Melton Barker spent 4 decades traveling the US filming the same movie in any town willing to pay to see their name and residents on the big screen. The film, The Kidnapper’s Foil, loosely centers around the kidnapping of character “Betty Davis”…but then somehow turns into a town talent show (cue the townies eager to show off of their tap-dancing skills). There are hundreds of versions of The Kidnapper’s Foil dating from the 1930’s to the 70’s.
There is no script for the interview, but the 9min audio is well worth it. You can view several versions of The Kidnapper’s Foil and search for your home town here.
I’ll admit, I was late to the Harlem Shake phenomenon. A 30-second video where one person dances to a dubstep beat surrounded by people seemingly going about a task not paying attention, then 15 seconds in the video cuts to everyone dancing with obscure costumes and props. Here NPR speaks with Jay Smooth, Harlemite and host of the hip-hop video blog Ill Doctrine, about the origin of the Harlem Shake and how it has evolved into the popular meme.
Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is celebrating it’s 200th birthday. The BBC naturally had lots of coverage, which brought my attention to Austenland, a rom com/mockumentary about a young woman obsessed with Pride & Prejudice. Watch the movie trailer and Sundance review here.
Austenland
Happy 200th Pride & Prejudice!
• Also worth reading: “Janeites: The curious American cult of Jane Austen” [BBC]
WBEZ in Chicago recently launched Curious City, where Chicagoans submit their curiosities about the city and surrounding area – and CC does their best to answer. Recent inquiries have included “did Al Capone really have secret tunnels throughout the suburbs?” and “where does all the Lincoln Park Zoo animal waste go?” (I’d never thought about it, but was indeed curious for the answer).
This week, Curious City discusses the question “What happened to the Nike Missile sites around Chicago?” During the Cold War, Chicago had several missile launch sites scattered about the lakefront, including at Belmont Harbor. The story of the Nike Missiles, how they got here and where they went, is a fascinating piece of forgotten Chicago history.
IFC Radar Towers at Promontory Point, 55th St & South Shore Drive [Courtesy of Michael Epperson / wbez.org]
In recognition of Roe V. Wade’s fortieth anniversary, NPR had several stories on one of the nation’s most controversial subjects. Terry Gross’s Fresh Air was especially horrifying: ‘We Have No Choice’: A Story of the Texas Sonogram Law. “What good is a law that adds only pain and difficulty to perhaps the most painful and difficult decision a woman can make?”
On Morning Edition, Tina Brown recommended her three must-reads for the week. Her last pick peaked my interest – The New York Times obituary for Jeanne Vertefeuille, a longtime CIA official who was instrumental in catching Aldrich Ames, “one of the 20th century’s most notorious moles.”
Jeanne Vertefeuille, center, and other members of the team that tracked down Aldrich Ames. [nytimes.com / CIA]
A day behind, but still worth sharing. Smithsonian Magazine writer Megan Gambino recently wrote about Lincoln’s menu for his second inaugural ball – which ended in some-what of a food fight. Listen to the NPR story here.
“The floor of the supper room was soon sticky, pasty and oily with wasted confections, mashed cake, and debris of fowl and meat…”
Menu for Lincoln’s 2nd inaugural ball, March 6, 1865 [Smithsonian Institution / NPR.org]
![IFC Radar Towers at Promontory Point, 55th St & South Shore Drive[Courtesy of Michael Epperson / wbez.org]](https://hearditonnpr.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/chicago-cold-war-2.jpg)
![1961 map of Chicago missile sites [wbez.org]](https://hearditonnpr.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/chicago-cold-war.jpg)
![[streetlaw.org]](https://hearditonnpr.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/abortion.jpg)
![Jeanne Vertefeuille, center, and other members of the team that tracked down Aldrich Ames. [nytimes.com / CIA]](https://hearditonnpr.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/cia.jpg)
![Menu for Lincoln's 2nd inaugural ball, March 6, 1865 [Smithsonian Institution / NPR.org]](https://hearditonnpr.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/lincoln-menu.jpg)
![[MPI/Getty Images]](https://hearditonnpr.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/inauguration.jpg)
I heard it on NPR 