February 25 , 2006 (#40)- The Radio Show

Conrad's Garage
Joe Richman- Producer, Radio Diaries

Before there were ipods,  before there were walkmans,  before there were transistors, stereos or even radio stations, there was Conrad’s garage.  Thomas Edison said “To invent you need a good imagination…and a pile of junk.” Frank Conrad , a Westinghouse engineer had both. And in 1919 he unknowingly started a revolutionary industry. Producer Joe Richman tells this unusual story. (Lost and Found Sound, 2001)

Whispers in the Air
Chris Brookes- Producer, Battery Radio

The are so many things going through the airwaves at any given time – cell phones, televisions, radio, satellite signals, who knows what is  passing through you everytime you step outside your door.  But a hundred years ago, the air was strangely empty.  Then, on Dec 12, 1901, as the legend goes, on a hill in Newfoundland, Marconi received the first trans-atlantic wireless signal,  pretty much enabling every single communication device  that has been with us ever since.  Canadian producer Chris Brooks lives at the base of that same hill and decided to find out exactly what happened there a century ago. (Battery Radio, 2001)

Snooze
Geoff Siskind

An exploration of that twilight zone between sleep and consciousness: where talking squirrels abound. (Outfront, 2005)

Featured Music

Depth Affect, "Honey Folky," Arche-Lymb (Autres Directions, 2006)
RJD2, "Ghostwriter," Dead Ringer (Definitive Jux, 2002)
Stan Freberg, Quincy Jones, Sarah Vaughan, "Who Listens to Radio?" The Tip of the Freberg (Rhino, 1998)
Depth Affect, "Velevt and Carolina ," Arche-Lymb (Autres Directions, 2006)
Minotaur Shock, "Somebody Once Told Me It Existed But They Never Found It," Maritime (4AD/Ada, 2005)
Elvis Costello, "Radio Radio" This Year's Model (Rhino/ Wea, 1978)

Extras:

HearJoe Richman's 2005 Third Coast Festival/Richard H. Driehaus award winning documentary "Mandela: An Audio History."

Hear Chris Brookes' 2005 Third Coast Festival/Richard H. Driehaus award winning documentary "A Map of the Sea ."

February 18 , 2006 (#31)
Originally broadcast September 18, 2005

Name All the Animals
Alison Smith- Author
Roman Mars- Producer

Author Alison Smith reads from her beautiful and unsentimental memoir Name All the Animals. In this excerpt, she takes on her Catholic school class in a public debate which is much more personal than anyone knows.

Note to Sixth-Grade Self
Julie Orringer- Author
Roman Mars- Producer

Author Julie Orringer reads a story from her amazing collection How to Breathe Underwater. “Note to Sixth-Grade Self” is a coming-of-age story set at an age where you never know what’s coming.

Both stories originally aired on KALW’s Invisible Ink.

Featured Music

Hauschka, “Long Walk,” The Prepared Piano (Karaoke Kalk, 2005)
Minotaur Shock, “Muesli,” Maritime (4AD/Ada, 2005)
Tony Schwartz, “Nancy Grows Up,” How to Record the Sound of Children (Capitol, 1967)
Hauschka, “Firn,” The Prepared Piano (Karaoke Kalk, 2005)
Azure Ray, “Sleep,” Azure Ray (Warm, 2001)

Extras:

Hear another story from Invisible Ink also concerning the trials of a young woman: "Confessions of a Child Beauty Queen."

February 11 , 2006 (#39) - The Games Show

Tongues Twisting
Judith Sloan- Independent Producer

Clapping games and tongue twisters in multiple languages turn into rich stories when Judith Sloan records young immigrants in a theatre workshop. Memories of life "back home", broken families, and thoughts about dual realities are woven together with rhythm games and performances as the kids reveal the game of adapting to life in America.

The Ambassador of Go
Blake Eskin- Independent Producer

Most Americans have never heard of Go, an ancient board game that has simpler rules than chess but such complex strategy that computers can’t even beat a talented amateur. In China, however, it's part of daily culture - there are 30 million Go players and two Go channels on TV. Feng Yun is one of only two women in history to become a 9-dan Go professional - the game's highest ranking. And she’s faced even greater challenges since reaching the top of her game.

The Rules Will Be Different
Melissa Robbins- Independent Producer

Hear how the political became personal in the wake of the 2000 Presidential Election for Florida recount lawyer Todd Elmer. Elmer takes us behind the scenes, as a renowned game theorist elaborates on
the boundaries of contest and archival audio brings us back to the days of hanging chads.

"There was a whole lotta hundreds..."
Michael Kavanagh- Independent Producer

In America's high schools, students are playing a game whose only rule is to break the rules. "There was a whole lotta hundreds..." is a collection of stories about crib notes, secret codes, and elaborate heists, as told by the players and the referees: students and teachers from across the country.

Flying Pumpkins
Matt Power- Independent Producer
Emily Botein- Producer, The Next Big Thing

Every year in Millsboro, Delaware, on the first Saturday after Halloween, a fierce competition gets underway, involving powerful instruments of propulsion and… some very hearty produce. (The Next Big Thing, 2002)

Friday Night Bites
Dan Collison- Producer, Long Haul Productions
Elizabeth Meister- Producer, Long Haul Productions

The River Valley High Mustangs -- in southwest Michigan near the town of Three Oaks -- have lost 18 football games in a row. But it's not just the number of consecutive games the Mustangs have lost, it's how *soundly* they have been beaten. The past two seasons, River Valley has been outscored by its opponents by a total of 949 to 38, or an average of 53 to 2. And for a stretch of games this season, the team went 25 quarters without scoring a single point. Producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister -- who recently moved about a mile from River Valley High - attended the Mustangs last game of the season to see how the team, and their fans, are holding up under such adversity. (Long Haul Productions, 2005)

If I Were a Tall Man
Gwen Macsai- Host, Re:sound

Our host Gwen Macsai has always noticed that short Jewish men love basketball, the sport of towering giants. It's taken years, but she's finally figured out why. (Weekend America, 2005)


Featured Music:

Ratatat, "Lapland," Ratatat (Xl / Beggars Us Ada, 2004)
Anti-Pop Consortium, "Ping Pong," Arrhythmia (Warp Records, 2002)
Channels, "Win Instantly," Open (Desoto Records, 2004)
Takagi Masakatsu, "Come March," Childish Music (Staubgold Germany, 2005)
Depth Affect, "Dani Guimauve," Arche-Lymb (Autres Directions, 2006)
Fugazi, "Combination Lock," Red Medicine (Dischord, 1995)
Ratatat, "El Pico," Ratatat (Xl / Beggars Us Ada, 2004)
Architecture in Helsinki, "Tiny Paintings," In Case We Die (Bar None Records, 2005)
Jurassic 5, "Game," ( Interscope Records, 2000)

Extras:

Learn more about the Third Coast Festival ShortDocs.

Learn more about Crossing the BLVD: strangers, neighbors, aliens in a new America- the traveling exhibition that features Tongues Twisting.

February 4 , 2005 (#30)
Originally broadcast August 7, 2005

In So Many Words
Teresa Goff- Independent Producer

According to his daughter, Stephen Goff was an outspoken father -- the kind who loved to engage in political debate -- and win. He was also a successful salesman making a lot of money. Then, at the age of forty-eight he had a stroke that left him largely unable to speak. His condition is called aphasia. After years of re-learning how to communicate with her father, Teresa Goff took out her microphone to talk to him about his condition, their relationship, what the stroke took away and what it offered him in return.

Grey Ghost
Allan Coukell- Independent Producer

Most experts agree that the South Island Kokako bird, a native of New Zealand, is now extinct. But one person is convinced otherwise. He’s Rhys Buckingham, he’s a "freelance ornithologist," and he’s been searching for the bird for the last quarter century.   Even though the last Official sighting was in the sixties, Buckingham is unfazed. Or is he? Noted for its beautiful song, the elusive kokako has taken hold of  Buckingham's thoughts and by all accounts,he’s become a little obsessive about it.

Callers of a feather, flocking together
Larry Massett — Independent Producer

Even if the South Island Kokako is forever extinct, her cousins, common urban birds – sparrows, morning doves, robins and the like – are out and singing like crazy. If we could be privy to their language, their calls, their songs, what would they be saying?

Featured Music:

Lullatone, “Morning Coffee,” Little Songs About Raindrops (Audio Dregs, 2004)
E-Rock, “Birds,” Conscious (Audio Dregs, 2003)
F.S. Blumm, “Zweit Bohne,” Lichten (Phantom, 2003)
Sufjan Stevens, “The Lord God Bird” (2005)

Special Thanks to Abner Serd for use of his series “On Call: An Introduction to Identifying Birds by Sound.”

Extras:

Postcards From a Fanatic Reactionary Pedestrian by Abner Serd

Hannibal: The Ghost of Mark Twain by Larry Massett