This month we have met a number of inspiring people who are involved in the mega-issues that involve all of us, like climate change, healthcare, education, poverty. They are working to affect change, or at least raise the level of conversation. They're personable, too, and curious about how public radio may complement their pursuits.

We spoke with a college president whose innovative leadership has helped broaden the curriculum and resources at her school, from global-oriented education programs to new learning and teaching technologies. She is also a former National Kellogg Fellow, an expert in public health, and a poet. We spoke to her about how her experience nurturing a community of learners might translate to connecting with a community of public radio listeners, who we know are curious and passionate about the world.

Before another one of our prospective hosts traveled to Africa recently on a research trip for his next book, he sat down with us to talk about his ideas. He's an award-winning novelist who is in Nigeria right now, speaking with people living with AIDS, working to develop characters and weave real voices into his fictional work about the disease. He keeps the daunting enormity of his subject matter in check by anticipating smaller tasks, like how to ask an older person he has just met about his or her sex life. An excellent listener and engaging speaker, he is eager to learn how to use the intimate medium of radio to bring these people to a larger audience.

One of our other contacts shifted gears a few years ago to produce a film with a powerful message. The documentary he produced has reinvigorated the grassroots notion that everyone can make a difference. Where global awareness matches creative energy, you find visionaries such as this Academy Award winning producer.

One common denominator for these idealist/pragmatists is this: they talk with people. It will be exciting to figure out how we might bring these conversations to the radio.

The Launch Pad

Welcome to the LAUNCH Blog! We will be updating this site with the latest news about our project, so check in often to see what we're up to.

At the moment we're busy sniffing out talent from all over the country in our quest to find the next wave of public radio personalities. This is the place to come for updates on our meetings with leading artists, thinkers, academics performers and experts in a range of disciplines. We've already contacted several dynamos who have inspired us (and perhaps you, too) with their creativity and commitment. These include a revered former broadcast news host, a parenting guru, and one of the best-loved cookbook authors in America.
This week we're chatting with several prominent figures in the culinary world, the crème de la crème of cookbook authors and nutrition & health experts. Who knows -- maybe they will whet our appetites for foodie-infused radio programming.

Last week in L.A. we met with a nationally respected clinical psychologist who is currently touring the country to speak to parents about raising kids in today's complex world. She is the author of a New York Times bestseller and serves on the boards of several distinguished education associations. Her talent as a motivational and educational public speaker could translate well to a public radio show. Maybe we'd even get to go on tour with her.

A few weeks ago in New York we had lunch with a performance artist who wrote and stars in a politically-charged, one-woman show in New York and L.A., which showcases her talents as an actor, comedian, director, and memoirist. During the meal, she demonstrated her flair for improvisation by seamlessly breaking into one of her made-up characters, Svetlana, a Russian prostitute who attends the Academy Awards. She made us laugh and ponder. What more could you ask for in a public radio host?

The amazing thing about getting LAUNCH off the ground (so to speak) has been that almost everyone who hears about our project wants to be involved. Our struggle, we're quickly realizing, will be how to narrow down the ever-growing list of potential hosts we've compiled.
We are being willingly tugged in various directions in terms of show ideas, as we'd like our initial pilots to demonstrate a breadth of compelling topics. One of our potential hosts imagined a successful program to be both "playful and profound." We hope this is true of all of our final products; it also nicely sums up the process it takes to get there.