Behind the scenes at All Things Considered (Five by 8 – 10/5/10)

1) A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A RADIO PRODUCER

You probably don’t know the name Jeff Jones, but if you listen to All Things Considered on MPR, you know his work. He’s the producer, the guy who makes it all fit. He’s leaving the job this week to live the gentlemanly life with MPR’s Public Insight Network. So the other day, I did what I’ve never done in the 18 years I’ve worked here — many as the only editor — I followed a producer around for a day.

As you can see, real people tweet at All Things Considered’s Twitter account. Find it here and follow them.

2)AFTER THE FLOOD

Floodwaters reveal interesting things when they subside. Reader “rcmlynn” — you News Cut readers are a mysterious lot — has sent along images he’s shot in the last few days in the south metro:

Other secrets of the flood are being revealed as the water vanishes. Some of them aren’t quite so pretty.

3) TAKING IN THE TRASH

A lot of music you hear these days is junk:

The New York Philharmonic is unveiling a piece this week that requires its players to hit up a junkyard near where they’re performing. The junk gives the piece “a local sound,” its composer says.

4) WINDMILL WEATHER: STIRRED, NOT SHAKEN

Minnesota is one of the largest producers of electricity generated by wind power. South and west of the Twin Cities, a crops of wind turbines sprout from the prairie. They may be changing the local weather, a new study outlined in Scientific American says. They’re acting like a blender, mixing up the air and creating warmer temperatures “downstream.” That may not be a bad thing. Some research says it protects local crops from frost. (h/t: Midwest Energy News)

Crops. Like corn. What if corn “has manipulated us to work for them,” the way bees work for flowers?

5) YOU ARE….

You are a firefighter in Obion County, Tennessee, where residents pay a $75 fee to the fire department for fire coverage. A home catches fire and when you get there, it’s blazing. You check the records and find out the family didn’t pay their fee. What do you do?

Viral video pick

They have a shorter work week in France than we do. What do people do with all that extra time? This:

Cute eh? Now get to work. (h/t: BoingBoing)

TODAY’S QUESTION

The terror alert issued Sunday warns Americans in Europe to “adopt appropriate safety measures.” Have you ever changed your behavior in response to a terror alert?

WHAT WE’RE DOING

Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) – First hour: Two Muslims working to promote interfaith understanding discuss America’s misconceptions about Islam.

Second hour: The Pulitzer Prize winning classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” turns 50 this year. Kerri Miller interviews a documentarian who gained rare interviews with Harper Lee’s sister and friends to help reveal the story behind the book.

Midday (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) – First hour: GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.

Second hour: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, interviewed at the JFK Library

Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) – First hour: TBA

Second hour: The World War II sub veterans who inspired the book, No Ordinary Joes.