Grindstone Island.

NPR’s doing a series, Dead Stop,  on interesting cemeteries, and one of them is in NCPR’s back yard: Grindstone Island, which sits squarely in between Clayton, NY and Gananoque, Ontario, in the middle of the St. Lawrence River.

NPR reports that “there are only about 130 households on the island, which has no bridge or ferry service. In the past, wealthy summer residents would leave on their own boats at the end of the season. Many of the poorer residents would have to wait until the water froze over, so they could walk back across to the mainland . . . Perhaps it’s the remoteness of the island, or just the spirit of the place, that has led to a certain laissez-faire attitude to burial habits.”

Apparently the island is dotted with cemeteries, official and otherwise, with graves dating from the Civil War. You can find the full NPR story here.

It makes me think of an NCPR series produced by Angela Evancie two years ago, on Greening the Afterlife. And it also makes me curious — when you die, is there anywhere in particular you want to go?

You may have noticed some new shows on NCPR lately. There’s the TED Radio Hour, Cabinet of Wonders, and Ask Me Another. They’re all pilots. And as today’s New York Times points out, they’re all trying to capture a younger audience.

I talked to Jackie Sauter, our programming director, on the phone today. She says that the station’s been receiving brisk feedback about the pilots. People like the TED Radio Hour. They’re a bit more on the fence about the other two. Of course, that’s no indication of these programs’ ultimate success: Jackie told me that when Car Talk first came on the air, people thought it was too silly for public radio. And they weren’t so fond of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me either.

Going forward, public radio faces the challenge of creating programming that both appeals to its core older audience and attracts a younger generation of listeners. As a young reporter and listener, I know that I prefer to listen to newer programming, like the Moth and Snap Judgment, along with news and culture shows. And to my young ear, some of the old public radio mainstays are starting to sound a little  . . . dated.

Don’t get me wrong. I will of course be nostalgic for Car Talk and programs of yore. But I also look forward to public radio’s future, to its new voices and perspectives.What I’ve learned from all the old hats at NCPR is that a thriving public media system requires vision. And that gets me thinking. What do I want public radio to look and sound like in 10, 20, 30 years?

I’ll ask you the same thing. What do you want to hear on the radio? And how can we build strong programming for public media going forward?

Editor note: you can find out more about NCPR’s three new program tryouts, weigh in on your experience, and provide feedback to NCPR and to NPR on the New Program Showcase page. –Ed.

I’m watching the weather from my apartment in downtown Burlington, Vermont, where it’s pouring heavily on and off and thundering loudly every few minutes. It looks like we’re in for an afternoon and evening of severe weather, with thunderstorm warnings, flash flood watches, and tornado watches in effect. According to the National Weather Service, a tornado watch is in effect for the entire North Country — almost all of Northern New York and Vermont — until 9 p.m. That means that weather conditions are ripe for producing tornados.

Growing up in North Texas, tornado watches — and warnings — were par for the course. We’d be at the public pool in early summer when lifeguards would blow the whistle at the first sign of lighting or a funnel cloud. Then my mom, sister, and I would beeline home and and set up shop in the closet under the stairs with our transistor radio, extra batteries, flash lights, and snacks. The other destination of choice during a tornado: in your bath tub, with a mattress pulled over your head. what memories do you have of severe summertime weather?

As today’s storm progresses, we’d like to know about what’s happening in your region. Feel free to post below or call the station (315-229-5356, or toll free 877-388-6277) to report severe weather.

A creemee.

The warm weather means it’s time for soft serve ice cream, a summer treat come early. But Vermonters call the stuff by a different name: creemees.

I’d never encountered the term before moving to Vermont, and I can’t remember anybody in the North Country using it either.

Of course, a creemee by any other name would taste as sweet.

Does anybody know the derivation of the word creemee?  (Here’s one explanation). And where are your favorite ice cream places, soft serve or otherwise?

Photograph courtesy Howard Greenberg & Bryce Wolkowitz, New York / Nicholas Metivier, Toronto, via Salon.com

Quarries are a fascinating part of Vermont’s landscape and relics of the state’s industrial past.

Travel towards Rutland and Manchester and you’ll see entire towns built on marble and slate industries. In the late 19th century, Barre, Vermont was the granite capital of the world.

Now a lot of abandoned Vermont quarries function as community swimming holes. There’s even a quarry in West Rutland that the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center has turned into a sculpture garden. It’s amazing, all these big marble sculptures against massive carved out rock and remnants of industry.

There’s something about quarries that’s palatial and grand. Their  beauty  is testament to the force of both human innovation and the earth’s geology.

Check out this slideshow for some stunning pictures of Vermont’s quarries.