Feb 6

*********

*********

JetWit just received the official press release from WNYC’s Studio 360 regarding their exclusive Studio 360 Goes to Japan program, featuring a segment written and hosted by Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99), which will air this Saturday on NPR stations nationwide. Content, including video, will go live on the Studio 360 web site (http://www.studio360.org/) starting at 6 p.m. today  (See the full press release below.)

The segment Roland wrote and hosted is focused on Japan’s Youth Culture and its various pathologies, especially the struggles of haken, or temporary workers, amid the imploding global economy.

Additionally, JetWit has learned that Roland is booked for an interview tomorrow afternoon with Nippon Television for their nightly news and entertainment program, News Zero.  He will be interviewed by pop idol and actor Sho Sakurai of the band Arashi, and director Takashi Miike, both of whom are in town to promote the latter’s forthcoming live action film version of the 70s anime series, Yatterman.  The interview will be about the Japanese pop culture juggernaut.

*********

PRI’s Studio 360 from WNYC presents

Studio 360 Goes to Japan
An Hour of Contemporary Japanese Design + Culture

Airs Saturday, February 7 on WNYC 93.9 FM at 10am

Audio Features, Videos, Blog, and Photos Available Online at www.studio360.org/japan on Friday, February 6

(February 6, 2009, New York, NY) – You eat sushi, you play Wii, you keep a novel by Haruki Murakami in your purse designed by Takashi Murakami (shh-it’s a knockoff!). But certainly there’s more to Japanese culture than what manages to permeate the American consumer consciousness.

Studio 360 host Kurt Andersen and his producers toured Japan in search of the cutting edge of Japanese culture.

Kurt hears from cultural expert Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica; Japanese pop culture blogger Lisa Katayama (tokyomango.com); and leading visual artists, poets and designers to explore Japan’s headlong dive into the 21st Century.   They discuss their work, trace their influences, and evaluate Japan’s struggle to embrace the future without abandoning its honored past.

Highlights include:

  • Andersen’s search for his inner “beautiful girl” in a Japanese sticker picture booth
  • Writer Pico Iyer explains what Japan has taught him about how to speak and listen
  • Architects Atelier Bow Wow and Shigeru Ban join textile artist Reiko Sudo to determine what exactly constitutes the “Japanese aesthetic”
  • Lisa Katayama introduces us to a new generation of female art stars who are taking Japanese pop iconography into their own hands
  • And an octogenarian tea master finds a new use for an ancient tradition: he serves tea in conflict zones all over the world

Beginning FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, listeners can visit www.studio360.org/japan for a multiplatform immersion in Japanese culture.  Audio segments, original web exclusive content, including videos and the Studio 360 travel blog, will be posted at www.studio360.org, where the radio program is also available on-demand.

Studio 360 can be heard in the New York City area on WNYC 93.9 FM Saturdays, 10-11am, with a repeat on WNYC AM 820 on Sundays, 7-8pm. It can also be streamed live or downloaded for podcasting at www.wnyc.org.  Studio 360 is distributed nationally to other public radio stations-check local listings for broadcast details.

Studio 360 in Japan is supported, in part, by the Freeman Foundation and the United States-Japan Foundation.

PRI’s Studio 360 from WNYC is the Peabody Award-winning, smart and surprising guide to what’s happening in pop culture and the arts. Each week, Kurt Andersen introduces you to the people who are creating and shaping our culture. Life is busy – so let “Studio 360” steer you to the must-see movie this weekend, the next book for your nightstand, or the song that will change your life.
WNYC Radio is New York’s premier public radio station, comprising WNYC 93.9 FM and WNYC AM 820. As America’s most listened-to public radio stations, reaching more than one million listeners every week, WNYC FM and AM extend New York City’s cultural riches to the entire country and air the best national offerings from affiliate networks National Public Radio and Public Radio International. WNYC 93.9 FM broadcasts a wide range of daily news, talk, cultural and classical music programming, while WNYC AM 820 maintains a stronger focus on breaking news and international news reporting. For more information, visit www.wnyc.org.


Comments are closed.

Page Rank