One Way Through

Charlie Simpson's family has been farming in Jefferson County, Missouri for a very long time. His great grandfather moved there in 1896. Charlie is the 4th generation farmer, and his son, who works the farm now, is the 5th generation.

Echo Valley Corn Maze - larger >>

But this year, the weather has hit Charlie hard. This latest drought comes on the heels of a string of bad weather incidents. Charlie says the creek in town is the lowest he's ever seen it.

So, Charlie is building himself a field of dreams - but it's not a baseball field, it's a corn maze. The family has over 7 miles of trails that meander through the corn.

• Find out more about the maze

Music heard in this story: Field of Dreams by Mark Ayres for the album Titanic - The Essential James Horner Film Music Collection

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Surviving Blackwater

Janessa Gans

Janessa Gans had regular contact with the private security company, Blackwater. Between 2003 and 2005 she was working in Iraq, and on many of her trips around the country she traveled in vehicles driven by Blackwater contractors. Janessa talks to Dick about both the professionalism and recklessness she experienced firsthand.

In her opinion, every time a Blackwater convoy passed through an Iraqi town, the company lowered the reputation of the United States in the eyes of Iraqis.

• Read an article Janessa wrote about her experiences with Blackwater
  

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Listener Follow-Up - 500 Things

Grant Baciocco - see his things >>

Grant Baciocco heard Dick Gordon's conversation with Chris McNaught, a man who was in the process of paring down the items he owns to 500 things. Chris, who says he was inspired by someone else, has now inspired Grant to begin his own quest.

Grant says he is going to whittle down his belongings to just 600 things. This will be a feat for Grant - he has spent many years collecting comic books, various toys, and countless odds and ends. Grant is blogging about this experience, and he is sharing each update via video from his house.

• See Grant's room before and after
• Follow Grant's progress on his blog
  

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Listener Follow-Up - Attending to Birth

Carrie Klein - see her family >>

Carrie Klein and Al Heebsh heard Dick's conversation with Ruth Lubic, a pioneer in the movement to re-introduce midwives into the birthing process. They had very different reactions.

Carrie Klein was born in the 50s, at a time when using a midwife during childbirth was - to say the least - an unpopular practice. When she was born, the nurse attending her birth was told to push Carrie back in until the doctor could arrive, and the nurse tried to do just that. When Carrie's own children were born, she used a midwife in a midewifery wing of a hospital, and she found that experience to be in stark contrast to what her mother went through.

Al Heebsh - see his family >>

Al Heebsh, on the other hand, says giving birth - though not a medical emergency - should not be too separated from the medical system. The birth of his first daughter required some extra help from doctors and nurses. Because of his experience, Al believes women should give birth only in hospitals.

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Listener Follow-Up - 500 Things

Sallye Coyle heard Dick's conversation with Chris McNaught, a man trying to whittle his belongings down to 500 things.

Sallye Coyle

Sallye knows about the importance of traveling light - when she was a young woman, she backpacked across Europe. Later, when she traveled in Europe with her children, she taught them to pack just the essentials - pants, shirts, shoes, and maybe a camera.

On a trip from Florence to London, Sallye decided she and her children would forgo their usual pattern of traveling by first class sleeper car and get seats in another part of the train. They ended up meeting three young men with lives very different from their own - and very different baggage packed for their trips.

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Listener Follow-Up - Tourette's

Jim Eckblad

Jim Eckblad was driving in Milwaukee when he heard Dick's interview with Campbell Johnson about growing up with Tourette Syndrome. He had to pull the car over and listen. The condition Campbell was describing sounded very familiar.

Jim tells Dick that the program affected him so profoundly that he ended up going to the doctor, where he was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome himself.

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Sputnik Kids

Tom Ward

50 years ago today, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made object to orbit the earth.

At the time, Tom Ward was a student in East Los Angeles. Although his school didn't have great math and science programs, the launch of Sputnik convinced him he had a future career in the space program. He spent long hours gazing up at the sky, straining to see Sputnik.

Later, the U.S. government pumped more funding into math and science programs. Tom went on to get several degrees, became a professor, and ended up working for the Department of Energy's space program.

And that's where he met Dr. Alexander Rimski-Korsakov. Alex grew up at the same time Tom did, but in Russia. Dick talks to both men about how Sputnik shaped their lives, and what it's like to now work with someone from the other side.

Music heard in this story: Sputnik (song for Laika)by Sputnik for the album Meet Sputnik; Flight of the Bumble-Bee by Itzhak Perlman for the album Itzhak Perlman's Greatest Hits

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Painting by Intuition

Dean Nimmer

The first time Dean Nimmer went to teach abstract art in China, he had to change what he called it. Before his first seminar, professors from China's Central Academy of Art wrote Dean to tell him there was no equivalent word in Chinese for "abstract art," and suggested he use the expression "intuition painting" instead.

Dean talks with Dick about what it was like to teach art in a communist system where students prize similarity. Through concrete workshops like painting blindfolded, Dean made a connection with his Chinese students and learned that "intuition painting" is a better description of what he teaches.

• See photos of Dean's workshops in China
  
• See Dean's art

Music heard in this story: Blue Little Flower (Chinese Traditional)by The Silk Road Ensemble & Yo-Yo Ma for the album Silk Road Journeys - When Strangers Meet; Oasis by Yo-Yo Ma, The Silk Road Ensemble for the album Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon

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