All Things Considered

Feel like you're drowning in a flood of so-called "reality" television, Canadian series imports and new cable shows?

It's not you, it's TV; specifically, the oddball land of summer television.

As the big networks try to avoid looking like they've gone fishin' for summer and cable amps up its schedule, there's a new universe of programming for small screen fans to sort though. And there's a few standout series worth seeing — and avoiding — in the weeks to come.

Colorado teens looking for jobs will see a tough job market this year, but initial numbers released by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas are showing a positive start. Employment of 16- to 19-year olds grew by 71,000 in May nationwide, a “vast improvement” from the previous year.

Last summer the concert industry, which had grown steadily for a decade, slipped badly. It was a surprise to almost everyone who pays attention to the hugely complicated network of bands, big and small, that tour the country, but looking back, it seems like maybe it was just a matter of time.

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, host:

The Australian rock band AC/DC may have a new fan base - or should we say fin base.

(Soundbite of song, "Back in Black")

BLOCK: Matt Waller, a charter boat operator in south Australia's Port Lincoln, has found that great white sharks are attracted to the heavy metal group's music when it's played under water. But, he says, it appears to make them less aggressive. Some sharks even rub their snouts against the caged speakers.

Today on All Things Considered, Michele Norris talks with National Geographic Magazine reporter Cynthia Gorney and photographer Stephanie Sinclair about their June piece, "Too Young to Wed: The Secret World of Child Brides." I also caught up with Sinclair — a photojournalist specializing in gender and human-rights issues — to ask her a few questions about the project she has been working on for eight years.