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::: hoopin' hysteria ::: You may have seen them in the window at Thompson's Pharmacy on Union Street: oversized, candy-striped hula hoops designed not as cheap kids’ toys, but as serious exercise equipment. That's right– the hula hoop and hula hooping have grown up a lot since you probably last put one around your waist. First time producer Emily Bingham recently had a hula hoop randomly re-enter her life and found out that Traverse City is actually one of the epicenters for the recent renaissance in hooping.

::: hello? is it me you're looking for? ::: Here at Radio Anyway, we don't often – or ever – talk about reality TV.  We're usually a little above the fray in that regard.  That is until producer Rebecca Davis found herself captivated by one of this year's American Idol contestants -- 25 year old David Cook.  Normally you'll find Rebecca at the symphony or at the latest film at the State.  But on Tuesdays until the third week in May, she will be at home, TV tuned to Fox, watching Idol. So please don't call her between 8 and 10 PM -- she's either watching the show or using the phone to vote for her heartthrob.

::: golden meadow, chapter 14 ::: Up next, the latest installment in our serial novel project. A lot has happened since we last checked in with the small northern Michigan town of Golden Meadow. Several of its inhabitants are currently in crisis mode. Todd Jefferson, the son of a black couple that summers up north, has gone missing. He had recently told his white girlfriend Susie that he was going to spend some time in England studying Shakespeare—and he didn’t want her to tag along. Todd has had a rough couple of days. He confronted his father David about a stash of cash he’d found hidden in the house. But Todd wasn’t satisfied with the explanation his father gave him. Could this have something to do with his vanishing act? As we begin this chapter, written by Rebecca Davis and read by Lou Blouin, Todd’s mother Joan is agonizing over her son’s disappearance.