Heather McElhatton Radio Archives
NOTE: Sound files are not here due to size - but you can go to the individual program websites
and do a search for stories. Sometimes if you do a search for "McElhatton" on the websites -
that can help.
Every Journalist has stories that stick with them.
These are mine...
www.thislife.org
This American Life," one of public radio's sweetest success stories, works because it
offers quirky essays that invite its 1.7 million listeners to fill in the visual blanks. Now
creator Ira Glass is tinkering with the formula by adding an intimidating element: Moving
pictures.
The TV version of "Life," debuting Thursday on Showtime, offers the same kind of stories
that the radio show specializes in, but matches the offbeat tales with offbeat footage.
Diehard fans of the radio show may find the visuals as intrusive as a barrage of special
effects, something Glass himself worried about, and one reason the show took five years
to develop. "Ira was as concerned, if not more concerned, than anybody that TV wouldn't
affect the show's integrity," said Minnesota Public Radio host Heather McElhatton, whose
piece on her childhood trauma of peeing on the school bus appears on the first episode.
"Life" is different from what you're used to seeing on television, particularly on the always
edgy Showtime network. "We kept waiting for the moment where they would say, 'Yeah,
yeah, this is good, but when do the girls take off their tops?' " Glass said. The camera,
usually set a good distance back to make the subjects feel more comfortable, often sits on
a tripod. That can lead to a collage of still images rather than the on-the-run feel of many
modern-day documentaries.
"Truthfully, we could have just put people into a studio and filmed them telling their
stories," Glass said. "But we tried to be really ambitious with the way it's shot."
In early episodes, the visuals struggle to match the words. Footage of an 8-year-old
actress recreating McElhatton's bladder-freeing moment in time doesn't do justice to her
intimate, hilarious essay. A piece on a farmer who clones his pet bull, then discovers that
the "reincarnation" isn't so friendly never shows us footage of the bull butting his owner. A
reading from a reckless 13-year-old's frank diary is, well, a reading.
But episode four meets the show's lofty goals, as we visit a Salt Lake City painter who
uses homeless, long-bearded Mormons as models for his tableaux featuring Jesus. No
way this would have worked as well on radio. If the TV version of "Life" can produce more
pieces like this, radio fans will embrace this offshoot.
"We really did it because we thought it would be cool to work with pictures," Glass said.
"We wanted to see if we could come up with something that had the feeling of the stories
we love. We killed ourselves trying to find out. If it doesn't work, it's not for lack of trying."
njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431
Cord Blood
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
Did getting a transfusion of "Girl Blood" change DeWayne Seelow forever? He
thinks it did. After Dr. Juliet Barker gave him a blood transfusion of a few cc's of
stem cell blood from an anonymous baby girls umbilical cord - it completely put his
advanced leukemia into remission. He claims it also put his golf game to hell and
now he likes shopping.
Stage Sessions
Minnesota Public Radio (www.mpr.org)
My live show at The Fitzgerald Theater, which features writers, musicians,
comedians and poets. (See my links page for performer's websites)
(All photos by brooks Peterson)
Big Love in Big Church
Stage Sessions (www.mpr.org)
As a tween, I fell madly in love with a boy at church who never knew I existed, that is
until I fell down three flights of balcony stairs during the "Big Church" service,
exposing my love, fears and underwear for all to see.
Broke Piano
Stage Sessions (www.mpr.org)
For valentines day my grandfather tried to serenade my grandmother by playing
her a song on their upright piano, which he'd shoved out onto a sheet of ice in the
middle of the lake. Fiasco ensues - and the piano, to this day is at the bottom of
Lake Superior.
Lost in the Mail
Weekend America (www.weekendAmerica.org)
Every year millions of packages are lost in the US. Mink coats, Urns, love letters,
revenge mail - anything you can buy, make or ship ends up at this USPS Recovery
Center.
Arson of the lambs
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
The Read family are shepherds and gourmet cheese makers. They lived in their
own paradise before someone set it on fire and killed all their lambs - except one.
Arabia Steam Boat
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
The worlds largest shipment of civil war artifacts was buried for hundreds of years
and kept in perfect condition.
The God Mall
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
I take a pastor shopping at the mall and ask him what God would be buying. My
editors never liked this story very much, but I did, because besides saying God
would like Victoria Secrets, the pastor and I were pulled over by the police and I
got into a shouting match with the cops. All caught on tape. Classy.
God and the Simpson's
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
I sit down with a born-again Christian (and incidentally a good friend of my
mothers. Sorry again mom...) and talk about God, pop culture, Ned Flanders,
modern Christians and why, despite the whole "Love one another" and "judge, lest
you be judged" thing, some of them are still so annoying.
These are mine...
www.thislife.org
This American Life," one of public radio's sweetest success stories, works because it
offers quirky essays that invite its 1.7 million listeners to fill in the visual blanks. Now
creator Ira Glass is tinkering with the formula by adding an intimidating element: Moving
pictures.
The TV version of "Life," debuting Thursday on Showtime, offers the same kind of stories
that the radio show specializes in, but matches the offbeat tales with offbeat footage.
Diehard fans of the radio show may find the visuals as intrusive as a barrage of special
effects, something Glass himself worried about, and one reason the show took five years
to develop. "Ira was as concerned, if not more concerned, than anybody that TV wouldn't
affect the show's integrity," said Minnesota Public Radio host Heather McElhatton, whose
piece on her childhood trauma of peeing on the school bus appears on the first episode.
"Life" is different from what you're used to seeing on television, particularly on the always
edgy Showtime network. "We kept waiting for the moment where they would say, 'Yeah,
yeah, this is good, but when do the girls take off their tops?' " Glass said. The camera,
usually set a good distance back to make the subjects feel more comfortable, often sits on
a tripod. That can lead to a collage of still images rather than the on-the-run feel of many
modern-day documentaries.
"Truthfully, we could have just put people into a studio and filmed them telling their
stories," Glass said. "But we tried to be really ambitious with the way it's shot."
In early episodes, the visuals struggle to match the words. Footage of an 8-year-old
actress recreating McElhatton's bladder-freeing moment in time doesn't do justice to her
intimate, hilarious essay. A piece on a farmer who clones his pet bull, then discovers that
the "reincarnation" isn't so friendly never shows us footage of the bull butting his owner. A
reading from a reckless 13-year-old's frank diary is, well, a reading.
But episode four meets the show's lofty goals, as we visit a Salt Lake City painter who
uses homeless, long-bearded Mormons as models for his tableaux featuring Jesus. No
way this would have worked as well on radio. If the TV version of "Life" can produce more
pieces like this, radio fans will embrace this offshoot.
"We really did it because we thought it would be cool to work with pictures," Glass said.
"We wanted to see if we could come up with something that had the feeling of the stories
we love. We killed ourselves trying to find out. If it doesn't work, it's not for lack of trying."
njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431
Cord Blood
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
Did getting a transfusion of "Girl Blood" change DeWayne Seelow forever? He
thinks it did. After Dr. Juliet Barker gave him a blood transfusion of a few cc's of
stem cell blood from an anonymous baby girls umbilical cord - it completely put his
advanced leukemia into remission. He claims it also put his golf game to hell and
now he likes shopping.
Stage Sessions
Minnesota Public Radio (www.mpr.org)
My live show at The Fitzgerald Theater, which features writers, musicians,
comedians and poets. (See my links page for performer's websites)
(All photos by brooks Peterson)
Big Love in Big Church
Stage Sessions (www.mpr.org)
As a tween, I fell madly in love with a boy at church who never knew I existed, that is
until I fell down three flights of balcony stairs during the "Big Church" service,
exposing my love, fears and underwear for all to see.
Broke Piano
Stage Sessions (www.mpr.org)
For valentines day my grandfather tried to serenade my grandmother by playing
her a song on their upright piano, which he'd shoved out onto a sheet of ice in the
middle of the lake. Fiasco ensues - and the piano, to this day is at the bottom of
Lake Superior.
Lost in the Mail
Weekend America (www.weekendAmerica.org)
Every year millions of packages are lost in the US. Mink coats, Urns, love letters,
revenge mail - anything you can buy, make or ship ends up at this USPS Recovery
Center.
Arson of the lambs
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
The Read family are shepherds and gourmet cheese makers. They lived in their
own paradise before someone set it on fire and killed all their lambs - except one.
- More info on the farm: www.shepherdswayfarms.com
Arabia Steam Boat
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
The worlds largest shipment of civil war artifacts was buried for hundreds of years
and kept in perfect condition.
- More info on Arabia at: www.1856.com
The God Mall
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
I take a pastor shopping at the mall and ask him what God would be buying. My
editors never liked this story very much, but I did, because besides saying God
would like Victoria Secrets, the pastor and I were pulled over by the police and I
got into a shouting match with the cops. All caught on tape. Classy.
God and the Simpson's
Weekend America (www.weekendamerica.org)
I sit down with a born-again Christian (and incidentally a good friend of my
mothers. Sorry again mom...) and talk about God, pop culture, Ned Flanders,
modern Christians and why, despite the whole "Love one another" and "judge, lest
you be judged" thing, some of them are still so annoying.
