The Strange Appeal of Sacred Body Parts
- play show: Click here
Date: 31 December 2009
Whiskers, Bones, Toes, and Teeth
In Rag and Bone, author Peter Manseau explores the macabre world of religious relics—the bodily odds and ends of saints, gurus and prophets, scattered all around the world. From Muhammed’s beard whisker to the Buddha’s tooth, it's a look at why we save and celebrate pieces of the dead. Our interview originally aired in July 2009.
Peter Manseau, author of Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World's Holy Dead, founding editor of killingthebuddha.com
They Shall Take Up Serpents
Begins at 22 min 30 sec
This week we go inside the world of Pentecostal snake handling with a special presentation of the critically-acclaimed radio documentary, "They Shall Take Up Serpents." Recorded in the early 90s in West Virginia, Alabama and Georgia, it explores the ecstasy, and the danger, of a practice virtually unknown in mainstream America.
They Shall Take Up Serpents was produced by David Isay with Sound Portraits Productions
StoryCorps: Kahlil Amustafa on Gratitude
Begins at 46 min 53 sec
This week we're looking back at our favorite selections from the StoryCorps oral history project. In this story, poet Kahlil Almustafa shares memories of his mother, who died from HIV/AIDS in 1994. Our story first aired in April 2009.
Courtesy of StoryCorps, and archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress
StoryCorps: Sister Mary DeSales Collins on Kindness
Begins at 49 min 26 sec
Sister Mary DeSales Collins worked for more than 50 years at the New York Foundling, one of the oldest adoption agencies in New York City. She found homes for hundreds of children, but one adoption case stands out. Our story first aired in April 2009.
Produced by StoryCorps, and archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress
