We're Off and Running!

Hi Guys,

Today was a big day for Here on Earth - we began broadcasting on our new weekday schedule- three o'clock Monday through Friday - out of a brand new studio that's been converted just for us! And, to make sure that absolutely nothing would be familiar, I'm typing this on a brand new keyboard that, for the first five minutes, recorded everything I wrote in numbers rather than letters!

Anyway, everything went off pretty much without a hitch. It's a bit crowded in Studio B, but it feels cozy and intimate, as a radio studio should. I feel certain we are likely to attract a much wider audience in the new time slot, with a lot more callers to draw from. I feel encouraged that our program today, about African-Americans returning to Africa, attracted two African callers in addition to a few Wisconsinites: Annette, a Franco-African originally from Martinique, and our old friend, Hadde, from Mali, who has happily migrated with us from weekendsto weekdays. Thank you, Hadee, and to everyone else who called in today! We're hoping to create a much more interactive program, with many more opportunities for all of you to help us shape the program. So, please, by all means let us know what you think. If you didn't get on the air today, you can still register your thoughts on my blog, by emailing us at hereonearth@wpr.org (the email wasn't working today for some reason, but we'll fix that), or by posting a comment on our forum.

A heads-up for next week: On Tuesday, my guest will be Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to summit Mt. Everest. He just returned from leading a mixed group of teenagers - some sighted, some blind- on an expedition to Macchu Picchu.

Any great show ideas out there? We'd love to hear 'em! Keep those cards and letters coming! And, by the way, we'll be posting some pictures from my trip to Italy later this week, andLisa Nett has a review of Favela Rising she wants to share. I saw it too. Great stuff.

Bye for now,
Jean