VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE 58
AIR DATE 02 22 2019
TRANSCRIPT
Draft 02 21 2019
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Strumming
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((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Healing
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((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Playing Games
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((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((Banner: Tales from Tennessee))
((VIDEO MONTAGE of TENNESSEE))
((PKG)) GRAND OLE OPRY
((Banner: Music City USA))
((Reporter: Lesia Bakalets))
((Camera: Sergey Sokolov))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Nashville, Tennessee))
((NATS))
((John Shepherd, Musician))
There was a show and there is a show called the Grand Ole Opry.
((NATS))
This is the place to go. Like you have to come here if you’re going to come and enjoy the real authentic country music. So, here we are.
((John Shepherd, Musician))
And so that’s why people come here. Hello, my name is John Shepherd. We are at Robert’s Western World on Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee. Welcome to Nashville.
((NATS))
((John Shepherd, Musician))
I know next to 2,000 songs by all these artists you see around here. That’s what I do. I’m more like a jukebox. On this stage, 18 years. On that street, that block, 46 years. I play all kinds.
Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots.
Hey good looking, what you got cooking, how’s about cooking something up with me.
((NATS))
((John Shepherd, Musician))
People come from all over the world to be and see and listen to country music.
((NATS))
When the Grand Ole Opry came, it had some stars they needed to record. They couldn’t take them to New York every time they wanted to do a session. One company would move here, another company would move here and pretty soon, all the country music was done here.
((NATS))
((John Shepherd, Musician))
Ryman auditorium is right out that back door, the stage door of the Ryman auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry.
((Laura Jones, Tour Guide))
This is the artist entrance. It’s where all the stars come in. The bushes are in the shape of stars. They’re really making it work right, so.
To play at the Grand Ole Opry show, you have to be invited. So, you can’t just have, you know, your booking agent call and say, “Hey, I’ve got an act coming through town. Can they play?” Like, it’s more like, we, don’t call us, we call you kind of thing.
To be a member of the Grand Ole Opry, as a country music artist, that’s the ultimate goal. That means you’ve made it. That means you are a legend and you’re going to live on and it also means you’re going to have a home forever. You get your own mailbox. You are, you know, this is a second home to the artists. This one is Garth Brooks, 103. Dolly Parton. So, we have everything from legends to newer acts.
((NATS))
You have to stop here. You have to come to Grand Ole Opry when you’re here in Nashville. It’s iconic.
((Laura Jones, Tour Guide))
So, you have to keep in mind all of the famous stages across the United States. This is in the tops. We are one of the most famous stages that there really is anywhere. It’s unlike any other place in the world, really.
((NATS))
((John Shepherd, Musician))
And so that’s why people come here. It’s why you’re here. That’s why I’m here. Because thinking that maybe we’ll be a star in country music.
((NATS))
((PKG)) JACK DANIEL’S WHISKEY
((Banner: Tennessee Whiskey))
((Reporter: Lesia Bakalets))
((Camera: Sergey Sokolov))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Lynchburg, Tennessee))
((NATS))
((Jeff Arnett, Master Distiller, Jack Daniel’s Distillery))
If you live in another state, if you tell someone you’re from Tennessee, there’s only a couple of things that are going to come up with most people and that is music and whiskey. It is truly what the state is most known for and, of course, the music takes on a lot of different varieties. Some people will be talking about Elvis. Others might be talking about country music, but when it comes to whiskey, there’s really only one brand they’re talking about and that’s Jack Daniel’s.
I’m very, very honored to serve as the master distiller of Jack Daniel’s today.
Whiskeys are very much a product of their place. So that the yeast culture that we use here was harvested from this area, so it has sort of a local flavor to it. The Cave Spring water that flows, that’s used to make every drop of Jack Daniel’s, only flows from one place. So, you know, I think if you try to take Jack Daniel’s and move it to another location, that it just wouldn’t be the same.
((Ben Spears, Tour Guide, Jack Daniel’s Distillery))
So, Jack heard two things. Well, three things really. Number one, iron free. If you have iron, it’s going to ruin color and flavor. So, iron’s going to mess with the production process. This is limestone, and limestone rock is a natural filter of iron. So, as the water goes down through the limestone, it’s going to be naturally iron free. It’s going to have things like calcium and magnesium, which are good for making whiskey, but it’s also very chilly, as you can feel. And something what you need when you make whiskey is a cold water source for cooling certain things during the process. So, this is 56* Fahrenheit (13* G) all year round.
((Jeff Arnett, Master Distiller, Jack Daniel’s Distillery))
When people think of Tennessee whiskey, they largely think of Jack Daniel’s. But if we go back in our history, prior to the turn of the century, back into the 1800s, the true distinction of Tennessee whiskey has always been that they were
((Courtesy: Jack Daniel’s))
charcoal mellowed somehow. And that largely was created in this area and called the Lincoln County process.
((NATS))
((Ben Spears, Tour Guide, Jack Daniel’s Distillery))
It’s actually still smoking a little bit, but it’s not hot, it’s just kind of warm. What this is in the world of science really, is activated carbon, which is an odorless natural filtration system. So, from top to bottom, it’s going to take the whiskey about four to six days to travel through the charcoal. It’s going to filter out those things we don’t want and don’t need and then the whiskey’s going to go into a barrel. So, that charcoal is just a giant filtration system, about four to six days, about a gallon of whiskey a minute, across about 72 vats at the same time.
((Jeff Arnett, Master Distiller, Jack Daniel’s Distillery))
So, we taste our whiskey, both before and after charcoal mellowing. But then, after charcoal mellowing, days later, we’ll also taste it again. Then years later in the process, after it comes out of the barrel, there’s also, sort of, a final tasting.
((Courtesy: Jack Daniel’s))
And that’s when we’re confirming character for our different brands, for single barrel, for our Old No. 7 Tennessee whiskey, and for Gentleman Jack, and each one has distinct characteristics that we’re looking for. So, tasting is definitely a big part of what we have to do here, take notes on it and then move to the next sample.
((Ben Spears, Tour Guide, Jack Daniel’s Distillery))
So, what we do is we call it maturation. We mature the whiskey. It doesn’t sit in there for a certain time. It sits in there until it’s ready. So, we do everything to taste. We’ll go in there at four years. We’ll taste the whiskey. We’ll see if it looks right, if it tastes right, if it smells right, and then we’ll judge, is it ready or not. So, there is an average to it. It’s about a five to seven year average.
((Jeff Arnett, Master Distiller, Jack Daniel’s Distillery))
We truly want to be a friend to everyone and we think that our whiskey helps us to make friends all around the world. That, if they know nothing else about Tennessee, they can open up a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and get a sense of who we are as a group of people.
((PKG)) BANJO
((Banner: The American Banjo))
((Reporter: Lesia Bakalets))
((Camera: Sergey Sokolov))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Somerville, Tennessee))
((NATS))
((Christian Stanfield, Content Manager, GeorgeBanjos.com))
The Banjo is a uniquely American instrument. The roots of the banjo were brought over by enslaved peoples from Africa, who were brought to the Caribbean into the United States, and they made the early gourd banjos. And then in the 1830s, the African American design was modified by some white Southerners, who lived in Virginia, to create the basis of the modern banjo.
((NATS))
((Christian Stanfield, Content Manager, GeorgeBanjos.com))
So really, the banjo is the American instrument and it was made by both black and white cultures came together to produce this instrument.
((NATS))
((Christian Stanfield, Content Manager, GeorgeBanjos.com))
And so, I bought a banjo from Tommy and that’s how we met.
((NATS))
((Christian Stanfield, Content Manager, GeorgeBanjos.com))
And Tommy very graciously invited me to start coming over. And I would come over and work for a couple of hours, and in three months, I had a banjo that I had made myself.
You have the round part and you have the straight part and they’re made separately. We start with a board. I will take this and I will put it in a steam box and the steam will make it very soft. And then, I will put it in this form and it will actually be able to bend without breaking. It’ll bend around this and I will put one layer inside and another layer inside. When it comes out, it will look something like this.
((NATS))
((Tommy George, Master Luthier, GeorgeBanjos.com))
I wanted a banjo when I was a teenager, so I mowed yards around my neighborhood to raise money, and I bought a banjo, and I said, maybe I can improve it. So, I started trying to improve that one and thought, I could make one a little better than that and a little better than that and then on up till today. As I sell one, you know, I don’t take the money or spend it. I kind of put it back in. I’ll buy more parts to make more banjos. The next one I do may sound different. It may sound better. It may not sound as good as the last one. I always say if you use good parts and you put it together right, you’re going to have a good banjo.
((NATS))
((Christian Stanfield, Content Manager, GeorgeBanjos.com))
I like making banjos. I like working with wood. I like working with inlay. I like working with customers. I like working with people to help them take their vision and make something real out of it.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
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Apothecary
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BREAK ONE
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BLOCK B
((Banner: At the Museum))
((PKG)) NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY—RECENT ACQUISITIONS
((Banner: American Portraits))
((Reporter: Julie Taboh))
((Camera: Adam Greenbaum))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((NATS))
((ANN SHUMARD, SENIOR CURATOR OF PHOTOGRAPHS, SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY))
Each year, the National Portrait Gallery features a selection of acquisitions that have come into the collection recently. It ranges from paintings to prints to photographs to sculpture. It's really quite a wonderful panoply of objects.
((ANN SHUMARD, SENIOR CURATOR OF PHOTOGRAPHS, SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY))
I'm Ann Shumard and I'm the senior curator of photographs at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
We have on view, a wonderful photograph of Edwin Hubble, probably best known to the world today because of the Hubble Space Telescope.
((ANN SHUMARD, SENIOR CURATOR OF PHOTOGRAPHS, SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY))
He was really one of the premier astronomers in the 20th century and in the image, you see him looking through the eyepiece of a state-of-the-art telescope from 1949.
((ANN SHUMARD, SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY))
Maurice Sendak is the beloved children's book author and illustrator. His most famous book perhaps is Where the Wild Things Are which was first issued in 1963. And he was a sickly child, and so from an early age, he enjoyed reading and drawing and that really translated ultimately into a career for him.
((ANN SHUMARD, SENIOR CURATOR OF PHOTOGRAPHS, SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY))
Ellen Stewart was working as a freelance theatrical costume designer when she realized how difficult it was for fledgling playwrights to find performance spaces in New York City.
((COURTESY: BEYOND MY KENT))
And she founded a non-commercial performance space in a basement in the East Village that became known as the La MaMa Theatre and really fostered the careers of many significant actors and playwrights.
((ANN SHUMARD, SENIOR CURATOR OF PHOTOGRAPHS, SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY))
George Walker trained as a classical pianist. He was the first black instrumentalist to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra and that was in 1945. And he scored all of his compositions by hand. We see two images of him, one framed by his piano in his home and the other using his hands as he is scoring his Symphonia number 5 which will have its world premiere next year.
((TAÍNA CARAGOL, CURATOR, LATINO ART & HISTORY, PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE, SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY))
My name is Taína Caragol. I am curator of painting and sculpture and also of Latino art and history here at the National Portrait Gallery. In this particular iteration, we have portraits of Latino historical figures in different media.
((TAÍNA CARAGOL, CURATOR, LATINO ART & HISTORY, PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE, SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY))
We have a wonderful color photograph by Alexis Rodriguez-Duarte and Tico Torres of salsa queen, Celia Cruz. We have two wonderful portraits by Harry Gamboa, Jr. of Rodolfo Acuña, the father of Chicano Studies, and musician Louie Pérez from Los Lobos.
((ANN SHUMARD, SENIOR CURATOR OF PHOTOGRAPHS, SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY))
I hope that people will see figures that are familiar to them, but also figures that they may not know as much about, and be intrigued to learn more about that individual’s biography and contribution.
((PKG)) APOTHECARY MUSEUM
((Banner: Dragon’s Blood & Unicorn Root))
((Reporter/Camera: Deborah Block))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Alexandria, Virginia))
((NATS))
((BANNER: Stabler-Leadbetter Apothecary Museum
Alexandria, Virginia))
((BANNER: A museum since 1939, the apothecary opened in the 18th century))
((LAUREN GLEASON, MANAGER, STABLER-LEADBEATER APOTHECARY MUSUEM))
So, in 1792, when this business was originally founded, it was an apothecary. It was called an apothecary, and over the years that it operated under the founder’s son and grandsons eventually, and son-in-law, it slowly became known as a pharmacy. And the business continues on, all the way until 1933, when they go bankrupt during the Depression. Basically, just bad business decisions is what led to their eventual demise.
((BANNER: The museum’s second floor supply room has been preserved in its original state))
((NATS))
((JIM WILLIAMS, TOUR GUIDE, STABLER-LEADBETTER APOTHECARY MUSEUM))
When they walk into that upper room, especially if they’re Harry Potter fans, they are transported. They believe. And thank God our director, Gretchen, said, ‘Leave it alone.’ She said, ‘Don’t even rearrange it. Just leave it the way it is.’ And it has that nice feeling, it’s sort of dark up there. You’ve got Dragon’s Blood right here, and then you’ve got, you know, Wolfsbane right there. Unicorn Root, they’re all right there. You can just point them out very easily with your flashlight.
((NATS))
((CALLIE STAPP, CURATOR, STABLER-LEADBEATER APOTHECARY MUSUEM))
These apothecary cabinets that you’re looking at would have been very typical for the end of the 18th century and the early part of the 19th century. These would have been where all of the raw ingredients that were not liquids would have been stored. So, barks, solids, herbs, things like that would have been stored like this. And so, the apothecary or their apprentice would have been able to pull out the raw ingredients and use them to mix up medicines and remedies for their customers. These have been in place, probably more or less, for a little over 200 years at this point.
((NATS))
((JIM WILLIAMS, TOUR GUIDE, STABLER-LEADBETTER APOTHECARY MUSEUM))
And here’s powdered aconite. That’s Wolfsbane. So, if you’re having werewolf trouble, it will get you through to the next full moon. But the practical use was for gout and joint pain. But also, if you’re having werewolves, this will take care of it, at least for a month.
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
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Politics and Prose
((SOT))
BREAK TWO please replace with another promo unless you can delete reference to his upcoming marriage in two weeks which may have happened by now…..
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BLOCK C
((PKG)) FUTURISTIC AMUSEMENT PARK
((Banner: The New Amusement Park))
((Reporter/Camera: Elizabeth Lee))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
((NATS))
((Brent Bushnell, Co-Founder / CEO, Two Bit Circus))
This is almost the size of a football field, and then like an amusement park, broken up into lots of different zones. So, we have a virtual reality arena, a hundred seat interactive theater, a game show theater, a futuristic arcade, a full restaurant, full bar, robot bartender. You know, it’s really a lot of stuff to do.
((NATS))
((Kelly Bentall, Visitor, Two Bit Circus))
I think it takes a whole arcade game venue to the next level and there’s a couple of games I played tonight where I was out of breath and actually sweating.
((NATS))
((Brent Bushnell, Co-Founder / CEO, Two Bit Circus))
I’m the CEO and co-founder of Two Bit Circus. My dad is Nolan Bushnell. He was the founder of Atari, of Chuck e Cheese.
((Eric Gradman, Co-Founder, Two Bit Circus))
My name is Eric Gradman. My background technically is actually as a roboticist. So, for many years I was in the rapid prototyping industry, building self-driving cars, building robots, building crazy stuff. Now a lot of the stuff I was building were prototypes for the military, and I got out of that industry. I wanted to build fun stuff.
((NATS))
((Brent Bushnell, Co-Founder / CEO, Two Bit Circus))
My co-founder and I are both big nerds. We started collaborating making interactive art. The art turned into games. ((NATS)) I think of this place like it’s a big platform in the way that a movie theater is a platform, this place is a platform and so we’re constantly changing the content, updating it at different times of day.
((NATS))
((Eric Gradman, Co-Founder, Two Bit Circus))
We have a really incredible team of creative people who are always experimenting with new forms of entertainment and we have the most important ingredient of all: people to test this stuff on.
((NATS))
((John Duncan, Visitor, Two Bit Circus))
I have not had a robot make my drink before. That was actually pretty cool. He even managed to shake it.
((NATS))
((Eric Gradman, Co-Founder, Two Bit Circus))
Our story rooms are designed to feel a little bit more like an episode of television.
((NATS))
((Brent Bushnell, Co-Founder / CEO, Two Bit Circus))
A big filter for us is social and kind of a fusion of digital and physical, analogue and digital.
((NATS))
((Eric Gradman, Co-Founder, Two Bit Circus))
We expect to see more of them popping up in the U.S. in the next couple of years, but you know what? People all around the world like to play. They love to get together, they like to have fun with their friends, and I would expect to see Two Bit Circus show up all around the world someday.
((NATS))
((PKG)) Politics and Prose
((Banner: Timeless Amusement))
((Reporter/Camera: Ani Chkhikvadze))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((NATS))
((Damir Marusic, Executive Editor, The American Interest))
Politics and Prose is just one of these cultural institutions here in Washington D.C. It's really important and it's thriving. It's very good because it gets interested people who care about literature and generally intellectual books to get together, and it creates a community.
((NATS))
((Liz Artlip, Employee, Politics & Prose))
I like just the atmosphere of being here. It’s a big store, but it’s also very intimate at the same time, and it’s really easy to grab someone and get personalized help with, you know, you can just come in and say, ‘I’m looking for a new book to read. What should I do?’ and someone can take you through a whole bunch of books.
((NATS))
((Liz Artlip, Employee, Politics & Prose))
Coming into a bookstore is fun because you don’t go to Amazon to browse. You can come into a store like this and not know exactly what you’re looking for, or not even have any intentions on getting anything. And just looking through the bookshelves, you may find something that ends up being your new favorite book.
((NATS))
((Anna, Customer))
I love bookstores. I’m like a total nerd, so I always go through Amazon and look at their books, but there's nothing like actually feeling a book in your hand, being able to touch it, feel it, read it, start to scan it.
((Liz Artlip, Employee, Politics & Prose))
It’s nice being kind of a bookstore that’s really centered on D.C., and we make sure to provide for the D.C. area, and our big draw is all the book events we do. We do them every night of the week and then multiple times on weekends.
((NATS))
((Jamie Susskind, Author))
This is a legendary bookshop in Washington, D.C. When I was an intern in Capitol Hill here ten years ago, I used to come here and wander around and spend all of my very limited income. And so, to come back as an author is really exciting.
((Damir Marusic, Executive Editor, The American Interest))
I was just here moderating a panel with my friend and colleague Jamie Susskind. His book about the future of politics, and the turnout was amazing and the level of questions that are asked are very high. That is one of the rare things in this age of Amazon and everything online, and this place is amazing for that.
((NATS))
((Liz Artlip, Employee, Politics & Prose))
I think they should come here just because it’s a really rare experience to be able to come to an independent bookstore. These days, they’re kind of having a renaissance, but there are not as many as there used to be. And it’s just such a different experience walking into a place like this, or like Kramer’s, as opposed to walking into a Barnes and Noble.
((NATS))
NEXT WEEK / GOOD BYE ((VO/NAT))
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Opioids in America
CLOSING ((ANIM))
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BREAK
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS
