but it's different when you work with dancers. It's right there with you and it's really exciting, that's what I love.

Int: You probably have heard about Ian Fleming, who was the first to create the famous spy James Bond. Another writer, Raymond Benson, continued Fleming's book series about Bond. Now Raymond has retired from writing Bond books, but is willing to share his experience. So, Raymond, when did you first start reading Ian Fleming’s novels about James Bond?

Raymond Benson: I first saw one of the James Bond movies, "Goldfinger", in the cinema when I was 9 years old and I was blown away. I immediately started reading whatever Bond books I could get my hands on. By the time I was 11 I had read them all even though I was too young at the time to fully comprehend them. I re-⁠read them again around the time I was in high school, and that’s when I figured out what was so good about these books and I’ve re-⁠read them several times since.

Int: You’ve been involved in the Bond fan community for a long time. How has it changed over the years?

RB: The Internet has changed it in many ways. Back in the 70s and 80s, there wasn’t a whole lot that could bring fans together and that’s the thing the Internet has done for them. In the past there were only fan clubs that published Bond magazines and some of the bigger cities held conventions where fans could meet each other more or less frequently. Now that the fans have the Internet they have created millions of Bond websites.

Int: Are you still a Bond fan?

RB: Of course! But it’s different now. I will still see the films as they come out and probably read the books if and when they are published. But the days of me writing articles about Bond are gone. I like to think I’ve moved on. There are plenty of other things that keep me engaged. I’m a huge fan of many different things, from various types of music and films to other authors and genres.

Int: Do you think Ian himself would have found the popularity of the series unexpected? *

RB: Yes. He didn’t think they would last so long. Unfortunately, he only saw the first two films and never got to enjoy the huge success that Bond brought others. As he once said, ‘It’s all been such a joke.’ However, I don’t think he would have appreciated the way James Bond is portrayed now, the way they’ve made him more politically correct, a ‘nicer’ guy, so to speak.

Int: Although the era of the cold war is over and spies are slowly becoming a thing of the past, do you think the public will ever lose an interest in James Bond?

RB: They don’t show any sign of doing so. The same can be said concerning fiction and movies about spies in general. You see, spies are not necessarily linked to the cold war  — we had spies in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and we have spies today. Spies will never be a thing of the past. There will always be something for Bond to do.

Int: How does it feel not to be writing Bond now? What have you been doing with yourself in the past two years?

RB: Well, for seven years the job gave me the opportunity to travel the world, meet lots of people, and get my name into the publishing world. The income wasn’t what people sometimes think it was. You’d be surprised how many people automatically assume I was making millions of dollars. But I made the same amount of money as I would have made at an office job. Now that it’s over, I have to find ways to supplement the writing income. There are days when I miss the job, but overall I’m relieved not to have that Bond thing hanging over me.

Int: Do you have any advice for the next writer, whoever it may be?

RB: Make sure you’ve got a thick skin and stay away from Bond websites! Don’t get me wrong, the fans are very valuable to the Bond industry and I say God bless them all  — even the ones that didn’t like my work. I certainly didn’t expect everyone to. One must understand that it’s a much tougher job than it seems. The pressure to produce on a timely basis is immense. It’s a balancing act between pleasing the publishers, the readers and pleasing oneself.

Presenter: John, you’re one of very few major designers who are publicly committed to being fur-⁠free.

John: I haven’t used fur in my collections for over 16 years. I haven’t used leather for probably almost as long.

Presenter: What’s your opinion about using artificial animal products, like fur and leather, for example? They look so much like real fur that people might get the wrong idea.

John: You’re absolutely right. The technology has advanced so much that you’re able to get the look and feel of real fur. And also leather  — with leather, even more than with fur, the technological alternative is so obvious that there is no argument about it. It’s more durable and the price..., well, it varies a lot, sometimes it can cost as much as real leather. But the problem is that you’re propagating the idea that fur is acceptable by wearing it, because a lot of people can’t tell what is real and what is not real. You know, I’d refuse to use even artificial fur, but I can’t because of my clients, for whom fur is a status symbol.

Presenter: Is fur still a big deal in fashion? It seemed to go out of fashion for a while.

John: I know. I just got back from an appointment uptown. The weather was so nice I decided to walk down Fifth Avenue. The amount of furs that I saw on people and the amount of fur trim  — whether on men’s jackets or baubles hanging from hats to full length coats  — is surprising. And as an expert in this field, I can tell what is fake and what’s not, and the amount of real fur out there is shocking.

Presenter: I think your fight for cruelty-⁠free fashion is really tough. What about your opponents?

John: There are a lot of them. For example, the Scandinavian fur industry is one of many. It keeps trying to bring furs back into fashion. They educate young designers about the different animal furs available, giving them furs free, and helping them integrate fur into their designs. I’m actively engaging with young designers as well but in a different manner. In addition to my own participation in the ‘Cool vs. Cruel’ design contests, I’m a guest lecturer at some very prestigious city design schools. This semester I’m challenging students to create a collection ‘without any animal products’ at all.

Presenter: So are only industries like the Scandinavian fur one responsible for fur in fashion or are there any other reasons?

John: Of course, there’s a financial aspect to it. You know, I could have got millions of dollars in fur licensing by now. I could be rich. I would be able to live a much better lifestyle than I’m living right now if I had taken these offers. But I sleep in peace at night knowing that I'm not part of that. Then there's also this, you know, ‘well why should I worry about animals’ attitude with a lot of people who are in fashion. I think this is a major problem here. They only think about themselves, and their reputations. They are self-⁠obsessed. They are the worst!

Presenter: What do you think are some ways we can get the fashion-⁠wearing public and designers to care?

John: I think just constantly making them aware of the cruelty involved. Just a continuous bombardment with information. I believe in protesting without violence, of course, that’s exactly what we’re trying to fight against  — violence against animals. It’s a slow process which could be compared, maybe to..., for example, to the long-⁠lasting fight of black people for their rights. A hundred years ago people also thought that black people shouldn’t have the rights of white people. And 30 years ago people thought that smoking was okay for you. It’s all a matter of becoming a more advanced society and more caring individuals.

Presenter: John, are you a vegetarian?

John: You know, I’m trying to become a vegetarian. But having been brought up in a traditional way, it’s always a battle. I eat red meat once in a while. Now and then I also have chicken. I think today vegetarian food is available not only for well-⁠to-⁠do people but for everybody. The problem is dietary habits you have had since your early childhood. They are difficult to change. I know it’s a slow process, but I hope by the end of this year I’ll have completely cut meat out.

Presenter: John, what first made you aware of the cruelty involved in fur?

John: I think any intelligent person, no matter how old he or she is, realizes there’s death involved with this type of fashion. And you read about it and just become aware of how savage this industry is. When I was a young designer, I had a bunch of fur, which I used in one of my collections. And I thought, ‘Oh how beautiful, how fabulous!’ My clients also admired the collection. But then I became aware of what goes on, and I guess, more mature as an individual and a more of a caring person about the environment and the lives of helpless animals. It’s really depressing to realize that we aren’t doing enough to protect the environment. Maybe I even shouldn’t be showing fake fur. With the technology today artificial fur looks so real that by wearing it you are advertising it. I would like to help as much as I can with any of the organizations that want to help protect animals, including vocal protests as well as financially.

Interviewer: So, Kara, your family moved to the United States when you were about eight, and you had already been attending an ordinary school in Mexico and started learning Spanish as your native language. As far as I know, there was nobody in the family who could speak English. So, when your parents got a resident’s permit they considered the situation thoroughly and started attending a language course at elementary level in Mexico to have a better chance of getting a job in the States. And you started learning English at school with a bilingual program only when you moved to the US, didn’t you? Was it difficult? How did you feel?

Kara: You know, like many other children, I was really scared of not being able to communicate with strangers. But coming at an early age like that can make things much easier. Children learn differently. The child’s brain is like a sponge  — it absorbs everything around it. A child doesn’t even know why he or she is doing this. When it comes to learning languages children seem to be more comfortable with sounds and intonation than adults. He says a word three times and it’s his forever. He picks up words and makes sentences, and it doesn’t matter what language he uses  — the first or the second... or maybe the third. He learns them using the same method.

Int: Oh, and what did you think about bilingual education in the United States?

Kara: The school I happened to go to had a great bilingual program. They actually helped us to continue our Spanish speaking education both in reading and writing, which was great. But a lot of kids who were born and raised speaking Spanish, are deprived of that because most schools in the US don’t have bilingual programs. Once these students start school and start learning English they stop speaking Spanish in the family. Partially because they want to fit into the English speaking environment as quickly as possible. In a couple of years they cannot read or write Spanish.

Int: Now, you’ve also taken classes in French in high school. Do you think it was easier to learn French through a textbook or to learn English being thrown into the United States and having to learn it?

Kara: I think learning a second language made it much easier to jump into a third language. You already sort of have a foundation for a new language environment. But it depends a lot on the teachers and the way they teach the language because I can read textbooks and try to understand what they are teaching. However, it’s a lot easier when I have a real expert in front of me who knows the language, who can answer my questions and not only that: an expert I can listen to and hear the pronunciation and make sure that I’m doing it correctly.

Int: Kara, in your family setting, when you are having family get-⁠togethers, do you normally speak English or Spanish or is it a mix?

Kara: It’s definitely a mix; some people call it, Span- glish. I have some younger relatives who speak English; they were raised here and speak it well. So sometimes we feel more comfortable speaking in English. But there are a lot of my relatives who moved here when they were old, and never had an opportunity to learn English  — therefore I speak only Spanish to them. There are also times when talking to a certain person in English in school or in shops, I suddenly forget a word or it pops up into my head faster in Spanish, so I go from English to Spanish and then back and that’s when we call it Spanglish, just because it’s a little mixture of both.

Int: And what about your nephews and nieces? I know they were bom here in the United States. How is their Spanish?

Kara: Well, that was actually something we often talked about in our family because we didn’t want them to lose that part of, you know, their heritage and their culture. They have been surrounded by English since they were born and started speaking it when they were about two years old. But we wanted them to speak Spanish too, so we decided we would mostly talk to them in Spanish, especially for the first five years of their life. Because when they start school they come home and they suddenly just speak English and don’t want to speak Spanish anymore. So we try really hard to speak Spanish around them, at least at home.

Int: Kara, being bilingual you have a lot more choices than, say, I do with things like movies, music, books. When you go to the store and buy a book, do you normally buy it in English or in Spanish or does it just depend on the book?

Kara: I think it depends not only on the book; it depends on the mood. You know, there are times when I really feel that I forget certain things if I don’t speak enough Spanish, so then I go and buy a Spanish book so that I can keep up on that. I sometimes buy books by foreign authors that are translated into Spanish if they are really interesting. But, you know, there are times when I just want to read a really good book and the translation is not exact. So if the book is written by an American or English writer, I buy it in English just because I want the real thing.

Presenter: With us in the studio today we have the owner of famous British Vintage Inns. Good afternoon, Mr. Mitchell.

Michael Mitchell: Good afternoon, but, please, call me Michael.

Presenter: So, Michael, what is so special about Vintage Inns for Englishmen or tourists?

Michael Mitchell: I must say one of our greatest advantages is that we are in really prime places. Imagine a summer’s day, a river gently flowing past as you enjoy a light lunch or an evening meal with friends. Or, maybe, it is winter and you sit in front of a log fire. Our inns are always in a quaint village in the heart of the English countryside which makes it attractive for both nostalgic British people and enthusiastic tourists.

Presenter: As I understand, most of your inns have their own gardens.

Michael Mitchell: Yes, it is certainly true. They are every bit as pleasant as the places the inns are in  — ideal for a meal in fine weather, which is, of course, seasonal.

Presenter: Still, competition is high in your sphere. Being not so close to centers of big cities, what do you do to make sure people will drive specially to you?

12 Анг. яз., 25 нар.

Michael Mitchell: Actually, I do nothing special to attract potential customers. You see, I do not have to as the inns are generally located in places worth visiting and many are close to enchanting walks. Very often there is a Vintage Inn close to a stately home or a historic village or another tourist attraction. What could be a better way to spend a day off with your family? Even London pubs cannot offer this.

Presenter: Any chain store risks becoming boring for clients as they all look exactly the same. What do you think about this opinion?

Michael Mitchell: I’d like to say that every Vintage Inn is different, but they are all the same. All our inns will definitely offer the same high quality menu and standards of service. All our landlords and ladies share the same passion for ‘getting it right’. However, each Vintage Inn has its own unique character. You will discover thatched roofs, soft, natural slate, buildings of hewn stone. There are Tudor, Georgian, Victorian and many more styles of architecture, including modern ones.

Presenter: What about food in Vintage Inns?

Michael Mitchell: What we offer is best described as leaning towards traditional home style cooking but with a contemporary twist. Still, we do allow the best of great food from around the world to add a little influence on what we do. Many of our dishes are our own creation  — and all dishes are designed to look tempting and great on the plate.

Presenter: Is there a difference between an afternoon menu and an evening one?

Michael Mitchell: Well, on working days at lunch time you can choose anything from a range of sandwiches to full three-⁠course meals. Our evening meals also offer lighter choices but includes fish, chicken, pasta, salads, steaks and pies too. On Sundays we include a choice of traditional roasts and puddings.

Presenter: What is your booking policy? You must have a long line of people wishing to visit your places!

Michael Mitchell: I know many people prefer to book for their Friday dinner well beforehand. Nevertheless, in fact, at Vintage Inns you cannot book! That is because we are always ready to welcome you  — seven days a week. Just turn up and we will make you feel welcome, even if you choose to come at the busiest time. As soon as a table is vacant, you can have it.

Presenter: Thank you, Michael.

Michael Mitchell: Pleasure.

Callum: Hello, I’m Callum Robinson and this is Entertainment. Our topic today is films and film festivals. You may have heard of the Venice Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival, glorious occasions with A-⁠list celebrities from the movie world turning out to promote their latest projects. A festival you might not know is the Portobello Film Festival which is currently taking place in Portobello, an area of West London. It’s had its own independent film festival for a number of years and to learn more about it I’ve invited the festival’s director Jonathan Barnett. So, Jonathan, could you tell us about when and how the festival started.

Jonathan Barnett: Well, it started in 1996 because even back in those days there were people making very low budget films often using video equipment and there wasn’t really anywhere for them to show their films so we thought it would be nice to provide a platform for these filmmakers. We had the mad idea at the time of showing every film that was submitted and we also decided not to charge because I suppose at heart we weren’t rabid capitalists.

Callum: So the festival started as a way of giving unknown filmmakers somewhere to show their films. As Jonathan said, to give them a platform. Then I’ve got a question. How many films are being shown and how do you manage to pay for it, for running the festival, I mean?

Jonathan Barnett: This year we’re showing 700 films. The money comes in from funding mostly, we get money from people and organizations like Film London and the Arts Council and we also get different kinds of support from sponsors. So we don’t have to pay for advertising, we don’t have to pay for launch parties, we don’t have to pay for prizes.

Callum: Over the first three weeks of August 700 films are being shown as part of the Portobello Film Festival. What kind of films can be seen? Are they just short student films or does the festival attract big names as well? Here’s the festival’s director Jonathan Barnett.

Jonathan Barnett: The actual films we’re showing are a lot better than anything you’ll see on TV or on multiplexes and it’s everything from student films and we also get stuff from top filmmakers like, for instance, John Malkovich. So I think because we’re a festival that has a reputation for a certain amount of integrity and also being a little bit out on a limb we attract the big names as well as people who are just starting out. The first year of the festival we had Guy Ritchie’s first film which was called the "Hard Case", which was fantastic, it’s exactly the same as Lock Stock and Snatch but he was kind of formulating his ideas and it was a short film.

Callum: As far as I know, the Portobello Film Festival runs until the 21st of August as well as films there are other arts events, a variety of fantastic concerts, exhibitions and presentations. You want the festival to be more than just for film, don’t you?

Jonathan Barnett: Yes, what we want it to be is, we want it to be a bit like a kind of cross between Glastonbury festival and Edinburgh festival, but for free and set in Portobello Road.

Callum: We also hope it would become a big arts festival  — amazing, unforgettable and a good start for young talents!

That’s all from Entertainment this week.

Presenter: With us in the studio today we have the owner of famous British Vintage Inns. Good afternoon, Mr. Mitchell.

Michael Mitchell: Good afternoon, but, please, call me Michael.

Presenter: So, Michael, what is so special about Vintage Inns for Englishmen or tourists?

Michael Mitchell: I must say one of our greatest advantages is that we are in really prime places. Imagine a summer’s day, a river gently flowing past as you enjoy a light lunch or an evening meal with friends. Or, maybe, it is winter and you sit in front of a log fire. Our inns are always in a quaint village in the heart of the English countryside which makes it attractive for both nostalgic British people and enthusiastic tourists.

Presenter: As I understand, most of your inns have their own gardens.

Michael Mitchell: Yes, it is certainly true. They are every bit as pleasant as the places the inns are in  — ideal for a meal in fine weather, which is, of course, seasonal.

Presenter: Still, competition is high in your sphere. Being not so close to centers of big cities, what do you do to make sure people will drive specially to you?

Michael Mitchell: Actually, I do nothing special to attract potential customers. You see, I do not have to as the inns are generally located in places worth visiting and many are close to enchanting walks. Very often there is a Vintage Inn close to a stately home or a historic village or another tourist attraction. What could be a better way to spend a day off with your family? Even London pubs cannot offer this.

Presenter: Any chain store risks becoming boring for clients as they all look exactly the same. What do you think about this opinion?

Michael Mitchell: I’d like to say that every Vintage Inn is different, but they are all the same. All our inns will definitely offer the same high quality menu and standards of service. All our landlords and ladies share the same passion for ‘getting it right’. However, each Vintage Inn has its own unique character. You will discover thatched roofs, soft, natural slate, buildings of hewn stone. There are Tudor, Georgian, Victorian and many more styles of architecture, including modern ones.

Presenter: What about food in Vintage Inns?

Michael Mitchell: What we offer is best described as leaning towards traditional home style cooking but with a contemporary twist. Still, we do allow the best of great food from around the world to add a little influence on what we do. Many of our dishes are our own creation  — and all dishes are designed to look tempting and great on the plate.

Presenter: Is there a difference between an afternoon menu and an evening one?

Michael Mitchell: Well, on working days at lunch time you can choose anything from a range of sandwiches to full three-⁠course meals. Our evening meals also offer lighter choices but includes fish, chicken, pasta, salads, steaks and pies too. On Sundays we include a choice of traditional roasts and puddings.

Presenter: What is your booking policy? You must have a long line of people wishing to visit your places!

Michael Mitchell: I know many people prefer to book for their Friday dinner well beforehand. Nevertheless, in fact, at Vintage Inns you cannot book! That is because we are always ready to welcome you  — seven days a week. Just turn up and we will make you feel welcome, even if you choose to come at the busiest time. As soon as a table is vacant, you can have it.

Presenter: Thank you, Michael.

Michael Mitchell: Pleasure.

Presenter: With us in the Studio today we have James Smith, a psychologist from the University of North Carolina. Good afternoon, James.

James Smith: Good afternoon. I am really glad to be taking part in this programme  — it is a great honour for me.

Presenter: Thank you. The topic we have for today is familiar to everybody  — this is our dreams. We all have dreams and are dreaming of our dreams coming true if I can put it that way! James knows exactly how to do it. Is that so, James?

James Smith: I think it is. One of the amazing things we have been given as humans is the desire to have dreams and the ability to establish goals to live out those dreams. What makes it even more powerful is our ability not only to dream and pursue those dreams but the cognitive ability to actually lay out a plan and strategies to achieve those dreams. The question is how to do it.

Presenter: Can you define what are our dreams and goals?

James Smith: This is not what you already have or what you have done, but what you want. Have you ever taken time to think over your life values and decide what you really want? Have you ever truly reflected and listened quietly to your heart to see what dreams live within you? Your dreams are there. Everybody has them. They may live right on the surface or be hidden deeply if you are often told sarcastically they are not serious but they are still there.

Presenter: So how do we know what our dreams are?

James Smith: This is an interesting process and it relates primarily to the art of listening. This is not listening to others; it is listening to you. If we listen to others, we hear their plans and dreams and many of them will try to put their dreams and plans on us. If we listen to others, we can never be fulfilled. We will only chase elusive dreams. So we must listen to our own hearts.

Presenter: That seems easy and difficult at the same time. Do you know any practical steps on hearing from our hearts on what our dreams are?

James Smith: Firstly, take time to be quiet. This is something that we do not do enough in this busy world of ours. Schedule some dream time  — no other people, no cell phone or computer. Just you, a pad and a pencil and your thoughts! Think about what thrills you, what you would love to do either for fun or for a living. When you answer these questions, you will find yourself in the "dream zone". Only when we get to this point, we will experience what our dreams are.

Presenter: What should we do next?

James Smith: Secondly, write down all of your dreams as you have them. Do not think of any as too outlandish or foolish  — remember, you are dreaming! Let the thoughts fly and take careful record. Then, prioritize those dreams. Which are most important? Which are most feasible? Which would you love to do the most? Put them in the order in which you will actually try to attain them. Remember, we are always moving toward action, not just dreaming.

Presenter: What if a person does not find time to do all of this?

James Smith: Here is the big picture: life is too short and when it comes to the end, you can reflect on it either with joy or regret. Those who dream, who set goals and act on them to live out their dreams are those who live lives of joy and have a sense of peace.

Presenter: What is your final piece of advice?

James Smith: Remember about the dreams and goals that are born out of your heart and mind. These are the goals that are unique to you and come from who you were created to be and gifted to become. Your specific goals are what you want to attain because they will make your life joyful!

Presenter: Thank you, James.

James Smith: My pleasure.

Again, I’m not sure how this works in any other part of the world. At my university we have a student-⁠elected body of representatives called "The Union". It is a quasipolitical body, elected from the student body and meant to represent the student body as a whole. However, I have doubts about their ability to represent me, and any other mature student at that university.

Let me begin by saying that this year’s President likes to be called "Gravy". The behavior of the Union on the whole reflects this level of maturity. This year I ran for the office, I promised someone that I would run. A random meeting with next year’s President and a rant about how ineffectual I thought the Union was brought this about, and I must say, my mates gave me a lot of support. However, I did not make the effort to canvass, I did not want the position.

Yes, if more mature and experienced people do not join, what hope is there of this body being more representative? I should feel worse than I do about my lax efforts, but there is no way in the world I could sit in an office with these people without ranting and raving at them. How can a body of 19 and 20 year olds represent a student body that ranges from 18 to 80? In the UK, more and more mature students are returning to study every year. If the body that is meant to represent them discusses issues like the ethics of every single product in the Union shop, or whether not allowing Al-⁠Qaeda to operate from the university is discrimination or not ... they are simply not represented. How can I present problems specific to a mature student to someone with little or no life experience themselves?

This became evident in a short time and I did not actually take any notice of the elections because these were not elections based on any kind of merit, but on how popular someone is, or how much attention they can draw to themselves during the elections by dressing up. When I see taxpayers’ money wasted on these things (and yes, it is that money that is used) it makes me see red. The Union has a very important job to do, and unfortunately it does not do it very well at all. The Union would perform better as a non-⁠elected body where people with experiences of the issues and methods do the work, rather than young and inexperienced people who want nothing more than a jolly good time with their mates, and something to put on their CV.

I have overheard some people talking about this on occasions. They think that there is something wrong with the situation. In my opinion, there’s definitely something wrong with it.

I never thought that this was what university would be about. I am there for a reason, to learn. I sold my house to finance this degree, it is a pretty major commitment for me, so of course I am going to take it seriously.

Presenter: With us in the studio today we have a girl from the famous Indian tribe  — the Navaho. Could you please introduce yourself to the audience?

Helen: People call me Helen, though it is not my real name. All our names have special meanings; my original name for instance can be translated as ‘dewdrop’ from my native language.

Presenter: That is a beautiful name indeed! Why would one change it?

Helen: You see I had to when I went to school. It was not easy for my teachers and classmates to pronounce it as our system  — I mean the Navaho system  — of vowel sounds is so much different for people around, which makes it problematic both for ear and tongue. The sound of my name was closest to Helen so I put up with that.

Presenter: When people hear your tribe name, they imagine Indian-⁠style tents and horse riding without a saddle. Could you explain what your land and people are like?

Helen: Much about the life of modern Native Americans is not the same as stereotypes may make you believe. Our land is basically a desert, with proper houses scattered everywhere. We no longer live in our traditional teepees. They are only used for religious meetings. We still ride horses as the land is very open. The people are nice and friendly. I live in a small community in New Mexico.

Presenter: Could you tell us about your family?

Helen: Well, mine is very large, with a lot of relatives spread all over the reservation, and some in different cities. I have three brothers, a sister and three sisters-⁠in-⁠law. I’m the youngest of my family. However, it is not a must, not all our families are the same size. They used to be like ours, but not anymore.

Presenter: What is your lifestyle like?

Helen: Again, far from stereotypes. I go out with friends and wear clothes like an ordinary person  — we only wear squaw dresses on certain occasions. I play all types of sports.

Presenter: Do you feel that your traditions are being kept or have they been destroyed, as your people become more influenced by European culture?

Helen: In some families Navaho traditions are kept  — they are in my family. Other families are being influenced by white culture, but I think it is wrong for a Navaho to be completely like a white person. Something truly authentic must remain.

Presenter: Is English your first language?

Helen: When I was a child, I was taught both English and Navaho. Now I have partly forgotten the latter  — I can understand almost anything but speaking or writing may create a problem for me. The elders understand our language best.

Presenter: What do you do on an average weekend?

Helen: I go to Farmington, the nearest large town, and go shopping, eat out, and then go to the movies. A great weekend would be going to the mall where I’d hang out with friends.

Presenter: Have you traveled much? What is your favourite place?

Helen: Yes, I have traveled. My favourite place is Connecticut. I would like to go overseas some day and see how people are there, and what their lifestyle is like. Navaho people are hospitable and we welcome travelers in our land too.

Presenter: Thank you, Helen.

Presenter: With us in the studio today we have Steven Roberts, a world-⁠recognized expert in teaching foreign languages. Good afternoon, Steven.

Steven Roberts: Good afternoon.

Presenter: Steven, everybody wants to speak at least one foreign language. You are constantly in search of new effective ways of teaching a foreign language. What are the most modern ways of improving one’s language skills independently?

Steven Roberts: There are many methods indeed, but the thing I am presently researching is using films as a teacher. Many people feel like watching the original version of a foreign movie they liked. What I offer is a unique educational programme accompanied by the original film in the original language with original subtitles. Our programme is run entirely in a foreign language and instead of classics it introduces slang expressions, new vocabulary, modern grammar, listening comprehension practice as well as comments by native speakers to the audience.

Presenter: That sounds really innovative! Can you please tell us how this idea crossed your mind?

Steven Roberts: Well, when you start communicating with native speakers in a foreign language, you soon decide you are fluent and you have almost accomplished your goal of true bilingualism. However, as soon as you watch a movie in a foreign language, you feel lost. Films are difficult to understand precisely because they are so real world, at least from a linguistic perspective. This may make watching original films very frustrating even for advanced speakers of any language, but the fact remains that there is probably no better source of linguistic input than a good film, if, paradoxically, you could just understand what is being said.

Presenter: It seems to me though, not every learner may find this programme appropriate.

Steven Roberts: True. Movies are a good tool for fluent students. They are ideal for those language learners who fall into the linguistic zone of frustrated fluency discussed earlier. They are designed for upper level learners for the simple reason that they will be most effective as learning tools if you can already understand the language well enough to generally hear where one word ends and another begins. For lower level students, like pre-⁠intermediate or elementary, I would advise to watch films, but not authentic, of course.

Presenter: If a person cannot take part in your programme, but still wants to try using films in their studies, what could you recommend?

Steven Roberts: Find a group of like-⁠minded people and start a film club! The goals of such a club can be to help maintain your language proficiency and to upgrade it as well to give you a chance to enjoy original movies! In 2002 I developed a methodology called "Foreign Languages through Films and Media" which is a copyright and can be got in bookstores or via Internet and used for your club’s shows. Apart from this inexpensive book and some DVDs you will not need anything  — well, of course you will need a place where to meet, watch films and discuss them.

Presenter: For those who would like to join your programme after the interview, will you please give some contact details?

Steven Roberts: Certainly.

I’ve lived in Denmark now for nearly four years, and I’ve changed a lot within this time. I’ve become more fashionable, more cosmopolitan-⁠minded, more... Danish  — if I’m allowed to say that.

But one thing hasn’t changed about me. And that is my inability to cooperate with or understand Danish supermarket culture. As someone who was raised predominantly in the United States, I’ve always been used to grocery stores with a selection of food choices so huge that it’s almost perverted. That and a high level of service. In an American grocery store, one can find a kind of product with a thousand different brandings and types. For example, let’s take the flakes varieties: whole grain frosted flakes, or fat-⁠free frosted flakes. Do I want my cream cheese with low, medium, or full fat? Seedless watermelons or watermelons with seeds? That being said, when I walk into a Danish grocery store I want to burst into tears because I’m so bored with the selection. The variety of cereals consists of Cherrios, Honey-⁠nut Cherrios, and Wheaties. Coco-⁠puffs if I’m lucky. There’re few fruits and vegetables, most rotten. I’m telling you, everything is so boring and plain and demanding of hard kitchen labour that you just wish some American food companies could establish factories here and import some ready made dinners.

I know I should be ashamed of saying this, but I do miss American convenience. In Denmark, making a homemade meal requires at least 30 dollars spent at the grocery store and 2 hours in the kitchen. For instance, at my local grocery store, nothing is allowed to be under 4 dollars. That’s right, it’s called organic and healthy food, free of anything synthetic or "fast"-related. But I do miss synthetic food.

Oh yes, the whole Danish, "do-⁠it-⁠yourself" attitude prevails! Expect to stress while bagging all of your food, as no one will do it for you.

The only way to really understand what I mean is to imagine that if you’ve come from America and you’re used to certain things with service and product selection and then you move here  — it truly is different in Denmark. And I’ve lived elsewhere in Europe (Iceland, England, Spain) and I still find the grocery stores much better and with more selection in those countries.

However, how could anyone take me serious when I say, "I miss synthetic food"? That is purely attempting to be sarcastic, and I see that it is wrong and disgusting that American food is pumped up with so much crap. I really appreciate that in Denmark the food is free of everything artificial and it shows on Danes  — most of them look healthy and fit here. But once in a while I miss the vastness of an American grocery store!

I want to add that I am Danish, was born in Denmark, lived here for 5 years as a child and then moved to America where I lived most of my life. I moved back here a few years ago and I love the country. I speak Danish. I’m not an immigrant in Denmark who is unsatisfied with the way of life here and who should move back to the States. I’m a student and of course it takes 2 hours to make a meal on my own.

Today I bought "The Ecological Calendar" that has peculiar formatting on its title. The calendar is apparently available in a few different formats. The one I’ve bought is a weekly planner for 2007, although it starts at the Winter Solstice, so it includes part of December too. It’s partly in the standard Gregorian format, so I don’t have to worry about making mistakes in it that take away from its usefulness. In 1997, I had a weekly planner where the week started with Monday instead of Sunday, as it does in some countries, and that little change caused a lot of havoc in any kind of scheduling that I tried to do.

However, it pairs the usual Gregorian calendar with a lot of information about the astronomical and seasonal changes that are happening at that time of year, so that you get the feeling of being connected to the grand cycles of nature. What the plants and animals are doing, when you can look for meteor showers, that sort of thing; it’s quite detailed.

This calendar concept is the one that is dear to me. It’s part of what I was trying to accomplish when I was working on my own calendar project called "The Book of Days", which was supposed to give a sense of the passage of time so that each part of the year is meaningful. It would describe the patterns common among all cultures such as the psychological need for relief from the darkest part of winter, and most cultures say that the veil between our world and the other world is thinner at a certain time of the year, even though they don’t all agree on when that is. It would tell about the cycles in nature such as seasons, and any light-⁠hearted contemporary events such as Rabbit Hole Day. It didn’t just list events, it drew connections between them so that you can get a feel for the significance of the current time.

However, "The Book of Days" was a very time-⁠consuming thing to try and work on every day. I’d hoped that it would become a voluntary group project and thus would lessen the load of each contributing individual, but other people seemed to lack interest. I managed it for several months, but it was too much for one person to manage alone. Eventually I had to let them go off it for more important projects. I still want to see something like "The Book of Days". That’s why I’m so glad to see that someone else has executed a similar project, "The Ecological Calendar".

I also like the idea of redefining the scope of time that we humans perceive that I have found in "The Clock of The Long Now", a book I’m in the middle of reading and which has already made a huge impression on me. That book argues that we need to expand our concept of time which looks not only at the present, back into the past and into the future at least a century each, but which also encourages us to learn from the past as well as consider our impact on future generations.

So for 2007, I’ll be completely redefining my perception of time to make it more meaningful, although that’s something I’ve been working on for a while now, since calendars fascinate me.

Sabrina: Hi, Fred. This is almost the end of the year, so tell me, how was your year?

Fred: Oh, I’ve experienced a lot and undertaken a lot of new responsibilities. I’d say my life has changed fundamentally. I became a father and I feel proud and happy about that. I also tried a new job in the construction business. And, you know, I took part in a very unusual project  — it was not connected with finance or business. But it was very rewarding.

Sabrina: What was it?

Fred: I tried working with children, actually, it was amazing.

Sabrina: What was it exactly that you did when you worked with children?

Fred: Basically, it was in... a rehabilitation center for disabled children. I spent two days a week with them  — actually I attended classes with them and just played with them, interacted with them during the day and supervised their weekend activities.

Sabrina: Oh, that sounds really great.

Fred: Yes. It was the first time I had done something like that. It was quite challenging because I was a bit afraid at first. I wasn’t sure how to treat them. I wasn’t sure what exactly I should do. There was something about those children that made them different. One minute they were depressed and the next they became very excited. But the instructors were very nice and they explained that, you know, I had to be myself and treat them like any other children, like normal children, and that’s what I tried my best to do.

Sabrina: So you must have learned so much. It probably changed your attitude to a lot of things.

Fred: Yes, it has. It has really changed me because I have more patience now. Earlier, I mean, I used to be quite stubborn and used to make decisions irrationally. But now I’ve calmed down and I always question myself before doing something, so I think, in that way I’ve completely changed.

Sabrina: Could you say that what you’ve learned through your experience of working with children has also helped you in other areas of your life?

Fred: Apart from developing a more patient side, I’ve mastered some nursing skills. You know, now I know how to take care of my baby son.

Sabrina: OK, I feel that I can learn a lot from you and maybe I should do the same thing  — become a more rounded person.

Fred: You should.

Sabrina: Well, Fred. I’m just curious. What is it like being a father?

Fred: Ah, right. I think- I should first talk about what it was like not being a father, being me and not being a father. I was a very lazy person. I was an incredible time waster. I would have all this free time to make use of and I would probably just sit in front of TV, or I’d probably go to a pub  — I loved spending time with my friends in the warm and friendly atmosphere of a pub. Anyway, I took time for granted. I had so much of it. Once I became a father, suddenly my time disappeared but strangely enough, it taught me to appreciate the time I have. My time is very limited now. I am a lot busier at work and I have more responsibilities than ever before. I also have to help- my wife at home and make some time for charity activities. I actually make much more use of my time now than ever before. And I still go to the sports centre and play paint ball with my friends.

Sabrina: Yeah, so when you first have a kid do you lose a lot of sleep?

Fred: Well, something that carried over from my previous lifestyle was an ability to sleep very well whatever the circumstances and, um, fortunately I have a very understanding wife so if the child wakes up during the night, she looks after him and doesn’t wake me up. I have to work hard during the day and need some rest, at least at night. I am never home before 8 in the evening. Anyway, I’m such a good sleeper that even if he cried for hours, it wouldn’t wake me up. I don’t think there are many fathers like me. I’ve spoken to some other fathers and they don’t have the same talent as I do.

Sabrina: What a lucky man you are!

Presenter: For half a year, Sharon Trollope is a stay-⁠at-⁠home mother. But the rest of the time, she’s an aid worker in desperate situations around the globe. We asked her to describe how her family copes with the change.

Sharon: For every working mother, that moment when you open the front door at the end of a long, hard day, and see your children hurtling down the hallway towards you it makes your heart skip. But for me it’s extra special because by the time I reach my front door it is often more than a month since I saw them.

For almost three years, I’ve been on call as a British Red Cross aid worker. The phone rings and  — sometimes within 48 hours  — I’m on a flight to wherever my skills are needed most. For up to six months of every year, I’m on the other side of the world, working in desperate situations. Meanwhile, home alone in the Cotswolds, my husband Julian copes heroically with a sudden switch to life as a single dad to Rowan, who is 11, and Finnian, who is seven, and Orla, six.

Although I try never to be away for longer than five weeks, that is still a painfully long time to be separated from them all, and I know it’s very hard on them too. Julian does a fantastic job on his own with them  — while holding down a job as a computer scientist  — but five weeks is as long as any of us can manage, practically and emotionally.

At the most recent school parents’ evening, Orla’s teacher took me to one side and said that she had been very withdrawn during my last stint in Haiti. I thought I felt as guilty as it was possible to feel about it, but at that moment my heart sank to a new low.

Presenter: So, how do you feel about it?

Sharon: I do feel guilty about leaving them, about not being there and not talking to them every day.

Presenter: Then why do you do it to them, and to your poor husband, and yourself?

Sharon: The answer is because I have no doubt  — on all but the most exhausting days in the field  — that the benefits to us all far outweigh the downsides.

After my family, aid work is what I am most passionate about. I have a degree in development studies and a Masters in irrigation, and soon as I graduated I started working abroad. But then, later in my twenties, I met Julian and realised that I wanted to have a family, I decided I’d better switch from aid work to teaching, to make it possible. I taught for a short while but my heart was never in it. When Rowan, our eldest was about one, I got a job with the British government in Botswana, so we moved there as a family for a year.

With just one, very small, child, it was possible to live that life. But as our second and third children came along, I felt as though I had to accept that aid work and motherhood simply don’t mix. I was unemployed for a number of years and although I loved being a mum, I felt that having lost my work I’d lost a really big part of who I was.

Presenter: Was it easy, to find yourself again?

Sharon: Well, even if you’re keen to return to the field, as a woman with children it’s very hard to find agencies willing to take you on. The job requires the kind of flexibility and commitment a lot of men and women with families would struggle to meet. But Julian saw how important it was for me to get back to doing what I do. I was qualified to do it and, until I became a mother I had relished the challenges that every assignment threw at me.

He saw the effect that not being able to do it was having on me. It changed me. My confidence was sapped and I felt so frustrated. Thankfully, he didn’t want having had kids to cut me off from such an important part of my life. We didn’t want to set that example for the kids. He wanted to find a way to make it work, and without his support it just wouldn’t have been possible.

Grandmother Elaine

Interviewer: My grandmother grew up on a farm in Nebraska. I wanted to interview her not only because she has a great story, but also to learn more about her past. I will try to make it a real interview, not just a chat with a grandma. So, my first question: What is your name and birthplace?

Grandmother: I go by Elaine, but my real name is Helen Elaine. I was born April 8, 1933 in Guide Rock, Nebraska on a farm. I had an older sister and two younger brothers.

Interviewer: Why do you go by your middle name?

Grandmother: My mother, my dad’s sister, and my uncle’s wife were all named Helen. Can you imagine the chaos! I chose to be called Elaine so that I wouldn’t be confused during family get-⁠togethers.

Interviewer: What was your school like?

Grandmother: Well, the stories you hear your parents tell were actually true... we walked three miles to school and three miles back! During the summer the walk wasn’t bad, but in winter our feet would freeze! When we got to the one-⁠room schoolhouse, I remember my teacher would always bring me a bucket of warm water to soak my feet. Boy, was I lucky! Since it only had one room, we interacted with the older kids, which was nice because we got to hear them recite.

Interviewer: When you got home, did you have chores to do?

Grandmother: Of course! We all had specific tasks. My sister and I cleaned the dining room, which had hardwood floors like every room in the house. I was always upset because I had to wax the floors on my hands and knees and dust the furniture! My sister, since she was older, only had to dust the shelves. After our chores were done, we sat down as a family to eat. Then, I had to dry the dishes. My father always sent me to my room for bed at 6:30. I was never able to figure out what you would call my room. I guess you could call it a closet!

Interviewer: What was high school like?

Grandmother: Well, we finally had a bus to ride that I caught every morning at seven a.m. In high school there were no athletics for girls. Boys had football, basketball and track. There were school dances, but not quite as fancy as the ones you have. I never really had enough rhythm to dance, but I tried!

Interviewer: Did you ever get to go to college?

Grandmother: My parents never mentioned college to me because we had no money. After high school I worked at the Farmers Union Creamery as a secretary. One day my boss came to see me and told me that I was going to

college. I was confused and said, "No, I’m not, we can’t afford it." He made the arrangements and drove me to a college 150 miles away. I still do not know where the money came from. My major was home economics education. As a student, I worked at the creamery, and also at the cafeteria at the school.

Interviewer: Did you follow through with your teaching career?

Grandmother: Yes, I was a home economics teacher for 30 years.

Interviewer: After all your struggles, did you build a family?

Grandmother: Yes, I married a nice man and had five lovely kids and I now have nine beautiful grandchildren. I am very proud of my family. There were many funny times when my children were growing up. Once your Uncle Danny told your Aunt Cathy that the cigarette lighter in the car smelled

like cherries and she burnt her nose. At the time those moments weren’t as funny as they are now when we look back on them. All of this was worth the problems I struggled with growing up.

Presenter: My guests tonight are Robert and Amy who play the main characters in the TV series "The Royal". The couple married two years ago although like their screen pair they didn’t seem destined to be together.

Presenter: So, Robert and Amy, how did your romance actually begin?

Robert: It was never anything as formal as me asking Amy to eat out in an expensive restaurant. We worked together every day and it was nothing, nothing but a friendship for many, many months. Then, I can honestly say, one day we just looked at each other and we knew. I had a feeling as if I saw Amy for the first time. Love’s a funny thing, isn’t it? You don’t have to use words to know what’s happening. We just knew one day and went from there.

Presenter: Robert, how did you propose?

Robert: I booked a surprise trip to Madrid and I sort of knew that I was going to propose that week, but I had no idea where I would actually do it. Then we passed this most fabulous square with amazing fountains in a taxi and I thought, ‘That’s it’. Later on, I suggested that we walk back

after lunch. We got to the square and I proposed to her by the fountains. I so wanted to do it correctly, suitably for the purpose. I was incredibly nervous  — what if she said ‘No?’ I was delighted when she said ‘Yes’. It was wonderful.

Presenter: In next season’s opening episode of the Royal, your characters marry. Did it evoke memories of your own wedding?

Robert: There was a huge explosion during our screen wedding  — luckily for us the incident only happened on the screen! But both were fabulous settings. On screen it was a church in Scarborough. Our own wedding was in the sculpture gallery at Woburn. There was a feeling of dejavu, because we had a lot of people at our wedding who also appeared to be guests at the screen wedding ceremony. So many of the cast came to our wedding  — and Amy’s parents Liz and Mike were supporting artists on The Royal wedding,

so it was a bit weird.

Presenter: Amy, my next question is to you. What is it about each other that you love?

Amy: Our family backgrounds are very similar  — he’s one of four children and I’m one of five- and we have similar aspirations for family life. He is the kindest man I know and a friend I can rely on. He is the best in every way. He’s open-⁠minded and I’m trying very hard to be as open-⁠minded as he is.

Presenter: Do you enjoy working together?

Amy: I was always close to my mum and when I was at school I used to be so sad about leaving her for the day. I used to fantasise about her being a teacher or the headmistress at school so I could be with her. I sort of compare working with Bob to that. It’s the greatest comfort to work with him.

Presenter: You are from a theatrical family, Amy. Were you always going to act?

Amy: My parents were entertaining at Butlins and my sister Kate is an actress, my brother Ted is a comedian, so entertainment is in the family. We’ve all gone into the entertainment business somehow. My parents have always been understanding and supportive of their children. They encouraged us to explore our own interestes but in spite of all this I think I would have been treated as a failure by them if I hadn’t acted!

Presenter: I know you have recently become a mother. What is the best thing about parenthood?

Amy: I’ve always played the role of a mum in my films and actually being one is everything I have always wanted. It’s a most fantastic thing. I wake up early every day only to make sure that this little miniature person is there. It’s a joy. Whatever life throws at you, having a child, your little best friend beside you, means you can get through anything.

Presenter: And what does the future hold?

Amy: More of the same, we hope. More of The Royal and more children!

Int: You live in the countryside now, don’t you, Susan? Are there any big differences between the way of life in villages and towns?

Susan: The kind of social life is different  — like, in the countryside people tend to invite people around to their houses much more. In cities people were more inclined to meet in a pub or club. However, everything is changing.

Int: Is that more to do with age perhaps?

Susan: Maybe, but I also think it’s because people are a lot more interested in cooking. They pick up exotic recipes, make specialties themselves and love sharing them with friends or neighbours. Now it’s more widespread.

Int: Oh, yes, everything is changing now… Even the shops seem to be changing. The larger shops are taking over from the smaller. How do you feel about it?

Susan: I do like to support small shops. It would be a real shame if they disappeared. I mean, most people buy just about everything in the supermarkets which are more comfortable. Small shop business is decaying… It also means you don’t have the same social contact when you go to big shops. People are too busy and I sometimes feel really annoyed because many of them are indifferent to what they are doing or buying.

Int: You were telling me before that you like poking around the smaller shops and bookstores. Have you read any good book lately, Susan?

Susan: Ah yes, I’ve just finished a book called Birdsong. It’s all about war. I think it’s so well written! It really does give you an incredible impression of how horrific any war is…

Int: I thought we knew everything about war…

Susan: There were things I had known about before but it’s just the way the author puts it that it really brings war close to you much more. I viewed war somewhat differently. Somebody told me that they’ve made a film of it. I can’t imagine it being as good as the book.

Int: Have you ever seen a film that was as good as the book?

Susan: Probably not… If I go to see a film because I really liked the book, then I am inevitably disappointed by the film. I thought "The Remains of the Day" was a good film. It was very popular back then. But the book is so good that the film still wasn’t as good as the book.

Int: Were you disappointed by the screen adaptation?

Susan: Oh, no. But I didn’t go to see it again. I’ve read the novel twice, though. I didn’t choose to, I was somewhere and I had nothing better to do. And the second time I read it because it was the only book I had.

Int: I think, people seem to be reading less and less these days. The only time they can read is on the way to and from work… How about you Susan?

Susan: I don’t use public transport much… But if I’ve got a good book to read I find it more relaxing than watching TV. In fact, it depends on the family. Although I grew up in a family where parents didn’t read books, they mainly watched TV, my mum took me to the library and I got books out. My parents inspired me to take up reading as a hobby when I was quite young.

Int: How do you choose a book to read?

Susan: Normally I choose a book my friends advise me to read.

Int: Do you read book reviews?

Susan: Most of the time… you get these reviews that are from decent newspapers and you buy and read the book… and you realize it’s by no means what you’ve expected it to be. The plot is primitive, the descriptions are poor… and the characters are …eh... just dull. But all of them have got really good reviews. Sometimes I think it’s because one writer writes a review of another writer and they are all praising each other so that everyone’s books get sold.

Int: Susan, if you went to the desert island, what books would you take with you?

Susan: I don’t know… Maybe something funny, something I can re-⁠read a number of times. Honestly… I’d take one of the gossip books about celebrities. Even though they are trashy and people laugh at me for reading them, I’ve never kept secret of my preference.

Int: What’s the attraction with gossip?

Susan: Well, most people love gossips whether they admit it or not. I think we are all naturally curious about other people but…but particularly we like to find out some private things about celebrities.

One of the most popular reality TV series in the UK these days is called "Come dine with me". It is shown throughout the week with four (or sometimes five) individuals each cooking a meal for the others in their own homes. Each meal is voted for by the other guests and the person who collects the highest score from the other guests at the end of the week wins a £1000 prize.

It is successful for a number of reasons. First of all there are the recipes. Each guest is doing all they can to impress the others by planning their evening as host, carefully selecting and preparing ingredients. Generally the funniest part of the program is when the one cooking is in their own kitchen panicking and trying, often unsuccessfully, to cook overambitious dishes. They frantically turn the pages of recipe books or make frantic phone calls for advice while outwardly trying to appear calm and in control. Sometimes dishes break, or roasts get turned to ash in an overheated oven or the soup ends up on the floor; often accompanied by memorable but not necessarily polite use of the English language.

The next piece of TV joy is being in each person’s house, seeing their decor and lay out and enjoying them trying to outshine their fellow guests. Why people are so fascinated by other peoples’ houses I cannot begin to guess. But I have to confess that I am as nosey as everyone else.

Finally there is the meal and you get to hear all the conversation (public and private) between the guests as they praise or condemn their host. Finally comes the judging (marks out of 10) when each member of the house party privately gives the host cook a score. The programme runs through the week starting on a Monday and finishing with the final result being announced on a Friday. Some of the "stars" of the programme go on to become national favourites and some of them even attain minor celebrity status.

There is also a celebrity version of the program unimaginatively entitled "Celebrity Come Dine with me". It is exactly the same format but of course viewers already know who the people are and something about their lives: And it is really interesting to see these people’s real houses, to see how they live and listen in on all the celebrity gossip. The prizes for the celebrity version always go to charity.

I am thinking about applying to be on the show. It would be really good fun if I was chosen. In my imagination I can imagine trying to impress my guests with lines like "of course I caught the fish myself" and "I had these specially imported from Bolivia". The reality is that I am not a good cook and I never use recipe books. However I do enjoy cooking and I love dinner parties and conversation. Maybe I will just roll up my courage and apply.

The White Air Extreme Sports Festival was held in Brighton last year. There were dozens of displays that interested me, but the ones I liked enough to consider trying were made up of weird combinations.

Brush boarding, for example, is surfing on a conventional surf board  — but without ever getting wet. They had this high technology bank of brushes (designed by the air force apparently) that exactly simulate wave action. We more or less got the hang of this in a couple of tries but then, we are experienced surfers.

After this there was the roller skiing! This weird combination of ski and bike looks great when the experts do it. James was with us for the morning and he managed to get a nasty cut on his foot when he simultaneously crashed and lost his boots in a freaky collision.

The land yachting was fun to watch  — but you need lots of money to get into this. The "yachts" were made of high tech, lightweight metals or carbon fibre. They all have 3 wheels and are constructed so low to the ground that the pilot is almost lying down. The wind that day was a modest 10 knots (5 m/s) but they were achieving amazing bursts of acceleration in all directions around the course.

We all did the Aquathlon early that morning  — which was fairly easy to be honest. A 400 metre swim and a 5km run. None of us did that well but we weren’t trying hard  — it was just for fun.

But it got us all in the mood that evening to have a try at the most spectacular of the unusual combinations  — Kite Surfing. The kites were huge and brightly coloured. Some were 5 metres tall but there were monsters of up to 25 metres. And put simply  — the kite powers you along the wave tops on a surf board. But we soon found it was rather more complicated than that! The first problem is that you frequently get dragged into the air. Well  — actually that is supposed to happen. Experienced kite surfers do massive "jumps"  — tens of meters into the air. We discovered that going up into the air was simple  — the tricky part was to land smoothly and carry on surfing. Usually our boards anchored awkwardly, followed by an undignified drag and crashing the kite. It also takes time and a huge amount of energy to get started again after each "crash".

To be honest after 30 minutes I was approaching exhaustion  — and I am pretty fit. We would never have tried Kite Surfing without experienced instructors on hand to teach, advise and keep us safe. But the biggest problem of all was the wind which was blowing off the shore. For inexperienced kite surfers this implied a one way ticket across the channel to France! But again, the experienced riders seemed to be able to achieve anything regardless of wind direction  — I don’t know how they do it.

A difficult client

When I was nineteen I worked in the kitchen of a Creole restaurant in Panama City, Florida. The word "Creole" refers to people who are descended from settlers in the colonial French Louisiana (before it became part of the USA in 1803). And Creole food is great. It is a blend of French, Spanish and Caribbean styles. I used to knock up fantastic fresh salads, filet and fry grouper fresh from the harbour. I made vast vats of red beans and rice and tureens of gumbo. I boiled great pans of fresh shrimp and cracked open and then fried Oysters in white wine.

The odd thing is that I am not a trained chef. Every single recipe was based on a mixture of measures in the recipe book. So many cups of this, shakes of that, tablespoons of Tabasco or citrus, jugs of cut celery, etc. But every meal turned out perfect so long as I followed "the book" to the letter.

I worked in the kitchen with a rather strange guy from Los Angeles called Scott. He had a strange haircut and was disconcertingly crossed eyed. But the waitresses were cute  — especially Suzie with her long curly brown hair.

One day we had a bit of an episode. A woman in the restaurant started screaming and demanding to see the chef. I could hear the commotion from deep within the kitchens and began to look for somewhere to hide. Scott was out that day and there was nobody else in the kitchen. Suzie caught me as I tried to hide behind the rice sacks in the larder. "You’ve got to come out John. She’s gone absolutely mental. The other customers are gonna call the cops if we can’t sort this".

Feeling terribly afraid and inadequate I was led out to the woman making the noise. She stopped screaming but continued to shake as she eyed me up and down. Because she’d asked for the "chef" I guessed I must have made a terrible mistake in the kitchen. I was alone down there that lunchtime so whatever was wrong it must have been my fault. What would she say if she discovered I wasn’t a chef at all but doing a holiday job making recipes from a book?

The truth eventually came out. I had served her a basket of whole boiled shrimp. According to the lady, the little devils had little "faces" and "eyes", "stared at her" and had completely freaked her out. I spoke to her very softly and sat down next to her. I told her I’d take them away and if she still wanted shrimp I’d peel them myself and bring them to her. She thanked me very much. Seemed very happy and after a short while consumed the shelled shrimp and left.

Afterward I was again called to the front by Suzie. But this time I got a round of applause from the other customers and $120 were the tips.

Viral Advertising

Viral advertising and viral marketing are rapidly becoming the most popular methods of bringing new products to the attention of potential buyers. Health products, chocolate and even football teams have all been promoted this way. The viral approach is popular with some advertisers because it focuses on the most likely groups of potential buyers. It also has the feel of making innocent suggestions (rather than "hard sell" advertising) and most importantly, for advertisers, it is cheap: Certainly the costs are small compared to traditional advertising on TV, radio or posters.

But what is viral advertising and does it really work? More to the point is there a sinister side to this new phenomenon? Viral Advertising is basically the practice of placing sales messages into social network sites on the internet. These are internet sites used by teenagers for "chatting", special groups with hobbies or shared interests and even relationship/ dating sites. The idea is that these messages "infect" (as in a medical virus) a user by persuading that person to buy something. The plan is that the buyer, who is connected to other people on the networking site, then "infects" other people by letting them know what was purchased and how good or useful or tasty it is!. These "infected" people (who are just buyers) then "infect" others until finally there is an "epidemic"  — with tens of thousands of people buying something because it was apparently suggested by an internet friend.

Some advertisers love this approach because internet groups, chat rooms and forums tend to be made up of people with similar interests. If advertisers "drop" their messages in the right place  — before long, it is at least possible that huge numbers of people will know about their products. That is the theory at least.

However some people believe viral marketing is wrong. In other words some companies apparently use their own people or "actors" to join chat rooms on the pretext of genuine involvement with that particular group. The reality however is that they are like spies (or worse) as they spread commercial messages by making apparently innocent comments. They also, some believe, are collecting marketing information under false pretences.

Other observers have complained about "astroturfing". This is the same process used for political purposes where people send messages giving the impression of being members of the public. In other words they attempt to manipulate and create a "grass roots" movement (the "turf" in "Astroturf" refers to planted grass) where lots of people seem to demand something or other.

Many books and articles have been written about the phenomenon of viral marketing, astroturfing etc. But the reality is that it is difficult to be certain about how much is real opinion and how much is based on planted "fake" messages. My opinion is that if you want advice from a friend, it is far better to do it the old fashioned way  — by having real, person to person, conversations.

Long ago in Eastern Rajasthan, where the Aravali hills meet the Vindyan plateau, tigers were once hunted by the Maharajas of Jaipur. And for the last three days they have been hunted by me, Lucy and Gemmy: three girls out to shoot a tiger in Ranthambhore Park in India.

As you might guess our hunting weapons of choice are not guns, but cameras. We had been told that nowadays this is the best place in the world for photographing a tiger in the wild, but until today we had no success.

On the technical and logistical side all had been going really well. We got the best possible guide  — Farid. He has been up early every morning to queue for a jeep and also to book the best routes. Without him we would be limited to the giant canters (big trucks) that haul round large numbers of regular tourists. Also the cameras have been operating well.

We knew in advance that the dust would be a serious problem and we have been rotating cameras via fleece lined bags that keep out dust and protect them from the harsh sun.

Ranthambhore is a mixture of dense forest and open bush. So far our best shots have been in low light and fast lenses with wide apertures have been the norm. We were also glad that at planning stage we took note of the advice to pack warm clothes. In the early morning it is really chilly sitting motionless in the open jeep. By mid morning it is Tshirt weather and the afternoons are simply baking  — so we were glad to have prepared for all extremes.

Until today we had only a few good shots of "lesser" target species and a few bad shots of more interesting ones. This means that our pictures of gazelles, hares and a monitor lizard are rather classy; and the shots of leopard and boar came out rather blurry  — but not a glimpse of tiger. We knew that it would require a huge amount of patience. In fact we also knew that sometimes tourist groups come for a whole week and don’t spot a single "stripey".

But today we got lucky. Very early this morning, just a few hundred meters from the ancient fort, Farid motioned excitedly to a small mess of Dhok and banyan trees. Lucy and Gemmy were already set up and adjusting settings and shooting simultaneously. I was much slower but in the end it didn’t matter. We had a clear and sustained view of a beautiful tigress and three cubs. For five minutes we took literally hundreds of pictures: one is very special  — of a cub just staring straight at my lens.

And then Farid said we had to leave; that we were the intruders and politeness to the animals demanded our withdrawal. Afterwards we celebrated like mad, showed our photos to the group and received warm congratulations from everyone on shooting our first tiger.

Presenter: Today in our World Englishes programme we are going to discuss Indian English. Professor Barry Smith is my guest and my first question is: What is the role of English in today’s India?

Professor: In India, where more than 18 different languages coexist, English serves as the connector between people speaking different mother tongues. So the number of Indians who wish to learn and use English is not only continuing but increasing. The number of English newspapers, journals and magazines is on the increase too. In fact, Indian English is a recognized dialect of English, just like British Received Pronunciation or Australian English or Standard American. It has a lot of distinctive pronunciations, some distinctive syntax and quite a bit of lexical variation.

Presenter: What about grammar?

Professor: Linguists observe the following anomalies in the grammar of Indian English. The Indians, for instance, use the progressive tense with stative verbs, which is an influence of traditional Hindi grammar. There’re also variations in noun, number and determiners, preposition use, building tag questions, word order. Another example’s that Indians often use the indefinite article a before words starting with vowels, though it must be mentioned that usually this is just a slip of the tongue.

Presenter: Are these anomalies kind of accidental or can you explain them in some way?

Professor: For those aware of the grammar of Indian tongues, the logic behind the quirks of Indian English is quite transparent and readily explicable. In addition to what I’ve already mentioned, Indians use the past perfect tense in verbs where International English speakers would use the past simple. There are lexical points as well  — like using the words but and only as intensifiers or adding English affixes to local words. There are some funny cases like use of the plural ladies for a single lady or a woman of respect, use of open and close instead of switch on and off. Some idioms and popular phrases include the question "Where are you put up?" instead of "Where do you live?" or the phrase "tell me" instead of "How can I help you?" Strange as it may seem sentences like "Hello, what do you want?" as a beginning of a business conversation aren’t perceived as rough by most Indians.

Presenter: Have local Indian languages contributed to Indian English?

Professor: Internet research shows that Indians frequently inject words from Indian languages. Some of the more common examples are jungle or bungalow; others were introduced via the transmission of Indian culture, examples of which are mantra, karma, avatar and guru. There’re colloquial and slang words used in Indian English as well. Teenagers take an active part in modernizing the language. What younger generations devise may not be used or even understood by older English speakers in India. For example, youngsters use the expression hi-⁠fi for cool or stylish.

Presenter: Thank you, Professor, for a very interesting talk. What would you like to say in conclusion? What is your  — mmm  — final diagnosis?

Professor: Indian English is changing and trying to be more universal and simpler. The shifts in modern Indian English are well explained by the famous local proverb "There’s nothing noble in being superior to some other person. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self".

(Man aged about 30): My guest today on The Morning Show is Jennifer Spright who is here to talk about gap years and a few problems that people have had while doing them. Welcome, Jenny.

(Woman aged about 23): Sorry, but I prefer to be called Jennifer. Only my family call me Jenny.

Man: Sorry, Jennifer. Tell me about these problems.

Woman: Well, as you know, a lot of young people nowadays take a gap year between school and university. Some work, some travel and a lot combine the two by volunteering abroad. The problem is that there are a lot of places which take advantage of these volunteers. They have official looking websites but almost all the information on them, apart from the country the volunteers will go to, is often false.

Man: Can you give some examples?

Woman: Yes, I can. I did my gap year when I was eighteen. As I was interested in animal conservation and had been accepted by a university to study zoology the following year, I chose a position on what was described as an animal sanctuary in Central America. It turned out to be a zoo. I came home after one month. It was an expensive lesson.

Man: Expensive?

Woman: Yes, I paid two thousand pounds for my six months placement. I didn’t get any of it back, of course. The price included my flights, a place to stay, which was a small, dirty hut with no bathroom, and food.

Man: I guess that wasn’t very tasty!

Woman: Actually, it was. I’m a vegetarian and almost all the food consisted of beans and rice with spicy sauces. I sat and ate on my own and read a lot. There was no-⁠one to talk to. They were all really unfriendly.

Man: So what happened after you returned?

Woman: Well, I had a lot of free time before I started university so I decided to set up a website with advice for volunteers. I didn’t have much time for it while I was at university but I kept it going and, since I left university, it’s been a full time job.

Man: It must be very useful.

Woman: I hope so. Interestingly, I’ve started noticing older people coming to the site for advice. More and more retired people who are still fit and healthy are doing voluntary work. Also a few well-⁠off, middle-⁠aged people, often married couples whose children have grown-⁠up and left home. Although young people still make up the majority of volunteers, they only account for about fifty percent of the people using my site. I think this is because they have access to more advice at school and from people they know whereas older people are on their own.

Woman: Welcome to Talking Point, the daily radio show that discusses the stories you may not have heard about. On this morning’s show, my guest is government minister, Jonathan Pelham, who is heading a campaign to reintroduce national service in this country. Welcome.

Minister: Thank you.

Woman: Before we look at why you want to reintroduce national service, can you remind listeners of what it was and when it came to an end?

Minister: Of course. After the Second World War, the national service act forced every healthy young man between the ages of 17 and 21 to spend a year in the armed forces. The time was later increased to two years and the only people who were able to avoid national service were those in essential occupations such as mining or farming. The last year that people were called up to do National Service was 1960.

Woman: And you’d like to reintroduce this again.

Minister: Yes, although with a few differences.

Woman: Such as?

Minister: Firstly, there would be a choice between joining the armed forces or doing a kind of community service. Those joining the armed services would not be sent to war zones. They would benefit from army discipline and training but in a safe environment. Young people doing community service would work in hospitals, schools, with the unemployed or homeless. I believe they should be given a range of tasks to do. This would ensure that they would work with a variety of people and find out more about the needs of the community in which they live.

Woman: Do you think your ideas are popular?

Minister: Amongst young people? No! No-⁠one likes to be told that they have to do something for two years. However, I think that when they realise what they are gaining from the experience, they will begin to appreciate it and understand the importance of it. They will feel valued, which young people often aren’t at the moment. Of course, after a few years, it will become natural and accepted and then there won’t be so much resistance to doing it. In my opinion, national service will also reduce youth unemployment and, hopefully, reduce anti-⁠social behaviour.

Woman: I know there is one more big difference between your idea and the original

National Service.

Minister: Yes. My idea is for this to apply to everyone, male or female, at the age of eighteen. I would also ensure that no-⁠one could avoid doing it, whether rich or poor. For those going to university, it would mean that they would start their studies two years later. This would be very beneficial in my view as students would be much more independent and mature than they are now. National service would be a wonderful opportunity to allow people from different parts of the country, different ethnic backgrounds and different religions to learn to get on with each other and to understand each other. That can only be a good thing in a society such as ours where most people tend to interact socially with people of similar backgrounds to themselves.

Woman: Well, good luck. Do you think you have a chance of seeing your idea happening?

Minister: To be honest, it’s doubtful. People don’t like to take backward steps, even when it may be a good idea. However, I haven’t given up and anything is possible.

Woman: That’s true. Well... (fade)

Interviewer: Good morning. Today we got Susan B. Anderson, a popular knitwear designer and an author of some famous books. She is also a blogger with a well organised legion of fans. Enjoy. Hello, Susan, nice to meet you.

Susan: Hello, nice to meet you too!

Interviewer: Did you always want to be a fashion designer?

Susan: Both of my grandmothers were fashion designers, but I didn't really know that until I started college. One had her own label, and the other one worked as a woman wear designer at a fashion house in Dublin. For as long as I can remember, I was always interested in fashion. I started to modify my clothes from a very young age. My mother taught me to knit when I was 6. Definitely, I thought about other occupations, such as being an architect, but as soon as I knitted my first dress from a ball of wool, I knew knitting was my calling in life.

Interviewer: Where did you study?

Susan: When I was in high school I took a tech theatre class, where my professor, after seeing me create patterns without formal background, introduced me to the idea that I could study and, in fact, work in fashion. None of my guidance counselors knew about schools or careers in fashion at the time, so I turned to the internet. I found summer programs and developed a portfolio that got me into the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Interviewer: Could you talk us through your fashion C.V?

Susan: Last year I worked on my own label and launched my first collection spring-⁠summer 2013 at New York profile during New York fashion week. While I picked up the best woman swear designer award, I also took my collection to Tokyo, where I had a fashion show and an exhibition. Just recently, I had my debut show at London fashion week, showing my AW09 collection at Rockshall fashion scout.

Interviewer: It is really gorgeous. What inspired your AW09 collection?

Susan: My trip to Tokyo 2 years ago, where I met Japanese designers and was introduced to Japanese culture. I was amazed by the bold architecture and the contrast of delicate patterns often found on the facades. My aim was to create a collection which was both modern and bold and sophisticated.

Interviewer: How do you describe your style?

Susan: Simple, but funky. I like unexpected colours or interesting patterns with a little rock 'n roll or vintage décor nod.

Interviewer: Any new projects in the works?

Susan: Yep, I'm currently writing my seventh book, but first for chronicle books, which will focus on projects using intermediate knitting skills. I'm working on my new collection but it's a secret.

Interviewer: What's your favourite part of blogging?

Susan: My favourite part of blogging is the interaction I have with the readers. I've had so many mothers and grandmothers send me photos of their new babies and children. I have had emails and comments from people with elderly or sick family members who have knitted a toy to brighten their days. I've heard from countless charities all doing so much good in the world through knitting. I also get to hear from new and experienced knitters who are inspired to try something new because they saw it on the blog. It's the heartwarming stories, big and small, and the words of appreciation and encouragement that made blogging so worthwhile. I have fun with it and I always look forward to posting a new entry.

Interviewer: Thanks, Susan, for taking the time to talk.

Presenter: Good afternoon, and here we are with our special program for teens where we explore advantages and disadvantages of all sorts of professions. Today we have Carl Fox, a travel agent. Hello, Carl!

Carl Fox: Good afternoon.

Presenter: So Carl, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Carl Fox: Well, as you already know, I’m a travel agent, and I work for one of the major chains on High Street. I’ve been with them for about 10 years and while I’ve been working I’ve studied for a number of qualifications.

Presenter: What inspired you to become a travel agent?

Carl Fox: People often ask me why I decided to become a travel agent. As a young adult I loved travelling and worked for a while as a rep in Spain. When I came back to the UK I decided to stay within the travel industry, and my experience of working in resorts abroad helped me to get a job as a travel agent. I have to admit that one of the main reasons I wanted to be a travel agent was that we get cheap flights and holidays. It’s a great perk!

Presenter: I see. What are your responsibilities at your job?

Carl Fox: Basically, I’m a sales person. I advise people on the holiday options available to them, you know, different destinations, types of holiday, ways to get there, and so on. When customers have decided what they want, I book it for them and make any other arrangements they might need, such as car hire or tours. My responsibility doesn’t end there, though. I have to make sure that clients know if any visas are necessary, or if they will need accinations, and how to get them. If they are flying, I need to tell them what time they have to check in, and make sure they know what time they will be arriving. I also give information on likely weather conditions and anything else I think will be useful for them.

Presenter: That’s a lot to do! And I bet it’s getting more and more difficult to work in your sphere because of the rivalry.

Carl Fox: Well, not because the rivalry is too high, it’s the same everywhere. The point is that more and more customers want a tailor-⁠made holiday, not just a package from a brochure. However, I love the challenge! It’s a lot more interesting for me if I can organize the whole thing  — make out an itinerary, book flights, ferries, trains, accommodation and everything. I love providing a personalized service, especially if it’s to places that I know. I can really help customers get a great holiday that will be ideal for them.

Presenter: People who are going on holiday must be relaxed and easy to deal with, right?

Carl Fox: Generally yes, but not always. Sometimes I get difficult customers. One man came in wanting a flight to Venice the next day. I checked out times and fares on the computer, and found a very reasonable flight at a suitable time, so we booked it there and then. A week later he came in and he was absolutely furious. He wanted to know why I had flown him to Venice, in Italy, when he had had an important meeting in Vienna, which is in Austria. I didn’t know what to say, but since then I’ve always been careful to check that people really know where they want to go.

Presenter: That’s a case which is funny and sad at the same time and it’s hard to believe it after all.

Carl Fox: Don’t I know!

Presenter: Any downsides to your job?

Carl Fox: There must be some but I love my job so I simply don’t notice them.

Presenter: I see. Thank you very much, Carl.

Carl Fox: My pleasure.

Interviewer [female]: What comes to mind, listeners, when you think of rabbits? Is it the Easter bunny? Or Bugs Bunny? Or maybe you think of cute, furry little creatures with long ears and funny teeth? Rabbits are popular pets in many coun-⁠tries, but in one they are really dangerous. Here to tell us about these rabbits is Si-⁠mon Hurn, a research scientist. So, Simon, it's almost too silly to be true. Are there really vicious rabbits somewhere in the world?

Simon [male; Australian accent if possible]: [laughing] … Well, not in the way you might be thinking. They're not bloodthirsty monsters that physically attack an-⁠yone, but they are responsible for major economic and environmental effects in Australia.

Interviewer: How is that possible? They look so innocent!

Simon: Well, let's start at the beginning, shall we, with the history of Europeans in Australia, and then we'll move on to discuss the arrival of the rabbits there. Now, in the 17th century, a number of European explorers sailed the coast of Australia, which was then known as New Holland.

Interviewer: New Holland? Really? I had no idea! I suppose the obvious question is 'Why?'

Simon: Ah yes, that's because the first European to explore the land was Willem Janszoon, a Dutchman. Not surprisingly, he named it after his own homeland. The explorers who followed were from Spain, England, France, Sweden and many more from Holland. But they didn't stay there to colonise the land. It wasn’t until 1770 that Captain James Cook claimed it for Britain. Eight years later, the British began sending their criminals there for punishment. The first group arrived in Syd-⁠ney on 26 January 1788. It consisted of 11 ships carrying 1,500 people and their supplies, including European rabbits.

Now, these rabbits were not wild and did not spread to other areas. They were probably kept in cages  — for food. But in 1859, 24 wild rabbits were released by a farmer in Australia's south for hunting. He had no idea what that would eventually lead to. Forty years later, the rabbits had spread to the rest of the country, except for the wet tropical forest areas in the north, and had become a major pest and a huge problem.

Interviewer: But Australia is massive! Surely the rabbits couldn't cover such a large area.

Simon: Oh, but they can. Rabbits increase their populations very quickly indeed. Did you know that one female rabbit can produce 30 to 40 young a year?

Interviewer: Oh my goodness! There would be billions of rabbits in no time at all.

Simon: Yes, that's exactly what happened. And as their numbers increased, they began competing for food and so they had to move to other areas in order to eat. Those billions of wild rabbits caused a lot of economic damage as they crossed the land. They destroyed farmland for crops such as wheat and cotton, and grazing ar-⁠eas for sheep and cows. As I'm sure you know, Australia's biggest exports are wheat, beef and wool, so the rabbits have had a major impact on the economy.

Interviewer: And the environmental damage?

Simon: That's equally bad. Rabbits destroy the land by creating underground tun-⁠nels known as burrows, and by eating plants. They can completely stop plants from regrowing. Because of this, many plant species have become extinct. Rabbits even compete with cows and sheep for grass.

Interviewer: I imagine Australia has tried to control the problem.

Simon: Oh yes. One of the earliest methods was to build long fences to keep the rabbits away, but that didn't work. Since then, scientists have resorted to other measures... (fade)

Interviewer [female]: Good afternoon, listeners. With us in the studio today is Bruce Boyle, director of an Anti-⁠Bullying Foundation. He's here to talk to us about bullying, particularly at schools. Welcome, Bruce. Could you start by explaining what bullying is?

Bruce [male]: Good afternoon and thanks for having me on the show. Well, to answer your question, bullying is repeated, nasty behaviour towards a victim. This could be anything from saying hurtful things to physical violence such as punching and kicking. And I must stress, it must be repeated, so a single act of meanness or violence, though also unpleasant, is not considered bullying.

Interviewer: You mentioned hurtful comments and violent behaviour, which I suppose are the signs we are most familiar with, but there are other types of bullying as well, aren't there?

Bruce: Yes, the examples I gave are very obvious forms of bullying known as direct or face-⁠to-⁠face bullying; it's the type of behaviour that a teacher can see and try to stop. But there is also indirect bullying, which isn't as obvious. It can include the bully giving the victim threatening looks, spreading rumours, making fun of the victim's clothes or personality, and not including the victim socially at school or at after-⁠school events. This kind of bullying harms the victim's relationships with their classmates. I suppose it's more psychological than face-⁠to-⁠face bullying. And finally, there's cyberbullying.

Interviewer: It's been in the news a lot lately. There have been some very serious cases.

Bruce: Unfortunately, that's true. Modern technology can be an enemy, not a friend. Bullies can send mean texts and emails, they can take and share insulting photos, and post unkind messages on social networking sites. They can pretend to be the victim online and behave badly or in a way that may harm the real victim's relationship with others . It's a very cowardly form of bullying. In some ways, it's worse than real life bullying. Cyberbullying can happen 24-⁠hours a day and the victim can't escape it. Embarrassing or harmful material can reach many people very quickly.

Interviewer: You said earlier that cyberbullying is cowardly. Would you say that's because the bully can hide their true identity and not face their victim at all?

Bruce: Yes, exactly. For the bully, it's an anonymous and safe way to hurt their victim. In fact, they might not act that way at all in real life because they would be scared of the consequences. You know, bullying is now a crime and bullies can get into very serious trouble.

Interviewer: I see. Let's go back to bullying in the school environment. Apart from actually seeing a face-⁠to-⁠face episode, are there signs of bullying that a teacher can look out for? Anything that will let a teacher know someone is being bullied?

Bruce: Yes, there are definite signs. Victims of bullying are often alone or not included in social groups at school; if asked what is wrong, they refuse to talk about it; they lack the confidence to speak in class and generally seem insecure and frightened; their schoolwork is badly affected and they start getting lower marks.

Interviewer: I imagine there are things parents can look out for, too.

Bruce: Oh yes. There are changes in eating and sleeping patterns; they may have bruises and scratches as well as... (fade).

Presenter: Good evening everyone. We are happy to welcome you to our weekly program "Animal world". Today is a very special day as we have a great opportunity to hear from an amazing woman who knows a lot about wild life and wild animals. Sarah Thomas, it is very good to see you today. Thank you so much for coming.

Sarah: Hello, it is good to be here, thank you for inviting me.

Presenter: So, before we start talking about your experiences with the animals, let me ask you how it all started. Where were you born and were you interested in animals from childhood? How did it all start?

Sarah: Well, I was born in London and my fascination with animal behavior began in early childhood when we moved to York. We lived in a cozy thatched cottage in the most picturesque part of the city and in my leisure time, I observed native birds and animals, making lots of notes and sketches, and I also read a lot in the area of zoology. From an early age, I dreamed of traveling to Africa: I was eager to observe exotic animals in their natural habitats.

Presenter: We know that your dream came true and that you spent quite a bit of time in Africa.

Sarah: Yes, when I was 18 I left school and got a job as a secretary at Oxford University. In my spare time, I worked at a London-⁠based documentary film company because I wanted to make some money for my trip to Africa. One day, completely out of the blue, my childhood friend invited me to visit Kenya, and so I did. There I met an anthropologist Thomas Wild who wanted to perform a study about chimpanzees to see if it would throw more light on evolution. You know, some of my friends and relatives thought that was a crazy idea because I had no college education to do these studies but Thomas believed I had the right kind of character to be able to live in the wild for a long time. Since it was actually my childhood dream, I agreed. That was my very first attempt to study the monkeys. Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful.

Presenter: Did you try again, then? I know you have written several books and filmed a few documentary films about your experience with the chimpanzees.

Sarah: That’s true. I started all over. In 1960 I went to Africa again together with my mum and an African cook. We established a camp on a lake shore. Can you imagine: crystal clear water, sand banks … Anyway, it took me two long years to get close to the monkeys, to the point when they allowed me to be a part of their group.

Presenter: Two years! You’ve got more patience than I have! How did you make them like you in the end?

Sarah: Bananas! For two years I offered them bananas until they actually began to accept me as their own. I came to the same spot every day at the same time and fed them bananas. After one year they stopped running away, after the second year they allowed me to climb trees with them and eat their food.

Presenter: What? Are you serious? You climbed trees with the chimps? That was probably lots of fun!

Sarah: You bet! I had to learn to use my arms and legs like never before. It only looks easy when you observe the animals. We as people are very limited in our abilities to use our limbs: our legs and arms aren’t designed to hang onto tree branches and plant leaves. The monkeys, on the other hand, don’t even have to think about what they are doing when they move. So, there was a lot I had to learn not to fall off those tall trees. That was a real challenge!

Presenter: Was it all worth it, though?

Sarah: Definitely, I still think of that time as one of the best periods of my life. I got so close to these animals that I was able to understand them. I was able to experience what it is like to be inside an animal world.

Presenter: Today I’m in the old English city of Salisbury and talking with the local secondary school teacher Jerry Lewis. OK, tell me first a few words about yourself.

Jerry Lewis: Well, I’m a 44 year old unmarried American who moved to England over 20 years ago, and I teach English in a local secondary modern school. I own my own house  — a smallish terrace house just outside the centre of the city, with three bedrooms and a small garden. I've got two younger brothers. One of them, Julian, also lives in Salisbury. He's a teacher too, but he works in a private language school teaching English to foreign students.

Presenter: Secondary modern schools like Jerry's take children who have not passed the entrance examination for a grammar school. They attend the school between the ages of 11 and 16. Jerry explained that his school day begins at 08:30am and ends at 4:00pm. How much extra-⁠curricular work do you do?

Jerry Lewis: Quite a lot, actually. There's always marking to be done and evenings when I meet the parents and so on. And then I take on extra duties, mainly in the areas of sport and drama. I’m a keen cross country runner myself, and I train the school cross country team, which means taking groups of children out running during their lunch breaks, usually a couple of times a week. And then, on the drama side, I produce the annual school play. We normally have to start preparing this in the spring term to have it ready by the summer.

Presenter: What plays have your pupils performed?

Jerry Lewis: It varies from year to year. We’ve done an adaptation of Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, and we’ve done Shakespeare  — A Midsummer Night's Dream. Last year the boys wrote and produced their own play.

Presenter: I can see from Jerry’s house that he takes running very seriously. His shelves are covered with medals and cups that he won over the years in various races. Since he is now over 40 he is classified as a ‘veteran’  — a term he doesn’t like - but he still continues winning. To keep himself fit, he usually runs from forty to fifty kilometres a week and more if he's training for a race. What else do you enjoy doing?

Jerry Lewis: As well as running, I love walking. The countryside around Salisbury is magnificent, and there are some wonderful walks. My idea of a perfect day is to walk out of town and stop for lunch and a drink at a small village pub  — in the summer you can sit outside, or in the winter by a log fire. Then there's my garden, and I'm very fond of gardening. Every year I add to my collection of roses, and it's very satisfying to sit outside on a summer’s evening doing my school marking, surrounded by wonderful colours and scents.

Presenter: Jerry also likes cooking. On a Saturday he goes down to the market early in the morning to catch the best of the produce, and frequently invites friends and relatives to dinner in the evening. When not at home he is often to be found at his local pub, the 14th-⁠century ‘Haunch of Venison’, where he has many friends.

Jerry Lewis: I've been teaching in Salisbury so long that many of my ex-⁠pupils are now friends that I meet in the pub. It's strange, sometimes to think to myself: I remember when this chap was just a boy!

Presenter: Occasionally he goes to the cinema, but, he explained, he prefers the theatre.

Jerry Lewis: I go by myself, with friends, or with groups from school. Last week we went and saw Noel Coward's Relative Values, I'm not very keen on Coward myself, but the kids loved it.

Presenter: One last question. Jerry. You've lived and worked in Salisbury for over 20 years. What keeps you here?

Jerry Lewis: That’s a difficult one. My job, I suppose. I often complain, but who doesn’t. On the whole, though, I’m happy with it. Then most of my friends live here or nearby. And the city itself, it’s a beautiful place, full of history, surrounded by amazing countryside and within easy reach of some of my favourite places. No, I wouldn’t change it.

Presenter: Tonight we continue talking with Dr Strait. So far we’ve looked at various aspects of staff selection and I think by now you should all be beginning to see how much more there is to it than just putting the applicants through a short interview or asking the ‘right’ questions. So I think you should be ready for today’s talk on ‘matching the person to the job’.

Dr Strait: We’re going to talk today about the importance of choosing that allround ‘right’ person.

Presenter: You mean we have to put ourselves into the role of the manager or supervisor?

Dr Strait: Yes. And then we are going to imagine how different applicants would fit into the team or group they have to work with. So, we’ll look at some examples later.

Presenter: It’s just theoretical at the moment...

Dr Strait: Yes. The point is you can select someone  — even a friend  — who has all the right qualifications... degrees... certificates, whatever. You can also check that they have a lot of experience… that they’ve done the sort of tasks that you want them to do in your office already, in a similar environment. But if they start work and you realize that they just don’t get along with everybody else, that... say they’ve got sharply contrasting views on how something will work… well, with the best intentions you may be backing a loser.

Presenter: Wouldn’t it be just a question of company training though?

Dr Strait: Not always. Particularly in a team situation and I think it’s important to think in terms of that type of working environment. People have to have faith in each other’s ability to carry out the task their boss has set them. They have to trust that everyone will do their part of the job, and you can’t necessarily train people for this.

Presenter: But it’s like trying to find out what someone’s personality is like in a job interview... I mean you can’t just do that. Even if you try, you won’t find out what they are really like until they actually start work.

Dr Strait: Well, in most interviews you usually ask candidates questions about their hobbies and what they like doing in their spare time... that sort of thing... so employers are already involved in the practice of... well, doing part of the task.

Presenter: But it doesn’t tell you anything. It doesn’t tell you if they are easygoing or hate smokers or whatever.

Dr Strait: Well, arguably it does give you information about an applicant’s character, but also... more and more employers around the world are making use of what is called ‘a personality questionnaire’ to help them select new staff and…

Presenter: Sorry, what’s it called? Dr Straight: A Personality Questionnaire. They have to be filled out by the candidates sometime during the selection procedure, often just before an interview. The idea is actually quite old. Apparently they were used by the ancient Chinese for picking out clerks and civil servants, and then later they were used by the military to put people in appropriate areas of work. They’ve gained a lot of ground since then and there are about 80,000 different tests available now and almost two thirds of the large employers use them.

Presenter: Which makes you think that there... (fade out).

Presenter: Hello, everyone, and welcome to our show "Celebrities Today". Tonight in this studio we are happy to welcome a well-⁠known actress, Kim Tottenham.

Kim: Good afternoon. It is good to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

Presenter: Kim, your last success as a hockey wife in the sitcom "Married to an Ice Rink" is unbelievable. You are considered the sitcom actress of the year. How do you feel about that?

Kim: Well, it is great, of course, but I’ve never really been big on all that attention. I simply try to do my job well, and I guess it pays off, but all the noise around my success is not really my cup of tea.

Presenter: What do you mean? Do you not like to be seen as glamorous?

Kim: Not really. It’s funny but I am first a mother and a wife and then an actress. You know, I see this as a job and not as a life-⁠style. It is what I am good at, and it brings money, good money, of course, but this job doesn’t own me.

Presenter: I’ve heard that you have an unusual outlook on life for a celebrity. Tell us a bit more about your role as a family woman.

Kim: It’s ironic, really, but in this last sitcom I play a hockey player’s wife, but at the same time that’s who I am in real life as well. My husband is a well-⁠known hockey player, and we have three kids. All the kids are in school now, but they are still my main priority in life. We do a lot together.

Presenter: That’s interesting. Do you think that is why your role in "Married to an Ice Rink" came so naturally to you?

Kim: Maybe. Of course, my heroine is quite different from me in terms of character and temperament, but the day to day routines of juggling my husband’s schedule and mine were very familiar to me. We are both very active, public, busy people, so we work extra hard not to lose our close connection to each other.

Presenter: You said your heroine is different from you, could you tell us how so?

Kim: Sure, Lisa, my heroine, is selfish and ambitious and I prefer to put the needs of others first. Also, she is very athletic, a lot more than me. I work out twice or three times a week and Lisa goes to the gym daily. She also has a million friends whereas I have a couple of close friends and spend time with family more. Those are the main differences, I believe.

Presenter: It must’ve been challenging to play such a different person but you did an excellent job. Tell us, what are your plans for the future? Will this sitcom have another season?

Kim: Yes, and I will be starring again as Lisa, but this will be our last season. My contract is for two years. I am looking into some TV journalism, doing some talk shows or hosting a show of my own. I have a university degree in media, so this is something I’ve been dreaming of since I finished studying. My acting career picked up from the time I graduated, so I haven’t had time to slow down and do something different. So, I believe next year I will try something new.

Presenter: How exciting! What kind of people would you want to invite to your shows?

Kim: I am hoping to hear from people who do something to change the world. I’ve been reading about men and women who volunteer in difficult areas of our globe, where there is fighting, hunger, destitution. I would love to listen to their stories and have the audience get acquainted with these modern day heroes.

Presenter: What a noble idea you have! I hope your dream comes true and you will host such a show. I will be your viewer for sure!

Kim: Thank you, John. But before I do that I have to live through one more year of a busy sitcom actress.

Presenter: Good luck to you, Kim, and we are looking forward to watching your show.

Presenter: Hello! In this program we continue our series on the problems of Physical Education in modern schools. Our guest today is Mr. Flint, a skateboarding teacher who believes that skateboarding should be on the school curriculum. Good morning, Mr. Flint! Why do you think skateboarding should be taught at school?

Mr. Flint: Good morning! Well, first of all, we all know that skateboarders are physically fit, have strong muscles, strong bones, and unquestionable balance. When you skate, there isn’t a single muscle in your body that isn’t actively working. In addition to these purely physical advantages, look at the abstract benefits. We learn how to persevere; we have mutual respect for ourselves and other skaters. We have a huge social network, we spend hours outdoors and we are creative people who push our own limits to the max. We say, ‘Have you ever seen a lazy, obese skateboarder?’

Presenter: Well, listening to you, it does sound like it’s the perfect sport for developing both your body and your character. Yet, often people believe that skateboarding is a troublesome and meaningless activity, and there are many public places  — including schools  — where you can see signs saying ‘No skateboarding allowed!’

Mr. Flint: It’s true that people often don’t understand skateboarding as a sport. It is sometimes associated with gangs of angry youths hanging around town centers at night and therefore seen as an "underground" sport. It is a shame as there are some brilliant role models out there. In fact, speaking of bad behavior, get skateboards in schools and you will take the aggression out of the classroom and into the adrenaline rush of tricks! We need schools to consider skateboarding as a viable PE option. After all, the International Olympic Committee has approved Skateboarding as a new sport which will be part of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.

Presenter: Speaking of tricks, aren’t those dangerous? When I personally watch skateboarders going up and down the slopes and doing summersaults it takes my breath away.

Mr. Flint: Well, first of all, skateboarding teaches you responsibility, and as many skateboarders wear helmets, wrist guards and protection for knees and elbows, bad injuries are fortunately rare. Secondly, it doesn’t have to be advanced tricks right from the start. It usually takes months before you can consider doing any tricks at all. And finally, making it a class means teaching how to do it safely.

Presenter: Wouldn’t making it a class also mean that it would be less attractive and even boring?

Mr. Flint: I don’t think so. Skateboarding is always fun. Find me a town, city or village where kids don’t skateboard and I’ll be amazed. Besides, it’s good for anyone. Girls and boys can compete equally. It is also good for those who are not natural athletes or enjoy competitive contact sports. Every student can participate alone or in teams. It is especially helpful for energetic hyperactive kids who cannot concentrate  — have them skateboard between the classes and the problem is solved! We should embrace the subculture of skateboarding rather than push it away.

Presenter: What will it mean for schools financially, though? Isn’t the equipment expensive?

Mr. Flint: I have to admit that one of the main drawbacks to introducing a skateboarding program to a school is the cost. Skateboards can differ in price, depending on what they are made of  — wood, fiberglass, aluminum or mixed metals. Safety equipment can also be costly. But think about the results  — and you will see that it’s worth it! In fact, there are already a number of schools both in the US and around the world which have found money in their budgets to implement a skateboarding curriculum of some kind and believe me  — they don’t regret it!

Presenter: Hello, everybody, and welcome to our daily programme Stardom. Today in our studio we have Maggie Smith, a famous actress. Hello, Maggie.

Maggie: Hello. It’s so nice being here, thank you for inviting me.

Presenter: Could you please tell us about what led you to become an actress?

Maggie: Well, it’s a long story and it’s connected with my musical education.

Presenter: Did you attend a musical school?

Maggie: When I was nine years old, I started playing the piano. I was obsessed. I needed to play for several hours every day. But I wasn’t great, though I was good and I had tremendous passion. I didn’t have any real technical skill, so no matter how much I practised I was never going to be able to really play in front of people. I had tremendous stage fright. Still, the piano was the beginning of me going, “I need an outlet. I need a vehicle.” And then from music, I joined the drama club in high school. I got on stage and I went, “Oh wow. No stage fright.” I couldn’t do public speaking, and I couldn’t play the piano in front of people, but I could act. I found that being on stage I felt, “This is home.’ I felt an immediate right thing, and the exchange between the audience and the actors on stage was so fulfilling. I just went, “That is the conversation I want to have.” It was unequivocal. There was nobody acting in my family, but there didn’t need to be. I just understood what I wanted to do at once.

Presenter: Was it easy to find your director? Would you like to try directing yourself?

Maggie: Well, speaking about working with good directors, that has always been a certain kismet with me. I was lucky. There was a period in the 1980s where you had people who were born to direct, born to shepherd stories. Like David Lynch, who was so unusual, such a rare storyteller, so personal and private, and dreamlike from his subconscious. You know, people ask me why I don’t direct. Well, it’s because I’ve worked with people where that’s what they were born to do, and it’s a little intimidating after you’ve worked with a rash of those people one after another. Then it’s like, “I like acting. Acting is good.”

Presenter: What kind of films do you like acting in?

Maggie: I don’t think the genre matters much. I even try not to look at the story itself because even a banal story may turn into a blockbuster. What I pay attention to and fall in love with is the script. If the script is good, I start just living in those dialogues or monologues.

Presenter: You play a lot of family women. How come?

Maggie: I’ve always played moms. I once played someone who wanted to be a mom. The thing with the role of a mother in our legacy, in world history, in world mythology, is that the role of a mother encompasses the entire universe. There is no limit to what you can express if you are representing that in a story. I’ve just got nominated for an Emmy for playing a mother!

Presenter: Modern women are constantly looking for ways to be more beautiful. As a woman and as an actress, are you satisfied with your appearance?

Maggie: I think that my looks through the years have served me well because I was never a great beauty and I was never cast as a great beauty. So I never leaned on it and I never really made that a high value. I’ve always been kind of androgynous and it’s one of the reasons why I love being an actress. I love experimenting with the male and the female in any character. That balance, the yin and the yang of that, is always in play, because everybody is male and female.

Presenter: Thank you, Maggie. It has been a real pleasure talking with you today.

Presenter: Hello! Today we continue the discussion of modern professional challenges and their unusual solutions. The guest of our program is Dr. Bennet, a paediatrician from California who believes that a hospital should be run like a spaceship. Good morning, Dr. Bennet! How did you come up with such an unusual idea?

Dr. Bennet: Good morning! Well, I was 8 years old when Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon and I’ve been following aerospace achievements ever since. So, when I became a doctor and started treating new-⁠born babies, it occurred to me that both healthcare and spaceflights have a lot in common  — they are both complex and high-⁠risk activities. In fact, space flights are often a much higher-⁠risk activity than healthcare, because everything there is happening in the airless environment of space at a very high speed with over 2 million moving parts in the spaceship! So the question arises  — how do they do it… safely?

Presenter: Yes, I have to admit that we don’t hear much about emergencies in spaceflights.

Dr. Bennet: Precisely! Although believe me, emergencies do occur! It is how quickly you can find the right solution that matters. And this is exactly what we have in healthcare, too. So I asked myself: How can I learn how NASA does what it does and apply it to healthcare? And the only obvious answer was  — Go to the source! So I gave NASA a phone call.

Presenter: You did? And did they even answer?

Dr. Bennet: Absolutely! Well, to be honest, it took some time to find the right person to talk to. But once I found him, things became easier. My visit to NASA was arranged. And I found the answer to my question!

Presenter: So, what’s their secret?

Dr. Bennet: Well, it’s not a real secret. In fact, it turned out that everybody knows what they do. Their practice even made its way into videogames!

Presenter: You are not talking about flight simulators, are you?

Dr. Bennet: Of course I am. But again  — it is not so much what they do, but how they do it. In our medical schools we also have simulators. We practice our skills on them before we actually do it on real people. But first of all, very often our students don’t take it seriously. You will hear a lot of giggling in such a class, as if they were playing dolls. Secondly, just as I’ve said, we mostly have those medical simulators in universities  — training our students. Once they become doctors and start working with real patients  — no more simulators. At NASA they have a totally different attitude towards this. Firstly, they simulate everything. There are people who design all sorts of problems astronauts can face in flight and they simulate each one of them and combinations of several. Because as you know, in real life it never rains, but pours. Secondly, it’s not only young inexperienced astronauts who have to do it. No matter how many times you’ve been in space, you have to go through simulation programs. And they do it really seriously.

Presenter: No giggling?

Dr. Bennet: Not at all. They realize how important it is. When they are out there in space, their life depends on how well they can find solutions to problems. And what’s more, after each simulation they have a very serious debriefing.

Presenter: Debriefing is when they discuss how well or badly they did in training, right?

Dr. Bennet: Yes, exactly. But again, they do it in a very business-⁠like way and mostly discuss their weaknesses, not strengths. And what’s more, unlike our medical students, they are happy to find and then discuss their weaknesses and mistakes  — because again, if they discover them in flight, rather than in a simulator, it can lead to very bad consequences, so the more mistakes they make while they are on Earth, the better prepared they will be... (fading out).

Presenter: Hello and welcome back! Our guest today is Sarah McGregor, a well-⁠known book-⁠illustrator and author of graphic novels. Not so long ago, Sarah launched a Twitter campaign which she called #IllustrationsAreImportant, supported by all book illustrators, many children’s books writers and some publishing houses. How did it all start, Sarah?

Sarah McGregor: Good morning! Well, it all began when I started working in the illustration business and suddenly realized that even though children’s books are as much pictures as text  — if not more  — people don’t really know the names of the illustrators. A book for them is created by the writer.

Presenter: Why does it happen?

Sarah McGregor: Very often the illustrator’s name is not mentioned on the book cover. You might be able to find it inside the book in small print, but nobody can see it unless they look for it on purpose. So, nobody knows the illustrator’s name. And the same happens when you read a book review  — it’s always a book by the writer, not by the writer and illustrator.

Presenter: Does that matter? Don’t illustrators still get paid for their work?

Sarah McGregor: They do, of course they do. But in our profession recognition is very important. And it is not about vanity or self-⁠confidence. How can we get another commission if nobody knows us? This is our business and as in any other business, branding matters a lot. Imagine telling a company like McDonald’s or Apple that they can’t have their name above their shop or their logo on their cups, computers or phones. They’d take you to court! Our names are our logos. Having our names on our books and pictures helps us advertise our art. Like anybody else, an illustrator needs to make a living. So it is essential for us to be credited for what we create.

Presenter: You have mentioned in your campaign that crediting illustrators benefits not only illustrators themselves. What did you mean by that?

Sarah McGregor: Well, first of all, it’s more publicity for the publisher. It is a lot easier for an illustrator to attract an audience to a book at book festivals. People love watching illustrators draw at such events. Images are easy to remember.

There’s more chance for them to recognize a book while shopping by the style of the illustrations on the front cover. Secondly, not all children come to reading books through words. Lots of children come to stories through pictures. Before they can read or write, children can enjoy books by looking at the pictures which also tell the story. Many children who won’t pick up a novel will happily read a comic. But they don’t necessarily realise a real person made the pictures unless someone points it out to them. When they discover a person made the pictures, they realise they can make pictures that tell stories, too. Why deny them such a pleasure?

Presenter: Have you had any success in your campaign?

Sarah McGregor: Indeed, we have! More and more publishers credit illustrators on the cover of their books voluntarily. It has become a lot easier for illustrators to ask publishers to credit them. Several literary awards like Carnegie Medal now list illustrators along with writers. Newspapers and magazines, especially, professional magazines like Bookseller, have started mentioning illustrators in reviews and featuring interviews with illustrators.

Presenter: Are there any other professions in your area that have the same problem and could benefit from your efforts?

Sarah McGregor: Yes! Translators! Considering how much work goes into translating books, one would think that their names should be mentioned alongside the authors’. They have their own campaign, but we are certainly allies.

Presenter: Sarah, thank you so much for coming to us today and good luck with your campaign!

Sarah McGregor: Thank you for inviting me!

Presenter: Hello and welcome back! Today we continue the discussion of the environmental problems. Our today’s topic is light pollution. The guest of our program is Dr. Donald Matthews. Good morning, Dr. Matthews! What exactly is light pollution? And why is it a problem?

Dr. Matthews: Good morning! Well, let me answer your first question by asking one: when was the last time you were somewhere dark enough to see the Milky Way, or just the stars for that matter? I’m afraid, for people who live in big cities stargazing has already become a luxury. Our planet is so thickly covered by artificial light that we are rapidly losing night’s natural darkness and many good things that come with it. We have completely forgotten how valuable darkness is.

Presenter: I have to admit that apart from being able to see the stars, I cannot really think of any advantages of natural darkness.

Dr. Matthews: Exactly! Very few people actually think about the value of darkness. While in reality, all life on earth evolved to the steady rhythm of bright days and dark nights. The good health of plants, animals and people is dependent on this rhythm. Take our bodies, for example. They need darkness to sleep. Without it, people get sleep disorders which lead to such common problems as depression and obesity.

Presenter: You have also mentioned animals. Are they hurt by light pollution as well?

Dr. Matthews: Absolutely! Especially those that are active at night, like bats, moths and fireflies. Light easily confuses them and their bodies cannot function the way they are supposed to. Or take sea turtles! They usually come ashore to lay their eggs at night to avoid humans and other animals that can attack them, and their little babies hatch at night as well. It is a lot less dangerous for the baby sea turtles to find their way to the sea in total darkness.

Presenter: I would never have thought of that! Are there any economic implications of light pollution as well?

Dr. Matthews: Well, putting it simply, much of this light is just wasted energy. Which means wasted natural resources. In my opinion, without darkness and with so much energy wasted for nothing, Earth’s ecology would collapse.

Presenter: Now that you’ve put it this way, I can see that it is a big problem. Are there no solutions to it?

Dr. Matthews: The good news is, such solutions are easily available. First of all, using new lighting technologies helps. Many cities and towns across North America and Europe are changing to LED streetlights which offer great possibilities for controlling wasted light. But simply turning off portions of public lighting after midnight also helps. Even Paris, the famous "city of light", turns off its monument lighting after 1am, and requires its shops, offices and public buildings to turn off lights after 2am.

Presenter: That’s good to know! Is there anything ordinary people like you and me can do in their everyday life?

Dr. Matthews: This is a very good question, because we will never truly address the problem of light pollution until we become aware of the value and beauty of the darkness we are losing. There are many International Dark Sky Parks and Reserves that provide dark sky programs for visitors. Many of them are located around astronomical observatories. People can hike in these parks and enjoy starry skies. But just realizing that it’s a bad idea to take your smartphone or tablet or laptop to bed is already a big step forward and will help you preserve your own health.

Presenter: You have mentioned the beauty of the dark skies.

Dr. Matthews: But of course! The vision of night sky has always inspired writers and artists, think of Van Gogh’s "Starry night"! We should not deprive our children and grandchildren of such an inspiration!

Presenter: Hello and welcome back! Our guest today is Andrea Carrera, a music major at the Juilliard School of Music. In addition to being a professional pianist in training, Ms Carrera is a well-⁠known music blogger whose subscribers have reached the number of 3 million last summer! Good morning, Andrea! Thank you for joining us today!

Andrea Carrera: Good morning! Thank you for inviting me.

Presenter: Could you tell us how a blog about classical music can be so popular?

Andrea Carrera: Well, I would say, that was a very gradual achievement. I first started my blog when I got enough courage to apply to the Juilliard School.

Presenter: Courage? I didn’t know music was such a dangerous trade that it would require courage!

Andrea Carrera: Oh, it can be! The world of musicians is very competitive from the time you start as a young child, and then apply to college, begin your career as a graduate  — you name it! And while you won’t face any death threats or dangers of criminal kind, you will have to realize who you are competing against  — people who devote their entire lives, their entire well-⁠being and existence to the pursuit of music. These are people with a passion, people who would not be tempted by watching Netflix or playing a video game after a really hard day. They would not be hanging out with their friends over the weekend. Instead, they would put in those extra couple of hours of practice that they always need. And yes, it can be quite scary to realize that these are your rivals. It’s easy to be intimidated.

Presenter: Wow! That sounds like a different species! But sorry for having interrupted you. You were saying that you started your blog when you were applying for Juilliard.

Andrea Carrera: That’s right. There were so many questions that I had, so many worries and uncertainties, that I decided that no matter what the outcome, I would start a blog where I would document my whole application process, including auditions, to make it easier for others who apply to the best music school in America. And when I did get in, I continued describing all my experiences as a student.

Presenter: So, this is how your audience grew?

Andrea Carrera: Yes. After all, music students from all over the world are curious about Juilliard. It’s like Harvard or Yale in the world of performing art. Just in a year the number of my subscribers reached a stable 500 000 and stayed that way for quite a while.

Presenter: And then what happened?

Andrea Carrera: Then I had an idea to go to Moscow for the 16th Tchaikovsky Competition.

Presenter: As a participant?

Andrea Carrera: No! No… I wish… You do have to be rather talented and hard-⁠working and really lucky to get into Juilliard, but you have to be so much more to be selected to something like Tchaikovsky Competition. Competitions of that level are like the World Cup or the Olympics to us. No. I decided to go as a blogger and as a fan!

Presenter: A fan?

Andrea Carrera: Yes! Out of 25 pianists selected to participate, 6 were Juilliard alumni. I wanted to support them.

Presenter: Really? I thought there were only 2 participants from the United States, and only one of them went to Juilliard.

Andrea Carrera: That’s true. The other 5 were from different countries  — Canada, South Korea, Spain and two from China. But they still went to Juilliard. In fact, the Juilliard School of Music and the Moscow Conservatory supplied 15 out of 25 participants, 6 and 9 respectively.

Presenter: Fascinating! How did you like the competition?

Andrea Carrera: I loved it! The legendary hall of the Moscow Conservatory, fantastic pianists, an impressive jury… But I especially liked the audience. They were so sincere in how they expressed their emotions, it was very touching. So I tried to write about it all in my blog, and I also conducted interviews with the participants and the jury members and videoed all that. And that’s when my audience grew to 3 million subscribers. So you see...

Presenter: This is Education Today. Hello and welcome! In our studio today is William Chandler, founder and CEO of Boarding Best, the agency that will help your child find the best boarding school. Good morning, Mr. Chandler! Thank you for joining us today!

William Chandler: Good morning! Thank you for inviting me.

Presenter: So. A boarding school in the 21^st century. Is it really a thing? Isn’t it something from the Victorian era  — if not earlier? Or, for that matter,  — a fantasy book?

William Chandler: Well, yes and no. The first boarding school appeared in Britain in the 14^th century. That was Winchester College. Sixty years later, in 1440 Eton College opened its doors. And then some others. But the boom of boarding schools was, of course, in the 19^th century, as you have mentioned. The industrial revolution generated lots of money. Many industrialists could afford an expensive education for their children. Boarding schools for boys and for girls were thriving.

Presenter: I’m sure this changed in the 20^th century.

William Chandler: It did. By the end of the 20^th century boarding schools became less popular, and the number of boarders in Britain fell considerably. But now we see a true revival, even though everything comes at a cost.

Presenter: What do you mean?

William Chandler: Well, British boarding schools have always been quintessentially British, but today they are suffering from an identity crisis. Over 40% of their pupils come from other countries. And only 2-⁠5% of British children are full boarders at boarding schools.

Presenter: Really? That’s incredible! Why is that?

William Chandler: Several reasons. First of all, prices have gone up in the last 10 years from about £23,000 per year to an average of £35,000 now. Many British middle and upper-⁠middle class families who used to send their children to boarding schools, no longer can afford it. Whereas the growth of wealth in Asia combined with concerns about the quality of local education created a huge demand from overseas students. Another reason is that in the West, there’s recently been a change in attitudes towards children, their upbringing and education which made boarding schools less attractive to parents.

Presenter: I can understand that. I wouldn’t want to send my children away and miss watching them grow up. I would certainly want to be an influence in their upbringing.

William Chandler: Today many parents think the same way. But now you can find a reasonably good school locally, while in the previous centuries there were very few of them. Education was not compulsory, and only wealthy families could afford it and, for that matter, were interested in giving their children a good education. So, a boarding school was their only option. Besides, for centuries public schools were viewed as the place where a true English gentleman was raised. Parents would send their boys off to boarding schools hoping they would grow up less spoiled, more self-⁠disciplined, and considerate of others.

Presenter: There is truth in that. I’ve heard many rich people say that it is a lot more difficult to raise a child when you are wealthy than if you are poor. It’s hard not to spoil them. Of course you can be a very strict parent, but then  — how do you maintain good relationships with your children? It’s easier to delegate this mission to a school. But then the question is  — how traditional are modern British boarding schools in that sense? There are many books written about their horrors and their fearful, cruel headmasters and headmistresses disciplining children.

William Chandler: I’m happy to say all that is in the past. Modern British boarding schools are extremely competitive. They have to be. Old ways are out of fashion now, and schools need a good reputation to get their students. So, no need to worry about that... (fading out).

Presenter: This is Meet a Professional! Hello and welcome! In our studio today is Dr. Benjamin Dale, a somnologist. Good morning, Dr. Dale! Thank you for joining us today!

Dr. Benjamin Dale: Good morning! Thank you for inviting me.

Presenter: To begin with  — what is a somnologist?

Dr. Benjamin Dale: It is a doctor that you go to if you have any problems with

sleep. Sleeping disorders, as we call them. They could be of different kinds. Maybe you are a young mother and have to wake up several times a night to rock your baby. Maybe you are a businessperson and have a hard time falling asleep at night.

Maybe you are an elderly person and have a tendency to wake up early in the morning and cannot go back to sleep. Or maybe you are a student and either study all night or party all night! All of these lead to sleep deprivation, which in turn, leads to all sorts of problems.

Presenter: Like what?

Dr. Benjamin Dale: It usually begins with a feeling of constant tiredness and irritability. Everything irritates you. If you are a parent, you can be unreasonably harsh with your children. If you are a teenager, and teenagers have enough problems as it is, you can be even more irrational and rude with your peers and grown-⁠ups. But this is only the beginning. Not getting enough sleep can also cause health problems. Irritability and fatigue can end in a nervous breakdown or depression. Another typical consequence is obesity  — when people don’t get enough sleep, they gain a lot of weight, which leads to heart problems.

Presenter: Sounds pretty bad. Although, honestly, I’ve never thought that not getting enough sleep is something that needs to be treated by a doctor. It sounds like it’s more related to bad habits. How did you decide to become a somnologist? Has it always been your ambition?

Dr. Benjamin Dale: Not at all! If you had told me when I was a medical student that I would be a somnologist, I would have laughed at you. Back then my ambition was to become a family doctor. I’m still a great supporter of family medicine and believe that only by knowing a whole family well can a doctor treat and prevent diseases in patients.

Presenter: So what went wrong in your plans?

Dr. Benjamin Dale: Nothing, actually. For many years I was a successful family doctor. Then I started noticing that many health problems that my patients had were related to not getting enough sleep. That intrigued me, and I went back to Medical school. Since then, I’ve been a somnologist.

Presenter: Isn’t it a rather new medical specialty?

Dr. Benjamin Dale: Yes, it is. And it’s becoming more and more in demand.

Presenter: Why is that?

Dr. Benjamin Dale: Well, even though people have been suffering from sleep disorders for as long as humankind has existed, recently it has become a more frequent problem with all age groups and categories of patients. In my opinion, it is connected with recent changes in technology. In the past people would read a book before going to bed, then they started watching TV instead, and now  — computers, smartphones and other gadgets have taken that place. Many stay up long into the early morning hours glued to their screens, unable to stop. And then they have to wake up to go to work or to school. This creates additional stress, especially for kids. Here we need to remember that a teenager needs a minimum of eight hours of sleep per day. A bare minimum! Better if it’s nine or ten. Another problem is that our houses are full of electronic devices that we tend not to turn off at night. They can create noise and vibration. We may not consciously notice them, but our bodies do. Add it all together and you will understand that it is very difficult to get a peaceful night’s sleep these days... (fading out).

Presenter: This is Do you know your teenager? Hello and welcome! In our studio today is Katie, a thirteen-⁠year-⁠old, to tell us all about bullet-⁠journaling, a new teenage obsession. Good morning, Katie!

Katie: Good morning!

Presenter: Well, let’s start from the very beginning. What is a bullet journal?

Katie: Technically speaking, it’s quite self-⁠explanatory. It’s just a notebook with dots rather than lines. But it also means a personalized planner where you can create all sorts of lists, calendars, where you set goals for yourself. You can also doodle and draw in it, make it colourful if you like, do anything, really.

Presenter: You know what I find strange about it? Today, when everyone is so much into technology, everyone is constantly online, an obsession with something as old-⁠fashioned as a paper planner emerges. And not only that! If you go to any stationary store, you will find all sorts of premade planners, in any price range and with any design imaginable, including those that encourage you to be creative, and yet, people get obsessed with just a blank notebook with dots!

Katie: Well, there are several reasons for bullet-⁠journaling. Of course, it is a planner. But premade planners have the same amount of space for every week or day, and in real life days can be different. So planners are not really convenient. As for the gadgets, people use many different apps, and still use little pieces of paper and post-⁠it notes and then lose them. In a bullet journal you have your whole life in the same place in the way you find most convenient. You can plan your day in every detail today but not tomorrow. You can create a list of books you want to read in a year and then follow your progress daily or weekly. You can do it in writing or in pictures, symbols or graphs. Whatever works for you. Whatever motivates you to do things and not be lazy.

Presenter: Hmmm… Maybe I should try it! But judging by the beautiful bullet journals I’ve seen on the Internet, I don’t have enough patience or talent to do anything even remotely as creative. I think I’m too old to develop this new skill.

Katie: That’s one of the biggest misconceptions about bullet journaling. It doesn’t have to be pretty. And another one, for some reason you believe that bullet journaling is something only teenagers do. In fact, it was invented by a grown-⁠up man.

Presenter: No kidding!

Katie: It’s true! A web-⁠designer who had problems with his attention span. That’s why he started it. His journals are not pretty at all, but they serve a purpose  — to make your life easier.

Presenter: Fascinating! My last question for you  — can you think of anything negative about bullet journaling?

Katie: Well, if you asked my mom, she would probably tell you that it takes way too much time and is a way of procrastinating, constantly planning what you need to do rather than doing it.

Presenter: You don’t share her opinion, do you?

Katie: I might, if bullet journaling was just about planning. But it is so much more! It helps you relieve anxiety and stress. Especially when you get overwhelmed with what you need to do  — school work, home chores, sports, and social life on top of that! Even having fun with friends at times can become too much to deal with. But when you sit down and dump everything from your brain onto a page of the bullet journal and organize everything logically, the busiest schedule appears doable. It’s a huge stress relief! And while you are working on your bullet journal, you calm down. It’s quite meditative!

Presenter: Now I totally think I’ll give it a try. Thank you, Katie, and good luck with your bullet journaling and school!

Katie: Thank you!

Presenter: This is Brave Decisions. Hello and welcome! In our studio today is Patricia Davison, a 26-⁠year-⁠old artist, who has just bought a house in terrible condition in the middle of nowhere. Good morning, Patricia! Thank you for joining us today!

Patricia: Good morning! Thank you for inviting me.

Presenter: So, why did you do it? Have you already started regretting it?

Patricia: Not in the least! In fact, I’m still extremely excited and pleased.

Presenter: You will have to explain this.

Patricia: Ok. It has always been a tradition in North America for young people to become independent right after school graduation. Of course, in college students are still more often than not supported by their parents. But as soon as they graduate and get a real job, they should be able to live on their own, and that’s how it’s always been, but not anymore. Everybody knows how high the price of accommodation has become in the last twenty years or so. It is very expensive both to rent or to buy your own place. Especially if you live in a major city like New York, Los-⁠Angeles, or Toronto or Montreal  — if you are a Canadian like me. Even if you manage to get a job in a big corporation, your entry-⁠level salary doesn’t cover the rent. So you either need roommates or you have to stay in your parents’ home, which, as I’ve already mentioned, is not traditional, but happens more and more often these days.

Presenter: So, you decided to find a solution to this problem.

Patricia: Absolutely. Well, to be honest, it was not a planned decision. I remember I was once quite frustrated thinking about the high rent I was paying and wondering whether I would ever be able to buy my own home. I was looking at the map of Canada on one of the real estate sites and losing all hope. The smallest houses in British Columbia where I lived cost 300 thousand dollars. But then an idea struck me. I’m an artist and I work from home. I don’t have to live in or anywhere near a big city. So I started looking at some far-⁠away places. I didn’t really want to live in the far north, but equally unpopular places like Nova Scotia seemed like an interesting possibility. And I was shocked at how cheap houses were there! The house I’ve finally chosen is huge! And it cost me only 65 thousand dollars. I even had enough of my own money for the down payment! I didn’t have to borrow money from my parents. It’s just a 10-⁠year mortgage. I couldn’t believe my luck!

Presenter: But you are forgetting the state it is in!

Patricia: It is true that it requires a lot of work. After all, the house is 150 years old! But I’m not afraid of it! I’m an artist. In fact, while at university, I once took a course of both interior and architectural design and have never had the chance to use that knowledge. I think the time has come to do it.

Presenter: Are you planning to hire professionals for the more difficult areas?

Patricia: I think I will have to. Even though I know how to fix electricity, I wouldn’t want to do it completely on my own. And I’ve already had professional plumbers fix all my water pipes and bathrooms. As for everything else, though, I think I will manage with a little help from my brother and friends.

Presenter: Have you already started?

Patricia: Oh, yes! I’m not losing any time. I’ve already finished my bedroom and study. They look beautiful! I’ve also started a you-⁠tube channel where I’m sharing my experience. It’s got quite a following! It makes me happy that my experience can inspire other young people to get their own homes.

Presenter: Well, good luck with your big project, Patricia!

Patricia: Thank you!

Presenter: This is Close to Nature. Hello and welcome! In our studio today is Robin Black, a Professor of Biology at the University of Iowa and the founder of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, who has recently published a book Trees Can Talk. Good morning, Robin!

Robin: Good morning!

Presenter: So, the obvious question is  — can trees really talk? Can they have actual conversations like people?

Robin: That mindset  — comparing trees to people  — is exactly the problem. In our Native American stories trees talk to each other. But science has long decided that this is impossible because plants lack the mechanism that animals and humans use to speak. Since they cannot form words or make sounds, it has been decided that any form of communication is out of the question.

Presenter: Which is not true?

Robin: Not in the least. But it is only recently that scientists have explored the possibility that trees can "speak". One theory is that they communicate via special substances called pheromones that are carried by the wind from one tree to another, full of meaning.

Presenter: This is getting complicated. Could you provide an example?

Robin: Sure. Let’s say one tree is being attacked by insects and is under severe stress. The tree sends out a distress call.

Presenter: No kidding! Like a tree-⁠version of an SOS?

Robin: Something like that. So, it starts producing this specific kind of pheromone that warns the other trees of the insect threat. This gives the other trees enough time to produce defensive chemicals. Wouldn’t you call that communication?

Presenter: That’s incredible! But is it only in an emergency that they talk like this?

Robin: Far from that. Actually, trees talking could explain something that scientists couldn’t understand for years. Do you know what mast fruiting is?

Presenter: Mast  — as in m-⁠a-⁠s-⁠t? Mast fruiting? No, never heard of it!

Robin: Well, unlike fruit trees, which produce fruit every season on a predictable schedule, there are some plants, like nut-⁠trees, that produce fruit at completely unpredictable intervals.

Presenter: Oh! This I have heard and actually experienced! I grew up on a farm, where we had lots of pecan trees. But we could never tell if they would bear nuts the approaching year. And I loved them so much! My father used to tell me that it all depended on how I behaved throughout the year. I still think that was mean. But it worked  — I tried as hard as I could helping him around the farm!

Robin: Honestly, that’s as good a theory as any! Like I said, scientists have puzzled over this for years! It makes no sense  — years of no nuts, and then, out of the blue, every pecan tree across the country bears nuts at the same time. One theory has always been that because nuts are so high in calories, it takes years of storing up sugar for the tree to produce them. But if this were true, each tree would produce nuts on its own schedule, predictable by its condition, age, as well as the habitat and the weather. However, this doesn’t happen. If one tree fruits, they all do. There are no individuals. They act as a collective.

Presenter: How do they do that?

Robin: Again, through a sort of communication, only this time not through the air, but underground.

Presenter: Underground communication? That sounds like a conspiracy theory.

Robin: Not when you hear the explanation. All the trees in the forest are connected by their roots. These root networks redistribute the wealth of sugar from one tree to the other. A kind of Robin Hood  — they take from the rich and give to the poor. So that all the trees are ready to produce nuts at the same time.

Presenter: But why would they do it?

Robin: Through unity they survive. All flourishing is mutual... (fades out).

Presenter: This is Music Forever. Hello and welcome! In our studio today is Dan Welch, who was a developer of the Pittsburg symphony orchestra MusicKids Program. Welcome, Dan!

Daniel: Thank you!

Presenter: Tell us a little about MusicKids to get us started.

Daniel: Sure. It started in 2007 with the idea of using music as a vehicle for social change. We wanted to make Pittsburg a better city. We wanted kids from the most at-⁠risk neighborhoods in Pittsburg to have a chance in life. So, it is all about a very specific type of poverty, specific kinds of things that they need to overcome. When you go to music competitions and read biographies of the participants, there's not much difference between them. One of our goals is to diversify the world of music and have kids with less easy biographies participate in these competitions, play with good orchestras or something like that.

Presenter: Have you had any success so far?

Daniel: Actually, yes! And surprisingly, not only in music! We have kids in medical schools, in law schools, those majoring in biology, chemistry, art in some of the best universities in the country.

Presenter: So, how exactly does music promote all that?

Daniel: I think there are several aspects of studying music that do that. I think that at its root we are talking about something that has no end. When you play a musical piece, you can study it over and over again with the goal of excellence, but it's an endless process. It teaches you to be patient and strive for the unachievable best. Another thing is that in music seemingly disparate things come together. The violine and the drum have very little in common, but still, the seemingly disparate sounds that they make can come together in an orchestra, and that's a metaphor for life right there. And this is why music is a great place to be. Plus, specifically classical music. In our program we teach all kinds of music. But the rigor and the consistency involved in classical music is simply incomparable. It is exactly what you need to create that change in the society. That daily work, the getting up and going to work, doing a job, doing whatever it is to get better at something. Classical music does that.

Presenter: Can you give us a glimpse into the life at MusicKids?

Daniel: Sure. So, that would start with early immersion. Music is preventative medicine. We want to give it to students before there's something bad in their hand, like a gun or something. And so, you put the clarinet there and that's preventative medicine for anything else they will have to deal with in their lives. We give instruments to our kids in the first grade - all the orchestral instruments. We are doing tuba at first grade. Which is why we now have tuba players at Julliard and all the other big music schools.

Presenter: You are a tuba player yourself, aren't you?

Daniel: Yes, I am. So, I'm always promoting the tuba. Many people think it is too heavy for the little kids, being this huge chunk of metal. Others think it's too boring, just playing one or two notes with the orchestra. Neither is true. There are beautiful pieces written for it. It's just as lovable an instrument as any other. Anyway, with the early immersion, our students start with maybe one day a week music class, but then with time find themselves taking classes with the best musicians all over the country, going to Art summer camps, Art high schools, and then end up with this seven-⁠day immersion we know as classical musicians.

Presenter: It sounds amazing.

Daniel: It's cool stuff!

Presenter: Thank you so much for coming to us today.

Daniel: Thank you!

Presenter: Hello! This is Saving Our Planet. In our studio today is Dr. Laura Hopgood, a Professor of Geology at University of Denver. Good morning, Dr. Hopgood!

Dr. Hopgood: Good morning!

Presenter: Dr. Hopgood, last spring your latest book "The Future of the Colorado River" was on New York Times Best Seller List for 3 weeks. Congratulations!

Dr. Hopgood: Thank you!

Presenter: So, what's so special about the Colorado River?

Dr. Hopgood: Unfortunately, the Colorado River, like many other rivers that flow in dry hot climates, is dying at the hands of man. It's time to think about saving it.

Presenter: But the Colorado River is one of the major American rivers! It flows through seven states! It's the iconic river at the bottom of the Grand Canyon! What do you mean, it's dying?

Dr. Hopgood: The fact that it flows through seven southwestern states is exactly the reason. More than half of them have very hot and dry climates with very little rain and huge deserts. At the same time, these states are experiencing growth of population and agriculture. The Colorado River is the key source of water in these states which is not enough for all those ambitious new developments.

Presenter: What kind of developments? Can you give an example?

Dr. Hopgood: Sadly, more than one! For example, most of Utah's counties have over a dozen golf courses each. Those require a ridiculous amount of water to provide huge green grassy areas, and many of them are in the middle of a desert. And if this was not enough, there is a proposal to build a 750-⁠million dollar beach club with 300 luxury homes around a 20-⁠acre surfing lake in the middle of a California desert!

Presenter: I thought California was an environmentally friendly state!

Dr. Hopgood: And yet, desert states want to encourage economic growth, despite the basic fact that they simply cannot keep growing without limits.

Presenter: Is the Colorado River the only source of water there?

Dr. Hopgood: There's also ground water that accumulates under the ground from rain, snow melts and other sources - but very slowly. The amount we have has taken thousands if not millions of years to gather. If we pump it dry, it's not coming back any time soon! However, this is the water that is used by many farmers, and there are no laws protecting how much water can be taken from the ground. Besides, ground water is not completely independent from surface water. Pumping too much ground water can also dry up lakes and rivers, the Colorado River included.

Presenter: Is there any solution to this?

Dr. Hopgood: There have been several absurd proposals from bringing icebergs from polar caps to building a pipeline from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River.

Presenter: I didn't mean crazy proposals like that. Do you personally see any realistic solutions?

Dr. Hopgood: States have to work together to make practical steps towards conservation, to limit unnecessary water usage both above and below ground. Some sacrifices will have to be made. At the moment the water from the Colorado River is divided between the seven states that it flows through, based on the agreement that was signed in 1922. Back then they gave each state the right to use more water than actually existed. It is surprising the Colorado River still flows. Today, no one wants to deliver the bad news, but unless we face the facts, the result will be tragic.

Presenter: Dr. Hopgood, I hate to say good-⁠bye to you on such a sad note, but thank you for coming and sharing your concerns! I hope there will be an improvement to this tragic situation.

Dr. Hopgood: I hope so too.

Presenter: Hello and welcome! This is The World of Art. In our studio today is Daniela Netting, a Ph.D. Art student from Brown University. Good morning, Daniela!

Daniela: Good morning!

Presenter: Daniela, an exhibition of paintings of a 17^th century Flemish painter Michaelina Wautier has just opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. You played an important role in the opening of this exhibition, didn't you?

Daniela: I did, but I wasn't alone. There were five other Ph.D. students from my university who did, it was teamwork.

Presenter: What exactly did you do?

Daniela: This was part of the course on History of Art. First, each student did an individual research project on this painter's drawing techniques, artistic influences and how 17^th century Flemish culture and customs shaped her career. The results of our projects were used for the exhibition's catalog and wall texts, but not only that. From the beginning, we were the curators of the show. We spent time asking, "What is the message we want to send? What is the story we want to tell? What is special about this artist and her work?" To be given so much control over the message of the show was fantastic, unique and rare.

Presenter: Do you mean that Art students don't often curate exhibitions in major museums?

Daniela: I mean - it's virtually unheard of for students to have a hand in curating any public exhibition, let alone an exhibition at one of the country's largest and most respected museums. I had worked at three museums before this, but Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, gave us an opportunity to learn about how centuries-⁠old art is repaired, how they use infrared technology to look beneath the painted surfaces, how curators research the cultural context of artworks, and how museum employees work together to create educational and original exhibitions. I don't know any other Ph.D. students who have had an opportunity like this.

Presenter: You said, one of the questions you asked yourself was 'What is special about this particular artist and her work?' Did you manage to answer it?

Daniela: Absolutely! Michaelina Wautier lived and painted in Brussels in the mid1600s. But despite her exceptional talent, she was forgotten for centuries, overshadowed by male contemporaries such as Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck. Art historians have only recently discovered her and drawn attention to her significance in their scholarly writing, leading to high prices on her work at auctions and increased interest from museum curators across the globe. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is the first museum in North America to dedicate a gallery to her work.

Presenter: Could you tell us about some of her paintings that are included in the exhibition?

Daniela: Personally, I love her series called 'The Five Senses'. It's a series of 5 paintings that depict everyday Flemish life with humour. Each of the paintings shows a young boy demonstrating one of the five senses: one boy plays a recorder, for example, and another grimaces as he smells a rotten egg. I also like her selfportrait, painted sometime in the 1640s.

Presenter: What was your main goal in this exhibition?

Daniela: We wanted to give Michaelina Wautier the spotlight she deserves, which was taken away from her for so long. It was exciting to tell a story about women and their value in art - not just as muses or models, but as leading creators themselves.

Presenter: How long will the exhibition be on?

Daniela: Till the end of summer.

Presenter: Daniela, thank you so much for being with us today!

Daniela: My pleasure! Thank you!

Presenter: Hello, everybody, and welcome to our weekly programme The Writers' Workshop. Today in our studio we have Leona Brown, a prize-⁠winning short fiction writer. Hello, Leona!

Leona Brown: Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me here today.

Presenter: Will you please tell us a bit about your literary achievements?

Leona Brown: Of course. So far, I've written a novel and some collections of interlocking stories. My novel is basically a story about finding hope. I'm currently working on two other novels and a collection of essays.

Presenter: Some literary critics think your novel A Good Person is a love story. What would you say to that?

Leona Brown: Well, a lot of the action in the story happens off the page. The scenes seem to focus instead on the interactions and moments that happen in the wake of that off-⁠page drama. I know some readers were particularly struck at how the story avoided certain storylines. For example, the drama that's built on the main heroes' relationship is an important part of the story, but it remains secondary to what's going on with another main character, Sylvia. Another writer might have made it a much bigger part of the story: what will all of them do? This question is present, but it's kept to a lower register. So, there is a developing romance that gets folded into all of the other stuff going on in the story. As a result, one could call this a love story, but that wouldn't feel quite right, I don't think.

Presenter: When you were working on this story, what was your sense of what kind of story it was?

Leona Brown: I never did think of this as a love story. My process in developing a story or an essay is almost always exploratory for the first few drafts, and that was the case with this one even more than usual. It began with memories of a time and a place that I wanted to explore for meanings. I had quite a lot of it drafted before I figured out that its true subject was the drama going on inside Sylvia, a drama she's only partly aware of. Once I'd decided what the story was about, I rewrote it several  — in fact, many  — times, hoping to make all the parts of it work together to make that drama felt.

Presenter: So, Sylvia is your main character in this novel, isn't she?

Leona Brown: Yes, I'd say this is a story about Sylvia. The drama I was most interested in delving into was happening inside her. She's trying on different versions of herself and hasn't yet come to realize that life is serious business. She's reaching for some idea of cool, and, naively, she half thinks she's already achieved it. But she's yet to take a deep look at anything in life. I love her and I forgive her faults, because she's young, and a slow learner.

Presenter: What can you tell us about your working process?

Leona Brown: In my opinion, stories are constructed through language, not memory. I write at the level of the sentence. I sit there, looking at the doors and windows a sentence has opened for the sentence that can follow, and so on. I do not write with a plan. I do not know where a story is going ahead of time. There is no prewriting. It all happens in the moment of looking at the words.

Presenter: How do you understand the plot is going to be interesting for readers?

Leona Brown: I do not believe circumstances are intrinsically interesting or uninteresting. Narrators create interest by their passionate investment in the story they are telling. The less the narrator asks for something from the reader something like feel my feelings, share my understandings and so on, the more room readers have to feel their own emotions.

Presenter: Thank you, Leona. It has been very interesting talking to you.

Leona Brown: Thank you.

Presenter: Hello and welcome! This is Young Professionals. In our studio today is Caroline Stockwell, a Michigan University student majoring in music and a counselor at Blue Lake Music Summer Camp. Hello, Caroline!

Caroline: Good morning!

Presenter: Caroline, what exactly is a counselor in a camp?

Caroline: Oh, it's a person who lives in the same cabin as the children and serves as a leader, role model, problem solver, motivator, and guardian. Counselors also plan and supervise camp activities and help campers in every possible way.

Presenter: That sounds like a lot of responsibilities! How do you cope with that?

Caroline: I spent my summers at Blue Lake as a child myself and saw what our counselors did, and really looked up to them. So, it was easy to transition from one role to the other. I really enjoy being a counselor.

Presenter: You mentioned being a problem solver. What problems do campers face?

Caroline: I work with young children. Their main problem is being homesick from time to time. When that happens, we usually talk about it, or we do something fun. At my college I double major in psychology, and that helps, too. Sometimes piano students fight over practice rooms with pianos  — we have a lot of those, but still not enough for all to practice at the same time.

Presenter: How many hours a day do campers study at Blue Lake?

Caroline: A lot! They have classes from 9 till 3, and then there's time for individual practice. But we do find time to play and read and do other fun things together, as well. We also go to concerts every other day!

Presenter: When I think of a summer camp I always think of sports. Do your campers do any sports?

Caroline: Could you define sports?

Presenter: Well, you know what I mean! But ok. An activity that requires a physical effort and skill, a lot of practice, which is done according to the rules, which is often competitive, and which is often done in a team.

Caroline: Do you realize that you have just described what musicians do?

Presenter: No. How?

Caroline: An orchestra or ensemble is a team. There are many rules. There are com-⁠petitions. A lot of skill is required, a lot of practice is involved. And if you think that playing a musical instrument doesn't require a physical effort, try standing for half an hour just holding the lightest instrument of all  — the flute  — in the right position! Add correct breathing to it and you will soon be physically exhausted!

Presenter: Hm!.. I've never thought of it that way! I guess you're right, though. You mentioned going to concerts every other day  — who plays at these concerts?

Caroline: Teachers! It really motivates the children to see their teachers play for them. Very often these are famous musicians. Children who study music are a great audience, and at these concerts you can feel this incredible connection between the performers and the listeners. It's practically tangible and can be very touching. They also learn how to behave at concerts.

Presenter: What do you mean? Isn't it obvious?

Caroline: Not always. They learn a very important rule  — not to clap between the movement  — or parts  — of one musical piece. This often happens at real concerts. But it is considered a big no-⁠no. So, our campers know that very well. However, just the other day this led to a funny situation.

Presenter: What happened?

Caroline: A very short piece was performed by a cellist. When he finished playing, there was a deadly silence. The children didn't realise it was the end and were afraid to clap. So, the performer had to smile and say  — "That's it, guys, there's no more!" Everybody laughed and clapped louder than ever.

Presenter: It sounds like you have a big family there... (fading out).

Now we are ready to start.

Presenter: Hello and welcome! This is Young Professionals. In our studio today is Peter Johnson, a student from the University of Alaska in Anchorage, double majoring in biology and electrical engineering. Hello, Peter!

Peter: Hello!

Presenter: Now, let me see if I understand what you are doing. You are part of a very unusual experiment involving huge rats. Correct?

Peter: Yes, except that this is no longer an experiment, it's a special project. As for the animals involved, they are indeed called the African giant pouched rat. Together with the tail, they can be up to a meter in length.

Presenter: Wow! That's big! When you say "pouched" does that mean they raise their children in the pouch on their bellies like kangaroos? I didn't know there were pouched animals outside of Australia. You said that this rat is African.

Peter: They are called pouched because they can carry a lot of food in their mouths, like squirrels or, rather, hamsters. Their pouches are in their cheeks. They are not for carrying babies.

Presenter: I see! So, what's so special about these rats besides their pouches?

Peter: Two things. First, because they have very poor eyesight, they depend on their senses of smell and hearing which are very highly developed. And the second one is that they are easy to train.

Presenter: Are these the abilities that you use for your project?

Peter: Yes! The project is about training them to find people in destroyed houses during earthquakes.

Presenter: I thought dogs were trained for that. Why rats?

Peter: That's a common question. Why rats if we have dogs, and nowadays, robots as well. Well, these rats are smaller than dogs and they are used to living underground in the dark, crawling through tunnels and finding things with the help of their amazing noses. And they are a lot cheaper, smarter, faster and more flexible than robots. They use their sense of smell to quickly find humans, they send us a signal and then can find their way back to the surface on their own. A robot might get stuck in the rubble.

Presenter: What kind of a signal do they send you?

Peter: Well, our rats wear a backpack with a tiny camera which can send a video feed to a rescuer's phone. It also has a microphone and a speaker, making it possible for a rescue team to talk to a victim. We can't teach the rats to talk, so we need some way to communicate with any survivors from under the ruins. The rats also wear a vest with a microswitch that they are trained to pull when they locate someone. That sends us a signal.

Presenter: Amazing! So, what is your role in this project?

Peter: I started designing this backpack when I was just a freshman at university. So, it's been three years already. The problem is, the connection is often poor under collapsed buildings. There will always be places where neither GPS, nor video stream will be accessible. So, the challenge is to use multiple technologies, including a low-⁠frequency signal that should be able to travel through the rubble to transmit the location of a victim. And all this equipment has to be really small and lightweight to make it easier for the rats.

Presenter: You also major in biology. How does it help you in this project?

Peter: I love animals! I want the backpacks to be comfortable for them. I also help with their training.

Presenter: How do you train them?

Peter: The part of training that I'm involved in has to do with sending them a signal - it's a beep which tells the rat to return to the surface and receive a reward. Peanuts or a mix of bananas and avocados. They love this.

Presenter: What's the final goal of the project?

Peter: To train enough of these rats to use them in this country as well as send them to other countries where earthquakes take place.

Presenter: Thank you for coming and good luck with your project!

Peter: Thank you!

Now we are ready to start.

Presenter: Hello! This is Health and Technology. Our guest today is Dr. Buckley, a Professor of Psychology at University College London, whose latest article titled "Digital Dieting" has sparked a lot of debate. Good morning, Dr. Buckley!

Dr. Buckley: Hello!

Presenter: Dr. Buckley, the idea of limiting the amount of time people spend in front of a screen is not new, and neither is the term "Digital dieting". So, why such an explosive reaction?

Dr. Buckley: There were several points that I made that didn’t sit well with some of the readers, especially parents of teenagers. However, many other readers saw my point, and surprisingly, there was a high percentage of parents of teenagers among them, as well.

Presenter: So, what did you write that was so controversial?

Dr. Buckley: Well, it is obvious that the word "diet" as in "digital dieting" reminds people of eating habits. And this is exactly why this word is used  — it’s the same concept as in healthy eating. However, in today’s world the word "diet" is often associated with losing weight and eating very little. Similarly, many parents want to minimize the amount of time their children spend on their phones, even to the extent of starving them of this technology altogether.

Presenter: To be honest, I also thought that digital dieting was about that. It’s not?

Dr. Buckley: The word diet in the medical sense does not necessarily mean less. It comes from a Greek root that means "way of life". There are different diets for different illnesses and conditions. A diet may limit or even ban the intake of certain foods, but it never completely stops you from eating!

Presenter: So  — how can we apply this to digital devices?

Dr. Buckley: As parents, we often forget that information technology is an essential part of our teenagers' lives. You cannot just stop them from using their gadgets. They need them! For school, for fun, and for communication. While some people believe that our youngsters have lost the ability to socialize, it is not true. They use their phones to do exactly that  — stay connected to others. They communicate with a lot more people than their parents did when they were teenagers. They just do it differently. I agree that liking somebody's post on social media or even leaving a comment isn’t the same as talking to someone in person, but our kids communicate with an incredible number of people all around the world, which broadens their horizons.

Presenter: I bet this was the other point that the parents didn’t want to hear!

Dr. Buckley: You are right! But they will have to see it sooner or later. So, by digital dieting, we mean developing healthier digital habits without having to give up technology completely.

Presenter: What kinds of habits? Can you give our listeners a short list?

Dr. Buckley: Certainly. Firstly, spend more time outside. Nowadays, teenagers spend as little as four minutes outside on average. This is unacceptable. It leads to depression and other disorders. Secondly, while outside, try to take a break from your gadgets. Look at the sky, trees, birds, or other people. Jog or take a brisk walk daily. Outdoor free time provides various benefits, including better school performance. Thirdly, avoid using digital devices before sleeping at all costs. Turn them off at a specific time every day and spend at least one or two hours before bedtime doing something that doesn’t involve screens. This way you will get much better sleep. Finally, when talking to other people, don’t get distracted by phones. It’s much more enjoyable to have a conversation with a person who pays attention and therefore (fades out).

Now we are ready to start.

Presenter: Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to our daily programme, Tips from Psychologists. Today in our studio we have Lisa Black, Ph.D., the author of the international bestsellers Parenting, and Under Pressure. Hello, Lisa!

Lisa Black: Good afternoon. It’s great being here, thank you for inviting me here today.

Presenter: In your books, you speak about stress as a positive force. Why?

Lisa Black: Basically, stress is what happens when people operate at the edge of their capacities. Think of weightlifting  — you cannot build muscle unless you strain those muscles. Similarly, you cannot get smarter unless you are doing work that is uncomfortably difficult. Numerous research show that almost everyone who takes a new job that is hard feels stressed because of it, but six months later, they are better and smarter than they were six months prior. That means stress can actually do you good.

Presenter: Why do modern people want their children to lead a stress-⁠free life then?

Lisa Black: You see, stress is good and healthy as long as it is neither too little, nor too great. You don’t want a stress-⁠free environment for yourself or your children. You also don’t want to be overwhelmed by stress. There is chronic stress. There is traumatic stress. There are forms of stress that are over a line that is no longer healthy. We’ve lost sight of that line, and we’ve lost sight of the true benefits of stress in terms of promoting growth and durability.

Presenter: Do you have many teenagers who come to you because they suffer from stress and anxiety?

Lisa Black: Well, I definitely have a lot of kids who come in and say that they have anxiety. I tell them that everybody has anxiety. That’s how you cross the street without getting hit by cars. That’s how you get your work done because, eventually, after watching Friends for the hundredth time, you become sufficiently anxious about the work that you have to do, that you turn it off and go do the work.

Anxiety is what protects you from yourself and the world around you.

Presenter: What’s a healthy way for parents to respond when their kids are upset?

Lisa Black: When teenagers feel that they are facing a problem, but it is not an actual crisis, there may be some room to play worst-⁠case scenario. If a kid comes home and says, "There will be no one for me to sit with at lunch tomorrow," the parent can think through with the child, "Let’s say that happens, what would you do?" The key thing in this is the tune, not the lyrics, for the parent. The tone in which they engage this conversation must be one of interest, yet comfort with the reality that their child may arrive at school and have no one to sit with at lunch. That’s where the critical work gets done  — turning something that the child has declared unbearable into something that is merely a hassle.

Presenter: How do parents help themselves not to overreact?

Lisa Black: Parents often have an idea that their children should not be uncomfortable, and if the child is uncomfortable, that has to be stopped. As wellmeaning and loving as that is, that is a fundamentally handicapping view of what it means to be human. The most durable human beings can tolerate a pretty high level of discomfort. They don’t like it, but it doesn’t frighten them. If you think about any hard work you’ve accomplished, it’s not fun. We have to reject the idea that it’s a problem for our kids to be uncomfortable. That is driving a lot of what’s not working so well for our kids right now.

Presenter: Thank you very much, Lisa. You’ve given our listeners plenty of useful information to think about.

Lisa Black: Thank you.

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Presenter: Hello and welcome! This is Dogs Are Our Best Friends. Our guest today is Bentley, a 7-year-old golden retriever, well-known in our town as an "audience dog". Bentley is accompanied by his proud owner Mark Thompson. Good morning, Mark! Great to see you both in our studio today!

Mark: Hello! Great to be here! And thank you for the toy you gave Bentley  — it looks like he's having fun with it!

Presenter: My pleasure! Mark, while Bentley is playing with his new toy, could you tell us what exactly an "audience dog" is?

Mark: Sure! Audience dogs are used in speech therapy and public speaking practice. Some people jokingly call them "public speaking coaches", which is true to some extent.

Presenter: How can a dog help you learn to speak in public?

Mark: Well, as a radio host, you don't stand in front of your listeners, but you still know that thousands are listening to you. Do you remember your first day on the job?

Presenter: Will I ever forget it? I was so nervous, my hands were shaking the whole day! My tongue and lips wouldn't listen to me. It was a disaster.

Mark: Exactly! Public speaking is scary! Even practicing gives some people anxiety, especially if they're practicing in front of a teacher or even a mirror. But with a calm and quiet dog like Bentley as your listener, you feel more comfortable. Dogs create a low-stress environment. They give you a sense of non-judgmental presence that boosts your confidence.

Presenter: Have dogs been doing this for a long time?

Mark: I'm not quite sure. But I do know it began with little kids who had trouble learning to read. Some had emotional or psychological challenges, and reading out loud to dogs helped because they knew the dog wouldn't criticize or judge them if they made mistakes. The dog would simply sit there, listening and wagging its tail. That helped so many kids!

Presenter: How did Bentley become an audience dog?

Mark: We live next to a university, so, every morning Bentley and I jog on the campus grounds. Then, while I stretch, Bentley watches me. One day, a lady approached us asking if Bentley might like to volunteer in their audience dog program. I was curious, and I think, Bentley was too! We tried and loved it! And the students at the university loved it too!

Presenter: So, it's a volunteering program? You don't get anything from it?

Mark: If you mean money  — no, we don't. But students love bringing treats for Bentley. Treats and friends  — that's what he gets! As for me, it just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that we are helping. One student had to give a speech in front of four thousand people on graduation day. She was terrified. But after practicing with Bentley, she did it beautifully! I watched the ceremony online and was happy for her. She later told me that during her speech, she just imagined there were four thousand Bentleys listening. That cracked me up! So, yeah, I get lots of laughs, too!

Presenter: That's wonderful! So, can any dog be an audience dog?

Mark: No. Bentley was chosen by the University Business School psychologist  — the lady who approached us first. She had seen us several times while on her way to work and noticed how focused Bentley was watching me do my exercises. Not every dog has that focus. I bet, a chihuahua or Jack Russel wouldn't have a long enough attention span! There's also a certification process. The dogs have to be safe for students. So, they need to obey commands, be calm in different situations, be focused even when there are distractions, and of course fully vaccinated. That sort of thing. (fades out)

Presenter: Welcome back to Voices of the Land, where we talk to people who are changing the way we think about nature and sustainability. Today, I have a fascinating guest with us  — Katie Dalton, a former high school teacher who now runs Wildwood Mycology Farm right here in Oregon. Katie, thanks for joining us!

Katie Dalton: Thank you for having me!

Presenter: Your story is unique  — you left teaching to buy land and start a mushroom farm. What inspired this big change?

Katie Dalton: It started with my concerns about the way food is grown today. So much of what we eat is treated with chemicals, grown in artificial conditions, and stripped of its natural qualities. I wanted to go back to the way our ancestors  — especially indigenous communities  — gathered and grew food. Mushrooms were a perfect fit because they thrive naturally in forests, requiring no pesticides or artificial fertilizers.

Presenter: You didn’t just start a farm; you also teach people about mushroom hunting and host scientific conferences. Why was education such an important part of your project?

Katie Dalton: Well, I was a teacher for years, so education is in my blood! But beyond that, in modern America, most people only know the mushrooms they see in the supermarket  — white button mushrooms, maybe portobellos. Anything else, they call "toadstools" and assume they’re poisonous. I wanted to change that by teaching people to recognize edible wild mushrooms safely. There’s a rich tradition of mushroom hunting in many cultures, like Italy or Russia. When I was a child, I learned from Italian and Russian families in my neighborhood who took me along when they went foraging in forests. It was eye-opening!

Presenter: That’s fascinating! So, what can people expect if they join one of your mushroom hunting tours?

Katie Dalton: First, I teach safety  — how to identify edible mushrooms and avoid poisonous ones. We also talk about ethical foraging, making sure we don’t harm the environment by overpicking. We need to remember that mushrooms are also food for many animals! Then we head into the forest, and later, at the farm I show them how to cook and preserve mushrooms in different marinades, by drying and by freezing.

Presenter: Speaking of cooking, I hear you provide mushrooms to some of Oregon’s top gourmet restaurants.

Katie Dalton: That’s right! Chefs love wild mushrooms because they have so much more depth of flavor than cultivated ones. Chanterelles, morels, and matsutakes are especially prized. Many restaurants now list the source of their mushrooms on their menus, which helps educate diners about wild foraging.

Presenter: And your farm hosts scientific conferences too?

Katie Dalton: Yes! Fungi are crucial for ecosystems; they break down organic matter, support tree growth, and even have potential medical uses. For years now, several scientific conferences of mycologists have been choosing my farm as a venue for their conferences. We get the best scientists and university professors all gathered here on my farm! For those conferences I always invite local artists who paint mushrooms  — it’s a fun way to connect science with art!

Presenter: That’s incredible! Before we wrap up, what’s one message you’d like to leave our listeners with?

Katie Dalton: I’d say: reconnect with nature. Whether through mushroom hunting, gardening, or simply learning where your food comes from, we can all take small steps toward a healthier, more sustainable way of living.

Presenter: Wise words! Katie Dalton of Wildwood Mycology Farm, thank you for joining us.

Katie Dalton: Thank you!

Presenter: Hello and welcome! This is Green Horizons, where we discuss the latest environmental issues. In our studio today is Laura Jensen, an environmental activist from Canada who has been researching the impact of artificial intelligence on our planet. Laura, thanks for joining us!

Laura: Thank you for having me!

Presenter: AI is everywhere now. People use it for work, school, and even as a friend when they’re bored. What’s the danger in that?

Laura: The biggest danger is that it weakens essential human skills. When people stop thinking critically or solving problems on their own, they become dependent on AI. It starts with small things – asking AI to phrase an email or suggest what to eat for dinner – but over time, people lose confidence in their own decisionmaking.

Presenter: And that affects our minds too, right?

Laura: Oh, yeah. Studies show that relying too much on AI can reduce creativity and problem-solving abilities. And let’s be honest – AI can’t truly replace real human relationships. People need real conversations, real emotions. Talking only to AI can make loneliness worse. Also, studies suggest that too much AI use can make it harder to concentrate and remember things.

Presenter: That’s interesting. But I want to focus on the environmental side now. I think many people don’t realize AI has a massive carbon footprint.

Laura: Sadly, that’s true! The environmental impact of AI often gets ignored. AI is incredibly resource-hungry. It needs huge amounts of energy and water to function.

Presenter: Can you give us an example?

Laura: Sure! A simple AI-generated response might seem instant, but it’s not just happening in your phone – it’s processed in a massive data center where huge servers are processing your request. So, a simple question like “What’s the weather like today?” can use as much energy as boiling a kettle of water. More complex requests, like generating images or analyzing data, can use the same electricity as running a fridge for a whole day! Now imagine millions of people asking millions of questions daily – this adds up fast! The biggest AI models consume as much electricity as a small city. And in terms of water, these servers need constant cooling. One AI facility can use millions of liters per day! For example, training one large AI model can use as much water as making hundreds of cars!

Presenter: That’s insane! But technology always evolves. Back in my childhood, computers took up entire rooms if not buildings, and now they fit in our pockets. Won’t AI become more efficient too?

Laura: That’s a fair point. But we are at a critical moment. AI is expanding so fast that efficiency improvements can’t keep up. Demand is skyrocketing, and AI is becoming part of everyday life. If we don’t think about its environmental cost now, we might face serious consequences. Besides, it took quite a while for computers to become smaller. We really don’t have that much time today. Even before AI, we were struggling with climate change, water shortages, and energy crises. Now, AI is adding to those problems—maybe even doubling or tripling them.

Presenter: What’s at stake?

Laura: Data centers could become unsustainable, driving climate change even faster. If we don’t take action, we risk damaging the planet beyond repair. It’s time to ask ourselves: Do we really need AI for everything? Or should we start using it wisely – before it’s too late?

Presenter: That’s something to think about. Thank you, Laura, for this important conversation!

Laura: Thank you!

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Presenter: Hello, everybody, and here we are with our weekly programme, Five Minutes with a Star. Today in our studio we have Eva James, a world-famous singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically-trained pianist, Eva started composing songs when she was 12, and signed her first contract when she was only 15 years old. Good afternoon, Eva!

Eva James: Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me. It’s a pleasure being here.

Presenter: When you entered the music industry, you were only a teen. Was it hard for you?

Eva James: When I first started in the world of music, it was such a shock for me. It was a totally different world. In a lot of ways, I started to think that I had to be perfect, look perfect, sound perfect, and say perfect phrases. The entertainment industry is particularly judgmental.

Presenter: How did you cope with that?

Eva James: Well, at some point I just realized that there is a lot of judgment in the world. We judge each other at school. We judge each other at work. We compete. Now we’ve got social media, and we have to look at everybody judging us, telling us what they think about us and what they don’t like about us. You just grow up and realize that everybody’s opinion doesn’t matter. You just start to care less.

Presenter: You’ve just released your new album. What is it about?

Eva James: In fact, my new album is partly about what we’ve just discussed. It’s about breaking out of people’s opinions of you and redefining whoever you are, and who you want to be. It’s about life as it truly is, not as how we’re made to think that it should be. It’s about imperfection, the reality of who we are as people, and celebrating that truth.

Presenter: How did you start writing songs?

Eva James: When I was young, I wrote things down just to get them out of my head, almost to make space – because I haven’t always been so good at communicating one-to-one. So, I’d always have to write it down first and kind of understand it and then be able to talk about it. I needed to get it out of myself, out of my mind, out of my heart, out of my way – to understand it. I guess that started the ball rolling.

Presenter: Does it mean that most of your songs are very personal?

Eva James: Of course, a lot of my songs are about the things that I personally have wanted to talk about and get off my own chest. I’m not afraid to be emotional. In fact, I believe that strong people are the ones who are in touch with their emotions and their feelings. Such people can just cry at the drop of a dime, because they relate so much to someone else’s pain. I think you rob yourself of life, and rob yourself of your own experience when you don’t let yourself feel whatever it is that you feel.

Presenter: How does it feel to be a woman in the entertainment industry today?

Eva James: I speak to a lot of businesswomen and I find that they do feel very held back. It seems to me that there’s some fear about allowing us as women to rise, to go to the next level. And obviously there are still so many issues with equal pay scales and equality, and I find that pretty crazy, because obviously the more diversity there is, the stronger the business. But unfortunately, a lot of people are very archaic in their thinking, so I think that there is still that challenge. You still have to work extra hard, harder than a man would, you still have to prove yourself more. It’s very frustrating, but I also do know that this is the time of the woman – and if you don’t know it, you’d better start to get it, because otherwise you’re going to get left behind. So, I do definitely see an improvement in the world in that sense.

Presenter: Thank you very much, Eva. It has been very interesting talking to you.

Eva James: Thank you.

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