Transcript
BOB GARFIELD: That's it for this week's show. On The Media was directed by Katya Rogers and produced by Megan Ryan, Tony Field, and Jamie Yorke and edited by Brooke. Dylan Keefe is our technical director and Jennifer Munson our engineer. We had help from Anne Kosseff. Our Webmaster is Amy Pearl.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Arun Rath is our senior producer, Dean Cappello, our executive producer. Bassist/composer Ben Allison wrote our theme. But let's linger for a moment on Arun Rath, Senior Producer since we re-launched OTM four years ago. This is Arun's last show as Senior Producer, he's moving upstairs to become Senior Editor of PRI's cultural show, Studio 360.
BOB GARFIELD: But not before we tear the shroud of secrecy from his many roles on our show. Arun not only helped OTM's train run on time, and edited many of our stories, he also chose the bits of music -we call them "buttons" -that propelled the program between pieces and through breaks. Ranging from the downright weird, like . . . [ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS] To the thoughtful, gorgeous and profound. You know, like . . . this . . . [CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS]
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Yep, that was Arun. But not only that. He was also OTM's Man of a Thousand Voices, appearing in On the Media parodies as Al Gore, T.S. Eliot, Gandhi, The Thing, Nazis, perverts, robots. Remember these?
ARUN, as AL GORE: You know in my years as a reporter I came up with a system for writing a news story you may find helpful - what I call the inverted pyramid technique. Under my plan, you start out with the most essential information -something I like to call the lead; then proceed to lay out the facts . . . [FADES]
ARUN as T.S. ELIOT: BETWEEN THE ACCELERATION AND THE BRAKES... BETWEEN THE CYLINDERS AND THE SHAFT, BETWEEN THE PURCHASE AND THE LEASE FALLS THE CAMRY, FOR THINE IS THE GREEN ONE, FOR THINE IS THE YELLOW ONE . . . [FADES]
ARUN as THE THING: Mmmom-- I gotta go. Galacticus is wreaking havoc on the universe, and it's-- clobbering time!
ARUN as GANDHI: I'm sorry. I appear to have spilled my Raj Mataj on your dress!
WOMAN: Raj Mataj?
ARUN as GANDHI: Yes, a delightful and surprising concoction of Darjeeling tea and YooHoo brand chocolate-flavored drink. I find it to be Indi-licious. May I say you have supple skin?
BROOKE GLADSTONE: He just couldn't help himself.
ARUN as PERVERT: Hello? Ethics Hotline? I've been a very--naughty journalist. I have the urge to-- blow this story all out of proportion.
BOB GARFIELD: And we couldn't have stopped him if we had tried, not that we wanted to.
ARUN as ROBOT: Ears perked. Teeth grinding. Hair unruly. Bluff alert. Bluff Warning. Danger! Danger! Stop the humanoid!
BROOKE GLADSTONE: As for his moving off the show, we'd love to stop him. But we can't. He was present at the creation, and you can hear his work in every moment of every show, even when he isn't talking funny.
ARUN as NAZI NEIGHBOR: I stand by my position. He's a decent fellow but his eyes are simply too garish.
BOB GARFIELD: Actually, nothing garish about Arun. He's so quiet you'd often never know he was there if his brilliance weren't lighting up the whole room. Plus the stench of his greasy lunches. Arun, we'll miss you.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: Yes, we will. This is On the Media from NPR. I'm Brooke Gladstone. Happy New Year.
BOB GARFIELD: And I'm Bob Garfield. Happy New Year. Funding credits.