COVER STORY
Natural Disaster
Kurt Andersen and writer Sebastian Junger talk about why our culture is drawn to the menace, and beauty, of natural disaster.

Hurricane
The photographer Clifford Ross has spent several years chasing down Hurricanes along the East Coast. Waist-deep in the stormy water, Ross captures the moment when the waves turn from ominous to terrifying. Produced by Michael Raphael.
Goto Clifford Ross' web site
See the photographs by Clifford Ross

Earthquake
The 1994 Northridge Quake in California killed 56 people and caused $20 billion in damage. As scary as the ‘94 disaster was, one artist in Los Angeles found the aftermath in his apartment building inspiring. Produced by Matt Holzman.
Go to a review of Bill Radawecs “Crack-Up” exhibit
Go to a review of “Crack-Up” at Zing Magazine

Godzilla
If you thought Godzilla was a symbol for the atom bomb, you were half right. He also stands in for a threat the Japanese have lived with for centuries. David Kalat, author of “A Critical History” of the Godzilla series, J.D. Lees of “G-Fan,” and Chris Holland and Scott Hamilton of stomptokyo.com connect the forces of nature to the world's most destructive lizard. Produced by Jonathan Mitchell.
Go to David Allender's obscure film site
Go to G-Fan.com a bi-monthly Godzilla zine
Go to Stomp Tokyo, devoted to B-Movies and Godzilla

SPECIAL GUEST
Sebastian Junger
Sebastian Junger wrote The Perfect Storm, the best-selling nonfiction book about a Gloucester fishing crew lost in an extraordinary North Atlantic hurricane. His most recent book, Fire, is a collection of stories from various dangerous journalism assignments, ranging from battle in Afghanistan, to fire fighting in the American northwest.
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Go to the Perfect Storm Foundation
Go to a bio of Sebastian Junger

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Commentary
Crafting a New Identity
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Now Playing
A big hit on Broadway right now is a revival of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, starring Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci. The play is what theater people call a two-hander - because it uses only two actors to tell its story. Two-handers are cheap to produce, and there are other good reasons why this kind of play is so popular. Produced by Jeff Lunden.
Go to a review of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Clogging Govenor
Now that the fall elections are over, acrimonious and tricky as ever, we thought we'd close the show with a politician --and a tricky one too. Bob Wise is Governor of West Virginia, but he's also a devotee of the shuffling, stomping Appalachian dance called clogging. Produced by Trey Kay..
Go To West Virginia Governor Bob Weiss’ site

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