The bus is about more than getting from point "A" to point "B" - if you look closely, you'll find it's a fascinating microcosm of the world. So this week we ask: what's your view from the bus?

Read on to find out what's on the show, or listen by clicking the player below (you can also download the podcast here, or get the enhanced version from iTunes).

 

Where do you sit on the bus... and what does it say about you? Sook-Yin jumps on a city bus to find out.

Sometimes, you make a major discovery by looking at the world from a different perspective. We'll find out how Anne Marie Scheffler learned a major life lesson when she found herself in an upside-down school bus.

Now there's one person on the bus who doesn't have much choice as to where he or she sits: the driver. A couple of years back, Portland bus driver Dan Christensen started a blog where he wrote about his funny, zany and sometimes sad experiences moving people all over Portland. We'll talk to Dan about his experiences behind the wheel.

As a high school student, Marika Wheeler was bullied on the bus almost every single day. But one day an egg salad sandwhich changed everything... She'll tell us how.

When Jonathan Mooney was eight years old, he was told he would have to ride on the "short bus" - the half-size bus that takes the kids with disabilities to their special ed classes. But that bus became more than a mode of transport for Jonathan - it became a symbol of how our culture looks at disability. He'll tell us how riding the "short bus" changed his view of the world.

Grant Lawrence tells us how one incredibly awkward bus ride became a life-changing moment for him... thanks to the unbelievable behaviour of one unruly passenger.

How do you spend your time on the bus? Sook-Yin sits down to ask some commuters.

The story of Rosa Parks - the black woman who refused to move to the "back of the bus" in the 1950s - has become legendary. Which is why it's so surprising that segregation can still occur on a public bus... in a democratic and generally progressive nation. It was in 2004 that Naomi Ragen - an American-born author, who now lives in Israel - had her own "Rosa Parks" moment. She's been fighting against segregation on buses ever since... and just last week, she finally got a decision from the highest court in the land. She'll tell us what happened, and why the Israeli Supreme Court's ruling is a mixed victory.

Sook-Yin jumps on the tour bus owned by The Meligrove Band to find out what life on a band bus is really like - and why the Meligrove bus is currently parked.

So picture this: you're on a bus, and someone next to you answers his or her cell phone. It's intrusive, it's annoying, and it's made all the worse because you can only hear one half of the conversation. There's a term for this - it's called "halfalogue."  And according to Brown University PhD candidate Lauren Emberson, being forced to listen to these "halfalogues" isn't just irritating... it's affecting the way we think. She'll explain how.

Sarah Armenia took the bus ride from hell while traveling in Europe...and she'll explain why you should take it too.


And here's this week's playlist:

Adele - "Rolling In the Deep"
The Dinning Sisters - "Love On a Greyhound Bus"
The White Stripes - "Hotel Yorba"
Kathleen Edwards - "Six O'Clock News"
The Parkas - "Bus Station Blues"
The Hollies - "Bus Stop"
Imaginary Cities - "Ride This Out"
The Meligrove Band - "This Work" (live)
The Dears - "Unsung"
Ruth Moody - "We Can Only Listen"