No Fair!

Stories of very small injustices and also one very big one. Prologue: Producer David Kestenbaum explains how teachers at his sons’ preschool installed a “tattle phone” where kids could register their complaints about each other. David rigged it up to record those complaints and document the unfairnesses of preschool. (12 minutes) Hoop Reams: Writer Michael Lewis takes us inside the world of NBA refereeing. He explains how protests about unfair calls have increased in recent years. However, at the same time, hard evidence suggests referees have only gotten better and better at making good calls. Lewis says this is actually indicative of a larger trend in America — people distrusting authorities, judges and referees of all kinds. This story is a version of the first episode of his new podcast Against the Rules. (32 minutes) The Fairer Sex: When Heidi Schreck was 15 years old she loved the United States Constitution — in part, because she believed it enshrined the idea of fairness. She traveled to American Legion posts across the country, where she competed in speaking competitions about the Constitution. She was so successful that she was able to pay for her college education with the winnings. But once Schreck was an adult, she came to several realizations about the Constitution’s shortcomings and oversights. These days, she sees it as a flawed document. All of this is the subject of Schreck’s play “What the Constitution Means to Me.” (12 minutes)