Jan 6th, 2005 · Alan Cheuse reviews Nobel Prize winner V.S. Naipaul's new novel Magic Seeds, which continues the story of Indian intellectual Willie Chandran begun in Naipaul's 2001 novel, Half a Life. Cheuse says the novel's thick plot is only a platform from which Naipaul delves into a complicated world of mind and feeling.
Dec 19th, 2004 · Fat Possum Records, based in Oxford, Miss., is an independent label founded as a platform for gritty bluesmakers R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. But as the label's artists have grown old and some have died, NPR's Jesse Baker reports on a shift to a new generation of blues-oriented alternative rock.
Oct 30th, 2004 · NPR's Scott Simon notes that in the 1940 presidential race, comedienne Gracie Allen ran as a less-than-serious candidate. We hear her read from the platform of her Surprise Party.
Jun 17th, 2004 · NPR's Steve Inskeep reports that a National Hip-Hop Political Convention in New Jersey hopes to create a political platform for the hip-hop community and encourage people to vote.