Selected Radio Works
Senior producer/Co-founder of Homelands Productions. Reporter/producer since 1982 for dozens of documentaries and features for National Public Radio, Public Radio International, the CBC and Australian Broadcasting, with reporting based in the American Southwest, along the U.S.-Mexico border, in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, India, the Philippines and the Middle East. Special series include:
Indian Country (1982-1986). A series of reports and features for NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Horizons, on energy, water and land issues facing Navajos, Hopis and other Southwest Indian tribes.
American Sanctuaries: The New Underground Railroad (1984-1986). A series of reports for NPR on the church-based movement to assist Central American refugees. Winner of the 1986 Alfred I duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton and the $10,000 duPont Trustee’s Prize for the top independent production.
The Nuts and Bolts of Democracy (1988). An 18-part series for NPR and Monitor Radio, taking listeners behind the scenes in the 1988 race for the White House. Winner of the 1989 Unity Award.
Vanishing Homelands (1990-1992). A series of 23 documentaries for NPR chronicling the loss of land and culture among indigenous people and others across 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Winner of the 1992 Robert F. Kennedy, NFCB Golden Reel, Harry Chapin World Hunger, and Unity Awards.
Searching for Solutions (1993-1995). A follow-up to Vanishing Homelands, this series documented attempts by individuals in Latin America, India and the Middle East to build an environmentally sustainable world. Winner of the 1996 Unity Award.
War in the Balkans: Which Way Out? (1994). Field reporter and producer in Croatia and Sarajevo for special Monitor Radio series. Winner of the 1994 International Radio Festivals Award.
The Wolf and the Soul of the West (1995). A documentary for NPR’s Living on Earth and Weekend Edition on the introduction of the Mexican Gray Wolf to the American Southwest. Winner the 1996 National Federation of Community Broadcasters Silver Reel Award.
Edge of the Rez: Racial Tensions in Arizona’s Indian Country (1996). A special one-hour documentary for KNAU in Flagstaff, Arizona, and NPR, on discrimination against Native Americans in the towns bordering Navajo and Hopi country. Winner of the 1997 Scripps Howard Award.
Middle East Troubled Waters (1997). A 90-minute, five-part series examined the role of water in political tensions and the peace process in the Middle East for Living on Earth. Winner of the 1998 Overseas Press Club citation and Silver Cindy Award.
World Views (1998-2001). An ongoing series of first-person documentaries, told in the voices of ordinary people around the world. Reports included “The Lemon Tree”, a 43-minute documentary for Fresh Air told in the voices of an Israeli and a Palestinian who lived in the same home, before and after 1948. This particular report won the 1999 Overseas Press Club’s Lowell Thomas Award for best foreign reporting.
Border Stories (2000-2001). A series of reports, documentaries and first-person accounts on environment, development and trade along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Roots of Resentment in the Arab World (2001). A documentary from Egypt and Jordan examining views from the Arab World following September 11, 2001. Winner of an Overseas Press Club Citation and a Robert F. Kennedy journalism award for international reporting.
A Need To Belong: Citizenship in a Post-9/11 America (2002). A one-hour documentary for KQED-FM as part of the nationally-distributed Public Radio Collaboration.
Senior Producer for Worlds of Difference (2002-2005), a six-hour series of documentaries for NPR examining local culture in a global age.
Selected Op-Eds and Commentaries
For Sandy’s latest commentaries on Israel/Palestine, visit RamallahCafe.com.
“Quitting UNESCO Would Be Sheer Folly.”
- USA Today, February 3, 1984.
“Dial 1-800-Censor.”
- The New York Times, May 7, 1993.
“Despair Feeds Hatred, Extremism.”
- USA Today, September 20, 2001.
“Should We Trust a Novelist on Global Warming?”
- (with John Harte), San Francisco Chronicle, November 14, 2005.
“Early Signs: Reports From a Warming Planet.”
- Salon.com, March 17, 2006.
“Refusing to See the Other Side of the Story.”
- Chicago Tribune, May 21, 2006.
“The Incredible Shrinking Palestine.”
- The LA Times, May 21, 2006.