MICHELE NORRIS, host:
Time now for your comments. Our inbox was filled with comments about a story on some mysterious earthquakes in Arkansas. Residents in the town of Greenbrier blame the small shakes not on natural events, but on natural gas extraction. Producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister traveled to Arkansas to talk to people about what they're experiencing.
Unidentified Man #1: That's one thing that's very disconcerning(ph), is to have the ground move under your feet. When it starts moving, you start getting concerned.
(Soundbite of music)
Mr. BONNIE PRINCE BILLY (Musician): (Singing) Where's under our feet.
NORRIS: And the music you're hearing is an original song written by musician Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and based on those stories from Arkansas.
(Soundbite of music)
Mr. BILLY: (Singing) Even Mother Nature kneels...
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
Well, Bill Taylor of Lancaster, California, writes this: Please do not ever again try to combine a song into a report and call it reporting. I don't want artsy, stylistic reporting; I want factual reporting. News does not need a soundtrack.
NORRIS: Deion Hemphill of West Monroe, Louisiana, writes: Just report the story, please, and skip the dramatization.
SIEGEL: And Rudolph Ramirez of Santa Cruz, California, said simply: Your story was on earthquakes was well done, but the song made me gag. I have heard cows mooing with more rhythm.
NORRIS: But there were a handful of emails and online comments, like this one from Lindsay Parker of Burbank, California: I just wanted to thank you for your artful and unique news coverage of a very troubling situation in Arkansas. Hearing the affected voices and thoughts while set against the soft music and lyrics of Bonnie "Prince" Billy was incredibly poetic and moving.
SIEGEL: Finally, a comment on our story from last week about a playground for adults. They get to climb inside and use heavy equipment like excavators and backhoes. It's called Dig This.
NORRIS: In a comment at npr.org, Jen Busch claims that her 63-year-old mother had the idea first. She writes: It is with a twinge of sorrow that I haven't yet seen her get to accomplish her dream.
Busch continues: My mother loves heavy construction equipment with all the enthusiasm of the little children she has taught throughout the years. On the other hand, it is with joy that I hope, someday, she'd get to visit and experience Dig This.
SIEGEL: Well, if you dig what we do or not, you can let us know at npr.org. Click on contact us, at the bottom of the page. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.