Vast Wasteland

On May 9th, 1961, a still-celebrated speech rocked the world of broadcast television. In it, FCC Chairman Newton Minow zeroed in on television's vapid programming landscape, and the words "vast wasteland" became a contemporary catchphrase. More from WNYC's Sara Fishko in this edition of Fishko Files. This is the final edition of Fishko Files at WNYC. The episodes will live online and in the WNYC archives. You can find more extended Fishko work on our website.

Tomorrow, May 1st, marks the 90th anniversary of the opening of the Empire State Building. As WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us, the building's rise to its 102-story height is only one of the ways it towered over all the rest. More, in this episode of Fishko Files.

In honor of this weekend's Oscars: WNYC's Sara Fishko with this Fishko Files from the archive, filled with the award-winning voices of some of the great women of Hollywood's Golden Age. (Produced in 2013)

In honor of April, National Poetry Month, WNYC's Sara Fishko asks the question: what's the connection between poets' speaking voices, and the poems they create? (Produced in 2012)

The celebrated children's tale with music, Peter and the Wolf - as WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us - was first heard in Moscow in the spring of 1936, an ominous time in the Soviet Union. Everywhere it went after that, it thrilled a listenership of kids. More, in this episode of Fishko Files.

When we produced a feature on the celebrated Leonard Bernstein concert-broadcasts known as the Young People's Concerts (1958-1972), we were thrilled to find Roger Englander, the celebrated producer and director of the broadcasts, still alive. The interview is contained in this Fishko Files, which we replay in honor of Englander - who died recently at the age of 94.  Read more on Roger Englander’s life and work in his New York Times obituary.

The tradition of siblings singing together is as old as song. WNYC’s Sara Fishko looks at brothers, sisters, and sibling harmony in this edition of Fishko Files. (Produced in 2001)

A hundred years ago, as WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, a popular song appeared at a time similar to our own - when people desperately wanted to 'move on' from crisis. In this episode of Fishko Files, the unsentimental resolve of the song "There’ll Be Some Changes Made."

Michael Rabin, who lived from 1936 to 1972, was a midcentury, classical music phenomenon - a genuine violin prodigy, concertizing as a teenager and, later, stumbling in his career and his life. In this archival Fishko Files, WNYC's Sara Fishko talks to Itzhak Perlman to sort out Rabin's tragic story and his phenomenal playing. (Produced in 1999)

James M. Cain's novel The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) was adapted for the movies seven times. The most celebrated version was released 75 years ago, when Cain was on a roll - with three film adaptations made from his books in quick succession in the mid 1940s. WNYC's Sara Fishko and guests investigate the appeal of Cain's film noir-friendly style. (Produced in 2011)