Jean's Pick of the Week for April 30th

Dominique Haller

The official Pick of the Week is Wednesday's show Securing the Bomb, but at the end of a week with very challenging topics, Jean picks the joyful A Cooking Tour of Japan as her favourite show. Check out the video below!

Food Friday: Japan 4/30

Carly Yuenger



On today's show, Sarah Marx Feldner gave us a peek into the many private Japanese kitchens that she talked her way into during her four month's of travel in the country. And she came bearing gifts--sesame cookies! I could tell you how yummy they are, but I think the best way to say it is with the recipe from her book, A Cook's Journey to Japan: Fish Tales and Rice Paddies, 100 Recipes from Japanese Kitchens.

Toasted Sesame Cookies (Goma Kukki)
(Makes 10 dozen)

2/3 cup toasted white sesame seeds

1/3 cup toasted black sesame seeds

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 egg white

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks positioned in upper and lower thirds.

In medium bowl, add each ingredient, one at a time, stirring to combine after each addition. Let mixture rest 15 minutes at room temperature to allow butter to cool and batter to solidify.

Using a ½-teaspoon measure, drop batter onto 2 parchment-line baking sheets, leaving 3 inches between each cookie. Batter will spread a lot during baking.

Bake two sheets of cookies at a time in preheated oven, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until deep golden brown, rotating pans and switching their position halfway through baking. Slide parchment paper and cookies onto a rack to cool and repeat with remaining batter. Make sure you use a completely cool pan before dropping any new batter.

Store in airtight container.

Note: Excess batter will keep in freezer for up to one month. Thaw in refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using.

Toasting Sesame Seeds:

Place sesame seeds in a small dry skillet. Heat over medium heat. Shake pan or stir seeds often - they are quick to burn. As soon as seeds become aromatic and turn a light golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes, remove them from skillet and set aside to cool. (This is important to do as the pan's carryover heat may burn the perfectly toasted seeds.)

Note: Black and white seeds may be toasted together.

Jean's Pick of the Week for April 23rd

Joe Hardtke

"Fascinating." "Enjoyed your guest!" "Excellent show." That's just a fraction of the reaction we received to our favorite show last week.

Check out Jean's video pick...



Now download the show and see what all the buzz was about! It's over at the Here on Earth archive.

Guadalupe in New York, immigration laws in Arizona

Dominique Haller

Yesterday's show was initially conceived as a more general look at how Mexican immigrants in New York rely on the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe to fight for their rights as immigrants and as laborers. But with Arizona's new immigration law, which was signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer last Friday and was openly criticized by President Obama, we had a great opportunity to widen the discussion and talk about the challenges that we face regarding the regulation of undocumented immigrants coming through the Mexican-American border.

Our guest Alyshia Gálvez, Assistant Professor of Latin American and Puerto Rican Studies at Lehman College in New York City, did a great job of connecting the real life experience of undocumented immigrants with the challenges U.S. policy makers face.

Jean with our guest Alyshia Gálvez. Photo by Catherine Reiland.

What do you think about the Arizona bill? Are you aware of the struggles of immigrants today? How could the challenges on both sides of the borders be met in a constructive way?

Here on Earth - Off The Mic - Jordon Rosenblum

Joe Hardtke

Jordon Rosenblum was our guest for Fridays's show on food traditions and identity. We received a call from Susan at the very end of the show, talking about how a successful diet changed most of her personal relationships.

Jordon ran out of time to address Susan's situation directly, so in this Here on Earth exclusive, he discusses how a simple diet could potentially become a complex identity problem.



You can download Jordon's full interview at the Here on Earth archive.

Jean's Pick of the Week for April 16th

Joe Hardtke

Jean's pick this week should come as no surprise. But it also comes with a surprise, if that makes sense.

First, watch Jean reveal her pick...



...then watch this bonus video! Nick Lantz's poem fell prey to time yesterday when we had to end the show. Thank goodness for the internet, where we can indulge in art without worrying about things like programming schedules and hitting break posts. Here's Nick's entire poem, "The Year We Blew Up The Whale," complete with that "cliffhanger ending"...



You can download Jean's Pick of the Week from the Here on Earth archive.

Nick Lantz Reading 4/14

Carly Yuenger

Poet Nick Lantz will be on our show this Thursday to talk about his two new books of poetry. Nick's work is engaging, inventive, and at times political. It's sure to be a great show, but we don't want you to miss out on his reading happening before then, so here are the details:

Brittingham/Pollak Poetry Prize Reading:
Wednesday, April 14th, 7:00 pm,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Helen C. White Hall, Room 6191
Call 415-596-3027 with questions
Click here for more information

He'll be reading from his newest book, The Lightening That Strikes the Neighbors' House, which has been awarded the 2010 Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry.

You may also remember Nick's poem, “Will There Be More Than One ‘Questioner’?” from his first book, We Don't Know We Don't Know. We recorded him reading it and featured it throughout our show on the alleged cover-up of three murders at Guantanamo Bay Prison.

Jean's Pick of the Week for April 2nd

Joe Hardtke

Many of you have told us how one particular show this week caught your ear and made for a pleasurable hour of listening. It seems our host feels the same way.



Download Jean's Pick of the Week right now from the Here on Earth archive and don't forget to share your thoughts on the show at the Here on Earth hotline, 1-877-GLOBE-07.

Stephanie's Embroidered Eggs

Joe Hardtke

While the Here on Earth staff believes in the power of radio, sometimes you simply have to see it for yourself to get the full picture. That was the case today, when Croatian artist and author Stephanie Lemke-Vuljanic talked about her family's Easter traditions and her ornate embroidered eggs.

In this Here on Earth extra, as promised in the show, guest host Lori Skelton and Stephanie Lemke-Vuljanic show off the art of eggs.



Download Stephanie's interview right now at the Here on Earth archive!