Archives

As a longtime folklorist and TV personality, Fritz Wetherbee has become a bit of an institution in and of himself. First as host of NHPTV’s New Hampshire Crossroads and then through his appearances on WMUR’s Chronicle, Fritz has made a career of visiting and uncovering New Hampshire’s special places, landmarks, and legends. He collects many of these stories in his latest book, Fritz Wetherbee’s New Hampshire.

**This interview originally aired on November 8, 2005**

Maine's mighty mountain symbolizes the end of the Appalachian Trail for many people; for others, it represents the ultimate in solitude. In his new book North to Katahdin, author Eric Pinder explores the allure of the wilderness experience, and examines the ways it is changing.

**This interview originally aired August 16, 2005**

Whether it's a metaphor or a hulking machine, trains and their tracks occupy the imaginations of almost everyone who's ever heard a train whistle. Tonight we'll explore the allure of the rails on three fronts:

Humorist, essayist, and Fortune 500 business consultant Glenn Currie uses trains and boxcars as the basis for his new book of poetry, "Riding in Boxcars". We'll talk with him about choices we make on the journeys throughout life.

Chris Francis was a young man when he decided to drop out of school and become a "hobo". He rode the rails from state to state, letting fate decide his destinations. We'll hear his story from producer Ben Adair. The piece comes to us via the Public Radio Exchange. You can go directly to the story by clicking here.

And we'll learn about the efforts underway to restore the 1930s-era streamliner The Flying Yankee. It was a train created during the Great Depression to be an efficient and stylish way to get people back on the tracks. The train’s New England routes became so popular, it had to be replaced by larger trains. We'll hear about the history and future of the Flying Yankee from Paul Giblin, President of The Flying Yankee Restoration Group.

All this week, New Hampshire Public Radio has brought you stories and conversations about Consumer Driven Health Care -- an approach to insurance that aims to cut costs by putting more decision making in the hands of patients.

The Front Porch brings you a special 1-hour episode to wrap up the series. We'll find out how a move towards consumer driven care could affect the doctor patient relationship and how the advertising industry has changed the face of medicine over the years.

Our Guests Are:

Jon Greenberg, executive editor at NHPR. He'll explain the basics of Consumer Driven Health Care and how people around New Hampshire feel about it right now.

Nancy Toms, history professor at the State University of New York at Stonybrook. She specializes in the history of medicine, and in 2002 she oversaw a Duke University Medicine and Madison Avenue project that examines the relationships between modern medicine and modern advertising.

Dr. Maurice Ramirez, a Florida physician who works in three Orlando emergency rooms and also sees patients as a General Practitioner. He'll explain how the information age is changing the doctor-patient relationship and how Consumer Driven Health Care could affect it more.

And we'll hear a report from NHPR producer Kerry Grens that looks at what options are out there for New Hampshire patients who are looking to become more informed about their health options.

The 1991 rape of 76-year old Florence Holway in Alton set off a chain of legislative events that permanently changed the legal statutes regarding victims' rights in sexual assault cases in New Hampshire. We'll talk with filmmakers Charlene and Jeffrey Chapman, whose HBO documentary explores the case. We'll also talk with Sandra Matheson, the director of Victim/Witness Assistance in the Attorney General's office.

*** This is a re-broadcast of a Front Porch episode that origninally aired March 14, 2006.