After the Shot 
On the night of April 14th 1865, in front of a thousand people at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Shouting ‘Sic semper tyrannis’ – ‘thus always to tyrants’, Booth believed that he was striking down a tyrant as surely as Brutus struck down Julius Caesar. Twelve days later Booth himself was shot dead in a barn in Virginia. From the moment Booth shot Lincoln, conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination have flourished – and 140 years later, for both historians and ordinary people, they are still very much alive. Some believe Booth was the ring leader of a small group; others are convinced he was simply a pawn in a grand conspiracy plot. While still others believe it wasn’t really Booth who died in that Virginia barn. Jean Snedegar tries to unravel the truth – and a myriad of legends - about the assassination of a great American president. [more]

New Norcia: The Monastery and the Observatory 
In Western Australia, there's a small and somewhat surreal town called New Norcia. It's Australia's only Monastic town - with a surprising and imposing collection of Spanish style buildings. New Norcia was established in the 1850s as a 'Spanish Benedictine Monastery.' Today, a handful of monks continue the ancient tradition of prayer, work and service in their search for God. Now, New Norcia is also the home to one of the European Space Agency's largest tracking stations. A monastery next to an observatory might seem incongruous, however these neighbors have forged an unlikely understanding. Both groups are exploring the riddle of existence and space, in different ways. This program was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. [more]

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Soundprint Awards
We're proud to congratulate this season's award winning producers:
The Busker and the Diva produced by Judith Kampfner won a Gold World Medal at the New York International Festivals.

Equity in Education: 50 Years After Brown, produced by Kathy Baron was awarded the 2005 Silver Reel Award for National Documentary by The National Federation of Community Broadcasters.

War and Forgiveness (Korean Sharing House/Holland's Black Page), produced by Judith Kampfner and Dheera Sujan, was named a 2005 Gracie Allen National Award Winner by the American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) in the category of Outstanding Documentary Radio.

Educating Emily, produced by Jean Snedegar, and Who needs libraries?, produced by Richard Paul, received a Special Citation in the 2004 National Awards for Education Reporting by The Education Writers Association (EWA).

The Korean Sharing House, produced by Judith Kampfner recieved a Newswomen's Club Front Page Award