Teresa Wills, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Are You Happily Confused?

Do you feel happy today? How about happily disgusted? Maybe sadly surprised, or sadly disgusted? Human emotions are complex. But at least they’re the common language that unites us all – except when they don’t. A tribe in Namibia might interpret our expression of fear as one of wonderment. And people with autism don’t feel the emotions that others do.

So if you’re now delightfully but curiously perplexed, tune in Thursday night at 9 p.m and discover the evolutionary reason for laughter … how a computer can diagnose emotional disorders that doctors miss … and why the world’s most famous autistic animal behaviorist has insight into the emotional needs of cattle.

Shake it – a modern Polaroid love story

Can you hear it? Click, whir, wait, shake – ahhhh!

Listen Thursday night at 9 p.m. on West Virginia Public Radio, Shake it- a modern Polaroid love story.

Taking a Polaroid picture is a totally sensory experience. But it is more than just the sensation of a snapshot; there is something special and social about seeing, giving & receiving that white-framed photo.

Taking and sharing instant digital photos these days is second nature. But what is it about that white-framed, square pic that survives in our digital lives (hello, Instagram)? Does it make moments more special? Do the vintage-y filters make our art history? Or our history art? Why has the Polaroid design so clearly marked current digital photography apps and photography memes? This nostalgic devotion is simply amazing – and Polaroid is seeing a recent resurgence in popularity, even as a Polaroid Museum opens in Las Vegas in Spring, 2014.

We look at these human and visual connections in “Shake It”, an hour-long public media documentary. We weave personal narrative with interviews with experts and enthusiasts in the world of art and film, Polaroid history & digital photography, technology and design. “Shake it” has rich and diverse music, sound effects and sound beds – including shutter clicks, a vintage Eames Studio ad for Polaroid, a pop music parody and more.

Hear vox pop and short interviews with Polaroid photographers and enthusiasts, such as polaroidsf.com . We talk with Christopher Bonanos , author of “Instant: The Story of Polaroid.” And with Dave Bias, who created savepolaroid.com and now is Vice President of The Impossible Project , a company that saved hundreds of thousands of vintage Polaroid cameras from extinction. And we sit with Gus Van Sant , noted film director and Polaroid photographer, to talk about how he used Polaroid photos in his creative process.

BackStory: Memorials in America

BackStory with the American History Guys Monumental Disagreements: Memorials in America Thursday night at 9 p.m. on West Virginia Public Radio

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This is a country awash in monuments. They are the centerpieces of traffic circles, street corners and, of course, the National Mall. We have erected them to Rosie the Riveter and Confederate generals. Yet our ambivalence towards these monuments is as old as our enthusiasm for them. Case in point: The Washington Monument. Ever wonder why there isn’t actually a image of Washington on it?

In this Memorial Day episode of BackStory, we take on national remembrance. By looking at some of our country’s most iconic monuments, the Guys ask what—and whom—Americans choose to remember. They discover that memorials often tell us more about their creators than what or whom they memorialize.

Listen Thursday night at 9 p.m. on West Virginia Public Radio.

Musical Tribute and Remembrance

America’s finest military bands provide the musical continuity to this one-hour Memorial Day special presented by Bill Burkhardt, of WTIP North Shore Community Radio. Interwoven with narrative history of the holiday, it is a fitting memorial to those who have served and sacrificed.

Tune if for this special Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. on West Virginia Public Radio.

Folktale of Patriotism & Remembrance

As American founding father, and second U.S. President, John Adams noted: “Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives”. In honor of this weekend’s Memorial Day celebrations, we’re traveling the world for musical reflections, tributes and remembrances of those who gave their lives, for their country, and wise words on the importance of such patriotic acts. Beginning in our own United States, we’ll be touring Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, and beyond, w/ a special tribute to our original celebration of ‘Decoration Day’ in Civil War days.

Tune in for this special Memorial Day programming Thursday night at 9.m. on West Virginia Public Radio.

Do Millennials Stand A Chance? On Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squared U.S. brings Oxford-style debating to America — one motion, one moderator, two informed and provocative panelists for the motion, and two against. John Donvan of ABC News — Nightline is the official moderator of Intelligence Squared debates. The debate series takes on the hot-button issues of the day to inform, enlighten and entertain.

Join us Thursday night at 9 p.m. on West Virginia Public Radio.

Motion: Millennials don’t stand a chance.
Millennials—growing up with revolutionary technology and entering adulthood in a time of recession—have recently been much maligned. Are their critics right? Is this generation uniquely coddled, narcissistic, and lazy? Or have we let conventional wisdom blind us to their openness to change and innovation, and optimism in the face of uncertainty, which, in any generation, are qualities to be admired?
Moderator: John Donvan
Speaking for the motion: Binta Niambi Brown, Lawyer, Startup Advisor & Human Rights Advocate; W. Keith Campbell, Professor of Psychology, University of Georgia & Co-Author, The Narcissism Epidemic
Speaking against the motion: David D. Burnstein, Author, Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Our World &Founder, Generation18; Jessica Grose, Journalist & Author, Sad Desk Salad