The Postal Ties that Bond

You Are Here: July 1, 2012

In this hour we explore The Postal Ties That Bond: Tales of the Post Office.  Recently, post offices nationally joined the list of the country’s ‘11 most endangered historic places’. In just the first half of this year, USPS lost 6.5 billion dollars — a number more than double than that of the first two quarters of 2011.

Today in our show we explore different aspects of the service– which could likely phase out over a few short decades. Our reporters talk to postal service workers, and the man behind email. We also discover the whole mess of politics hiding behind the service’s crushing debt and what solutions USPS might have going forward.

LISTEN: Intro- The Postal Ties that Bond
Introduction to the issues and stories surrounding the struggling Postal Service.

LISTEN:The Guy Who Knows Everyone: Lessons from a Mailman
We take a step into the life of one local mail carrier and find out what it really takes to walk in those shoes. (Reporter Emily Files)

LISTEN: The Boy Who Made E-MAIL
We sit down face to face with the downfall of physical mail as we once knew it — the boy who made e-mail.  (Reporter Joshua Sackheim

LISTEN: Postal Service Politics
We take a look at why the postal service is really so in debt and discover a whole mess of politics no one else is talking about. (Reporter Brendan Mattox)

LISTEN: The Value of Mail
We talk to three experts to find out what options our country’s mail service has going forward from privatization, to commercialization, to service reduction.  (Producer Alyssa Edes)

LISTEN: Solutions for a Failing Postal Service
We take a look the value of mail is, talking to postal service workers to find out their opinions on why mail is still important to some people and why we send letters at all.  (Reporter Emily Files)

LISTEN: Extended Interview with Paul Killduff
We bring you an extended interview of Reporter Brendan Mattox’s discussion with Boston Postal Workers Union President Paul Kilduff.

 

Producer Alyssa Edes