KNAU and Arizona News

One of Arizona’s most visionary citizens died on April 9 at his home outside of Phoenix. KNAU’s Constance DeVereaux interviewed him last year and recently spoke with one of his closest associates.

Today, we bring you the final story in our series Makers and Menders: profiles of people who use their hands to create useful goods. So far, we've met a long-time Flagstaff wood worker, visited a family-run welding shop and met a creative, savvy seamstress. Today, writers and producers Michael Collier and Rose Houk introduce us to a Flagstaff bicycle maker who pursues his craft with remarkable determination.

Many people around the world will observe Good Friday today. And for some, there will be a specific piece of music associated with it: Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion. It's a dramatic 3-hour oratorio about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and for centuries it's been performed on Good Friday. But with concert attendance dwindling in recent years, some in the classical music world are hoping to recruit a younger, more tech-savvy audience. Tim Smith is a music theory professor at Northern Arizona University and he's co-developed a website called The Digital Bach Project. It's a multi-media, multi-lingual site focused solely on St. Matthew Passion. Tim Smith spoke with Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris Kohl about the project.

The United States is the only country in the world that was founded on the idea of "the rights of man". That's according to Jim Leach, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Leach will give a lecture tonight at Northern Arizona University. And he spoke with Arizona Public Radio's Constance DeVereaux about the power of the humanities.