Mapping Main Street

As last year's election drew close and the economy plummeted, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama battled it out over helping Main Street versus Wall Street. The phrase "Main Street" became not-so-secret political code for the middle class. But it also evoked a certain mythology, of a golden age of small-town American community.

Two Peabody Award-winning radio producers, Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler, were intrigued by what people meant when they talked about Main Street. After all, there are 10,466 of them across the country. Along with media artist Jesse Shapins and economist James Burns, the four loaded up a Subaru station wagon for a 12,000-mile summer-long road trip to talk to people about their Main Streets.

The radio series is airing on NPR's Weekend Edition, and the Mapping Main Street website has attracted photographs, videos, and stories from people across the country. Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler join us with more.