Cheese with the Kitchen Sisters

Thanks to the Kitchen Sisters, the Cabot Creamery, and the Public Affairs teams of WAMU and NPR, we had a terrific time last night at the Washington Historic Society. In front of an audience of 300, Susan Stamberg interviewed the sisters, Davia and Nikki, about their broadcasting careers. Thanks to all who made it such a warm evening inside.


Mark's remarks at the Kitchen Sister's event:-

As a lifelong connoisseur of micro-waved frozen french fries and boiled frozen sprouts I am totally unsuited to the task of introducing such celebrants of food as tonight's host and special guests.

But luckily I’m here tonight to represent more than the workaholic parents’ bad diet club.

I’m speaking on behalf of the listeners to WAMU 88.5 and users of WAMU.ORG to recognize the extraordinary contribution the Kitchen Sisters have made to public radio’s reputation with more than 2-hundred features of community, story-telling, quality, curiosity, and surprise.

The kind of radio they’re making has propelled WAMU 88.5 to the rank of third most-listened to public station in the United States, and made us a major player in the Washington media market. And I’m proud to tell you that our recent Fall membership campaign yielded a record $1.4 million dollars and more than 10,000 new donors.

If you contributed, thank you. If you haven’t, as we always say, its not too late!

Much of what Davia and Nikki have achieved started with the basic ingredients of curious reporting. Poking around their chosen beats – kitchens, restaurants, family tables, farms, and – closest to my heart - allotments.

The feature on the London allotments heard this summer on Morning Edition moved me to tears. Many of these gardens were grown from the World War Two slogan “dig for victory”, and my grandfather fed many of his neighbors during that struggle from the fruits of his back-yard vegetable patch.

There's a lot of talk in public radio these days about localism – connecting what’s happening in the wider world to events, developments and challenges in our own communities. At WAMU 88.5 we try to do this every day with our local coverage. Through the celebration of food and community in all their forms The Kitchen Sisters stories have brought this mission to a new level.

And we’re additionally fortunate that speaking with them tonight is an NPR correspondent, host and author who has been with the network from the very beginning, and has remained an inspiration to public service broadcasters for more than four decades. Susan Stamberg has won every major award in broadcasting and is a pioneer for women in the industry.

Of course, she began her radio career at WAMU where she served as journalist, program director, and general manager. Together with her wonderful husband Lou, who passed away just a year ago, Susan has been one of the station’s most committed supporters ever since.

And she also knows a little bit about food. And it is around this time of year when Susan’s legendary recipe for Cranberry Relish becomes the talk of the airwaves once again. So with celebration, and giving thanks in mind, I introduce to you Susan Stamberg, and The Kitchen Sisters.

The Pet Show's Euthanasia

First published at The Conversation

In its short life on the air in Washington D.C., Calling All Pets barked, chased, wagged its tail, and generally charmed the WAMU listeners into becoming lasting friends. And there were treats galore, also, during the membership campaigns when many listeners expressed their pleasure at having a pal on Saturday mornings.

It survived the questions from some in the public radio stratosphere who thought it not journalistically analytical or poker-faced enough to be on our air. To the contrary, I argued, we all need some fun on the weekends, especially the pet-mad citizens of the Washington area.

Alas, in the coming weeks we'll be replacing the show, which is no longer being produced by Wisconsin Public Radio. Right now, we're repeating the best programs for the Uber-fans, which is why you'll hear a message saying "don't call." Financially sustainable models for hour long public radio shows are hard to come by (there is a mere handful - Car Talk, Prairie, Wait Wait, etc) and Wisconsin simply couldn't sustain the costs to their listeners any longer (it was free to us, and other stations.)

Its success lay in its focus. It didn't obsess (as us pet lovers do) on arthritis problems, training techniques, or flea and tick medicine. It majored on helping the animal and human worlds understand, and compare, each others' behavior. It was really the closest public radio has come to a great show about psychology. Hence it attracted thousands of listeners who don't have pets, as well as those who do.

Like the cautious person I'm accused of being, I'll only say we're exploring all options. Producing our own animal program, or looking elsewhere for the 7 a.m. slot. But we'll miss the smile and the drooling tongue of Calling All Pets and, judging from the listening numbers, so will thousands of others.

Rest assured, it will be laid to rest in peace.