Category: Series/Archives

Hearing Voices- Weekly Hours

HV122- Prisoner of Zion

Prisoner of Zion book coverHearing Voices from NPR®
122 Prisoner of Zion: Religious Fundamentals- 9/11/11
Host: Larry Massett of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-09-07

“Prisoner of Zion” (52:00 mp3):

“Prisoner of Zion” (52:00) Scott Carrier

Shortly after the World Trade Center fell in autumn 2001, it became clear the United States would invade Afghanistan. Producer Scott Carrier decided he ought to go there too. Why? To see for himself: that’s what writers do. Who are these fanatics, these fundamentalists, the Taliban and the like? And what do they want?

For the weekend of 9/11/11, Hearing Voices from NPR presents Prisoner of Zion. Carrier narrates his trip to Afghanistan. With his young guide and translator, Najibulla, they tour the horrors of war.

Years later Naji tells Scott he must leave his homeland — the dangers for a translator have become extreme. Scott gets Najibulla accepted at Utah Valley University. Naji, it turns out, handles the Mormons quite well, while Scott, teaching at the same school, has a hard time with them. At the end Naji is graduating, about to get married, and start a new job; while Scott wonders whether he can stand teaching another year — or if he’ll wind up on the street like Naji.

From Afghanistan: A photo-audio-essay by Scott Carrier; with sounds, images, songs and prayers of the Afghan people.

→ At Amazon: Prisoner of Zion: Muslims, Mormons and Other Misadventures.

HV121- Engine Overdrive

Driver in an open-wheel, open-cockpit Champ Car.Hearing Voices from NPR®
121 Engine Overdrive: Ode to Internal Combustion
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-08-24

“Engine Overdrive” (52:00 mp3):

Ride, rev, race, the society of over-sized cylinders:

“Internal Combustion” (2004) Paul Overton

A short symphony in pistons and rings, made from tractors recorded at the Reidsville, NC Antique Engine Show. All sounds are actual engines; the piece has no instruments or effects. Paul Overton is at: Dude Craft | Every Day is Awesome | PRX.

“Best prayer EVER!” (2011 / 1:09) Pastor Joe Nelms

A pre-race prayer delivered at the Nascar Nationwide series race in Nashville TN July 23, 2011. Boogity Boogity Boogity Amen.

“Drag Racing” & “Wildgirl1” (2004 / 1:39 & 1:15) Big Stick

HV is crazy about the songs and sonics by the band Big Stick (aka,Drag Racing Underground). We start with a couple cuts from their CD Hot from the Strip! — “Drag Racing” is a re-issue of their 80s classic, and we hear excerpts from “Wildgirl‘s Rockin’ Racing,” a Saturday night WFMU radio show.

“Long Beach Grand Prix” (2007 / 6:16) Barrett Golding

The ethanol-injected noise of cars, drivers, and fans at the annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, an ocean-side street race with top pro race-car drivers from around the globe. One-hundred-and-eighty thousand aficionados gather around a two mile course of Fast & Loud in downtown LB — 186mph avg, 200+ on the straightaways. Co-recorded by Joe Skyward.

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HV120- Dear Diary

Hearing Voices from NPR®
120 Dear Diary: Audio Journals
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-08-03

“Dear Diary” (52:00 mp3):

Documenting daily life:

“Cho Oyu 8201m, Tibet” (2006 / 8:00 excerpts)

Geir Jenssen, the musician who records as Biosphere, is also a mountain climber. On his Himalayan ascent of the sixth highest mountain in the world, he kept an audio journal of all the sounds. The result is the CD Cho Oyu 8201m Field Recording from Tibet (Ash International / Touch Records | Climber’s notes | Wikipedia | WFMU Beware of the Blog).

Thruout the hour, we hear excerpts from the tracks “Zhangmu: Crossing A Landslide Area” (2300 meters above sea level), “Palung: A Yak Caravan is Coming (5400m), “Cho Oyo Basecamp: Morning” (5700m), “Jobo Rabzang: A 6666 metre peak in the Cho Oyu Himal”, “Camp 3: Neighbours On Oxygen” (7500m), “Summit: Only slight breeze on the summit at 8201m.” Also this piece “sampled and processed from a cassette of Tibetan music.”

“Carmen’s Diaries” (1980 / 13:37) Art Silverman

Writer Carmen Delzell finds a box of journals she wrote as a girl, and enters an addendum as she reflects on her 1960s self. Produced for NPR All Things Considered.

“World’s Longest Diary” (1994 / 6:15) David Isay

For twenty years, Reverend Robert Shields, of Dayton, Washington, kept a written record of absolutely everything that happened to him, day and night. For four hours each day, Shields holes himself up in the small office in his home, turns on his stereo, and types. His diary, at 35 million words, is believed the world’s longest. A Sound Portraits production, on the CD Holding On: Dreamers, Visionaries, Eccentrics And Other American Heroes (and companion book)

“Nick in SLC: Home School to High School” (1999 / 16:39) Radio Diaries

For RD’s Teenage Diaries project, they gave “tape recorders to young people around the country to report on their own lives. They conduct interviews, keep an audio journal and record the sounds of daily life — usually collecting more than 40 hours of raw tape over the course of a year. Nick Epperson of Salt Lake City began his audio diary when he was 13. The talented singer/cellist music, but has a hard time making friends.

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HV119- Trouble

Hearing Voices from NPR®
119 Trouble: From Bad to Worse
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-07-20

“Trouble” (52:00 mp3):

If you’re looking for trouble, you come to the right place:

“Private Eye” (2011 / 10:59) Erica Heilman

Erica was a private investigator; now she’s a radio producer. The skills overlap: you ask questions, try to figure what happened, and make a report. (None of the interviewees were clients when she recorded them.) Produced by Larry Massett.

“Old News” (2005 / 11:07) Joe Frank

Recitations from the nightly news: a litany of tragedy, mayhem and murder. From Joe’s 2005 hour Bad Faith, and in his collections in the Joe Frank Shop, on the CD Joe Frank Team Favorites, Volume 2. Music: “A Mother (For Your Mind)” The Herbaliser, Blow Your Headphones.

“Mrs. G’s House” (13:45) Katie Davi

A good neighbor goes bad in the producer’s DC block. Dozens of rats are infesting her yard and attacking other houses. Produced for This American Life, “Neighbors,” and part of Katie’s Neighborhood Stories series. End music: Music: “Cheval Noir” Fug, Ready For Us..

“The Longest Day” (2002 / 13:14) Larry Massett

“I can break the law because… I am the law.” Sleepless in Tbilisi. A twenty-four hour tour, from Turkish baths to Batumi beaches, through the country of Georgia, in Southwest Asia. High-speed sight-seeing, driven by the accidental tourguide: “a ‘detective,’ or ‘special police,’ or ‘security force.’ It’s not clear. Sometimes he even says ‘KGB,’ though that no longer exists… does it?” Music: “Dachrilis Simgera (Song for Wounded)” Tbilisi Vocal Ensemble, Georgian Folk and Sacred Songs (2002). (Annotated transcript.)

HV118- Hiker/Biker

Barrett Golding fixing a bike flatHearing Voices from NPR®
118 Hiker/Biker: Self-Propelled Travels
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-07-06

“Hiker/Biker” (52:00 mp3):

Travels of the self-propelled, bipedal and by pedal:

“Thru the Parks” (2007 / 8:04 & 7:04) Barrett Golding

Part 1: A bike trip through Yellowstone and Teton National Parks, into windstorms, between snowbanks, and in the middle of a bison herd. Interviewees: Rick McAdam, Yellowstone Park Ranger; Geyser Gazers at Old Failthful; Kathy Urbigkit of Spin a Yarn, Dubois WY; Wolves in West Yellowstone MT.

Part 2: Finishing seven hundred miles of miking and mic-ing in Wyoming, riding north on the east side of Yellowstone,. encounting killers, hunters, special forces, and trips to Heaven. Interviewees: Dan Herring, Herring & Sons Taxidermy, Thermopolis WY; Special Forces members Buck Wilkerson (US Army retired) and David Owens (Tech Sergeant, US Air Force) at Honor Our Special Operations Forces Weekend, Memorial Day, Cody WY; Pastor William Hardrick, Kingdom of Heaven Embassy visiting his kids in Riverton WY (photo gallery).

“Fanatic Reactionary Pedestrian” (2005 / 9:56) Abner Serd

The paving of America as seen from the shoulders and sidewalks of our country’s roads. Musings-in-motion recorded during a 5000 trek from Arizona to Georgia to Maine. “It is becoming illegal to travel this country by foot.” Music by Jeff Arntsen. (A longer version of this story is at Third Coast International Audio Festival.)

“The Queen’s Trek” (2011 / 24:36) Outer Voices

Bhutan is a land of prayer flags, Buddhism, and, like everywhere else: poverty, poor health, and domestic violence, Queen Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuk believes her job is to increase the Gross National Happiness. To do that she treks into the most remote corners of the country, meeting people she’d otherwise never see, asking about their lives, helping them with health care issues, and working to end mistreatment of woman. Outer Voices accompanied her into an unmapped corner of the high Himalayas — they are the first foreign journalists invited to accompany a Bhutanese monarch on a trek, and to interview the Queen.

The Queen of Bhutan, Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck

The Queen of Bhutan, Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck, with her people (photo: Jack Chance)

The Queen’s Trek (PRX) was produced by OV’s Stephanie Guyer-Stevens and Jack Chance, Guerilla Ethnomusicologist for The Mountain Music Project. Major Underwriting was provided by Terry Causey and the Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation. Interviewees: Chimi Wangmo, Kunzang Choden, Yeshey Dorji and Queen Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuk. Musical performances by Jigme Drukpa and the Khuju Luyang Ensemble.

Special thanks to Her Majesty Queen Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuk, the staff and clients of RENEW Bhutan, Tshering Uden Penjor, Françoise Pommaret, Ariana Maki, the Royal Body Guard and the Royal Bhutan Army, the Zulikha Nunnery, Hotel Zhi Waling, and the people of Daifam, Zamtari, and Shinka Lauri villages.

RENEW = Respect Educate, Nurture and Empower Women, “an organization dedicated to the empowerment of vulnerable women of our society so that they can emerge as socially and economically independent members of their communities.”


HV117- War Torn

Hearing Voices from NPR®
117 War Torn: Weapons-grade Radio
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-06-08

“War Torn” (52:00 mp3):

A weapons-grade hour of wartime radio. The people who start the fight, and the people who pay the price:

“Beach Fight” (1940 / 0:59 excerpt) Winston Churchill

From the British prime minister’s speech to the House of Commons, June 4 1940, preceding the Battle of Britain:

We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

“Atomic Mother” & “Trinity” (2011 / 4:50 excerpts) Jonathan Elias

From the benefit CD Path To Zero – A Prayer Cycle I(video below). Proceeds go to Global Zero, an international organization dedicated to nuclear disarmament. Some voices on the album: Sting (on “Atomic Mother”), Robert Downey Jr., Sinead O’Connor, Jonathan Davis of Korn, Jon Anderson of Yes, Angelique Kidjo, and Pakistan’s Rahat Fateh Ali Khan; along with archival tape, including a previously unreleased recording of Jim Morrison, performing a poem on the plight of Native Americans in Los Alamos, New Mexico. (Face: Prayer Cycle | Space: Jonathan Elias.), and J. Robert Oppenheimer, “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Wind Wagon, a 35-ft sound sculture by Gary Bates

“B-san (Bright Chrysanthemum)” (4:13) Barrett Golding

The recollections of Hiroshima survivor Kaz Suyeishi, rendered by two young Japanese woman, Kazuka and Kiyo. Alvin Huntsman performed the improvisational music by banging, scraping, and bowing several large sculptures by Gary Bates, including the “Wind Wagon,” a 35-foot multi-stringed banjo-like structure.

“The Unknown War” (1962 / 4:51) Carl Sandburg

From The Poetry Of Carl Sandburg, an out-of-print Caedmon Audio collection. Background sounds: Mazen Kerbaj “Starry Night” (info below).

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HV116- Homeless

Man with sign in rain on interstate entranceHearing Voices from NPR®
116 Homeless: Living on the Streets
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2012-09-19 (Originally: 2011-06-01)

“Homeless” (52:00 mp3):

The voices of people who were or are homeless:

“My Name Is” (2:22) The Land of 10,000 Homeless

Land of 10K Homeless is a Minneapolis music-audio documentary project by Voices of the Streets, “An Artistic Portrayal of Homelessness in Minnesota.” Thier “website of artistic activism provides a space for the disadvantaged to share their stories.” Producer Danny Burke created this mix of the main theme, blended with interviews with individuals staying at a family shelter in Minneapolis.A couple shelter residents under the bridge

The string arrangement was written and produced by Brian J. Casey and Danny Burke of the Skeptics, and performed by the Arlington String Quartet (Matthew Knippel, cello; Conor O’ Brien, violin; Gabriel Platica, violin).

“George Hill” (2008 / 1:51) StoryCorps

After leaving the Marines, George Hill became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He soon found himself on the streets of Los Angeles, homeless for 12 years. But the kindness of another homeless man changed everything. Hill is now off the streets, working for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and pursuing a computer information systems degree at Cal State University. Recorded in Santa Monica, CA; part of StoryCorps’ Griot Initiative.

“Crazy John” (1996 / 6:03) Carmen Delzell

A portrait of the self-named, Crazy John, who lives on the streets of Austin, Texas. He tells writer Carmen Delzell about his life. Carmen was homeless for a couple of years in the early 1990s. This piece was made after she got on her feet and was living in Austin. Produced by Jay Allison (PRX).

Bill with Nanette, two shelter residents“Bill Speaks” (2008 / 2:24) The Land of 10,000 Homeless

An interview with Bill, recorded near the Dorothy Day Center homeless shelter, St. Paul MN. Andrew Turpening, the Land of 10K Homeless Artistic Director, composed the music and produced the piece.

“Gospel Mission” (1983 / 4:56) Scott Carrier

The producer spends a night at a church homeless shelter in Washington DC.

“Miracle On The Streets” (2009 / 2:25) Dmae Roberts

A profile of life on the streets for homeless youth told through the experiences of 21-year-old Miracle Draven, Portland OR. Original music by Craze MC. (Longer version at PRX).

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HV115- Refugees

Hearing Voices from NPR®
115 Refugees: Forced to Leave
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-05-11

“Refugees” (52:00 mp3):

The journeys of people driven from their homeland by war, disaster, and persecution:

“From Afghanistan to Amarillo” (2007 / 6:15) Ann Heppermann & Kara Oehler

From One Thing: The producers spent a year talking to refugees living in USA about why they had to leave their country, how they got here, and what “One Thing” they brought with that reminds them of home. In this first of several stories from the series, the Sher Ali family, a mother and nine children, was the first Afghan family to be resettled in Amarillo, Texas in 2000. They fled the Taliban in the middle of the night with only the clothes they wore. Their one thing was a photo of their father. (Produced for Weekend America w/ photo gallery.)

“Blues for the Karen” (2008 / 5:00) Jack Chance

The stories of Burmese refugees, the Karen people, recorded in the camps on the Thailand-Burma border, and in their new American homes. Thru it all their music preserves their culture. Part of The Mountain Music Project.

“From Iraq to Detroit” (2007 / 6:18) Ann Heppermann & Kara Oehler

The One Thing for the Augustin family was their home movies. Their religious beliefs forced them out of Iraq: Mom Nujood is a Chaldean Christian and Dad Abdullahad is a Latin Catholic. The Augustins left a comfortable life in Baghdad for Jordan, where limited opportunities siphoned much of their savings. They arrived in Detroit, where son Arkan takes pre-med courses at the local community college, while working part-time at a grocery store. (Produced for Weekend America: From Iraq to Detroit.)

“Refugee Dreams” (2007 / 4:11) Dmae Roberts

Starting with the fall of Saigon in April 1975, refugees from Vietnam awaited approval to move to the US and other countries. By 1979, there were almost 62,000 Vietnamese in refugee camps, with more than 140,000 people displaced from Cambodia and Laos. Portland, Oregon, was one of the medium-sized US cities that dealt with the relatively sudden influx of every major ethnic group (Vietnamese, Lao, Hmong, Mein and Cambodian) from Southeast Asia. More than 25 former refugees were interviewed for radio piece, and movie below.

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HV114- Psychological

Hearing Voices from NPR®
114 Psychological: States Of Mental Health
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-04-20

“Psychological” (52:00 mp3):

Three Diagnoses– Depression, Amnesia, Mental Breakdown (image: Rorschach test Card VI):

“Sit with Me” (7:29) Michael Bernstein

12-year-old Cameron Ledoux’s father doesn’t work, because of his deep depression. Cameron dialogs with his dad about the condition. Produced at The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies; broadcast by All In The Mind; podcast on Saltcast, with thie follow-up, “Sit With Me Again.” (Music: “Leaves Falling” by Lullatone from We Will Rock You… To Sleep: An Introduction to Lullatone).

“Finding Amnesia” (15:01) Scott Carrier

A quest for amnesia victims — it happens a lot more in movies, books and TV shows than real life. An attempt to find someone who has really had amnesia, to give someone amnesia, and to get it. Aired on This American LifeGet Over It!” and “The Friendly Man.”

“Breakdown and Back” (25:47) Marjorie Van Halteren, Lou Giansante & Jay Allison

A sonic journey documenting one woman’s loss of reality and descent into mental breakdown; a first-person account, with the voices of her friends who witnessed her collapse. Available as an audiobook: “Breakdown and Back.”

“Mad World” (3:03) Michael Andrews & Gary Jules

A cover of the Tears for Fears song, arranged for the Donnie Darko by composer & pianist Michael Andrews, sung by Gary Jules (video by filmmaker Michel Gondry).

HV113- Hippies

Merry Pranksters on the bus; photo from Zane KeseyHearing Voices from NPR®
113 Hippies: Flying our Freak Flag
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-03-30

“Hippies” (52:00 mp3):

Tuning in and turning onto alt.Hippie.history:

“Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (soundtrack)” (1998 / 2:00 excerpts) Johnny Depp

A couple choice fearsome, loathsome filmclips, with J. Depp conjuring Dr Hunter S Thompson on the subject of Hippie history, from A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.. (Music: Tomoyasu Hotei & Ray Cooper and Buffalo Springfield “Expecting to Fly.”)

“Asian Policy” (1973 / 0:40 excerpt) Spiro Agnew

From the VPOTUSA’s Greastest Hits, Spiro T. Agnew Speaks Out.

“If 60’s Was 90’s” (1994 / 1:30 excerpt) Beautiful People

With the blessings of the Hendrix family and the record company, the band remixed Jimi’s “If Six was 9,” and other songs, into the album If 60’s Were 90’s.

“The Kool-Aid Acid Test” (2008 / 10:17) Ann Heppermann & Kara Oehler

Interviews with Merry Pranksters Mountain Girl (Carolyn Garcia) and Hardly Visible (George Walker); mixed with audio from the Prankster archives and other 60s esoterica. Produced for PRI Weekend America. (Above photo: courtesy of Zane Kesey.)

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HV112- Native America

Hearing Voices from NPR®
112 Native America: Our Nation’s First Nations
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-03-16

“Native America” (52:00 mp3):

Canoes, horses, poems, and songs in the heart of Native America:

“Driftwood Feelin'” (1996 / 1:40) Henry Real Bird

From the soundtrack, The United States Of Poetry, part of the
USOP project. Music by Tomandandy.

“Nez Perce Trail: Rediscovery” (2001 / 18:56)

A National Geographic / NPR Radio Expeditions: Nez Perce tribal members and Forest Service workers travel the Nez Perce Trail on horseback, looking for lost histories and common ground. Featues Nez Perce elder Horace Axtell. Producer: Carolyn Jensen Chadwick, editor: Christopher Joyce; engineer: Suraya Mohamed.

“Indigenous Angel (feat. Ulali)” (2003 / 1:00 excerpt) RedCloud

From the CD Traveling Circus.

“Crazy Horse” (2002 / 6:01) John Trudell

From the album, Bone Days, by actor, poet, Santee Sioux, musician John Trudell.

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HV111- Guitar Heroes

Hearing Voices from NPR®
111 Guitar Heroes: Pickers, Pluckers, Players
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-02-23

“Guitar Heroes” (52:00 mp3):

From the original big bad bluesman to a Master Class with classical guitarist Christopher Parkening:

“Masked Marvel: Charley Patton” (2011 / 7:21) Barrett Golding

Charley Patton and guitar

The legend is of a shadowy soul traveling the countryside as singer, preacher, outlaw, teacher, of a hard boozin’, brawlin’, womanizin’ Blues Man. Well, that man had a name: Charley Patton, born around 1890 in the heart of the delta.

We hear interviews with people who played with Patton, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, and archival tape from Booker Miller (interviewed By Gayle Dean Wardlow), Roebuck ‘Pops’ Staples, and Howlin’ Wolf. And we talk to musician Corey Harris and authors Jim O’Neal (Living Blues Magazine) and Francis Davis (History of the Blues: The Roots, the Music, the People: From Charley Patton to Robert Cray).

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HV110- Mormon Fringe

Red Brick Store in Manti UT, home of The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days, photo by John HamerHearing Voices from NPR®
110 Mormon Fringe: Life with Latter Day Saints
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-02-16
“Mormon Fringe” (52:00 mp3):

Polygamists, Polynesians, and Indian Israelites:

“Saints and Indians” (2005 / 15:40) Kate Davidson

Mormons believe Native Americans are descendants of the ancient House of Israel. It’s a Mormon mission to bring them back to the Kingdom of God. So they brought children, mostly Navajo, from their reservation homes, and placed them in Mormon foster families across the West. From 1954 to 1996, more than 20,000 kids went through the Indian Student Placement Program. Producer Kate Davidson spent a year interviewing people about their experiences. Her story, edited by Deb George, ran on the Worlds of Difference series from Homeland Productions.

All About the Mormons?
Tags: SOUTH
PARK
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“Utah Luau: Iosepa” (2002 / 5:43) Jeff Rice

“Take the road toward the top secret army base. Go past Muskrat Spring until you get near Salt Mountain.” A statue of a Hawaiian chief overlooks the Utah desert, with a plaque reading: “Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono. Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono,” the motto of the kingdom of Hawaii: “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.” A tale of two states, lost tribes, and the Polynesians of Skull Valley who named their town, Iosepa, after Joseph Smith III.

“Saints and Last Days” (1996 / 27:50) Scott Carrier

Members of the polygymous True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days were excommunicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not for plural marriage, but because the TLC called the LDS elders the agents of Satan. Then the sect split again, over how many wives can be in a husband’s bed. Scott Carrier spends time in the Last Days of Manti, Utah. Produced for This American LifeFactions.”

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HV109- Musical Memory

Reverand Ruth Shaver singing in churchHearing Voices from NPR®
109 Musical Memory: The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-02-02

“Musical Memory” (52:00 mp3):

Selections from Musicians in their own words, from the series Song & Memory (What one song do you remember most from your childhood?), and from the Afterquake project:

“Chef Bourdain” (7:23) Ann Heppermann & Kara Oehler

Song & Memory: Rebel Chef Anthony Bourdain is known for his raucous ways in the world of the professional kitchen, detailed in his book “Kitchen Confidential.” We asked him to put away his pans and think back to when he was a kid — is there a song from childhood that brings it all back? Bourdain can pinpoint his desire sex-drug-rock n’ roll start to a single song: “96 Tears” by ? and the Mysterians. (The Song & Memory series was produced for PRI Weekend America.)

“Trudy & Mr C” (7:20) David Schulman

Musicians in their own words: Trudy Pitts and her husband, drummer Bill “Mr C.” Carney do a first-person duet. Trudy is an unsung hero of the Hammond B-3 electric organ. With her husband, Mr C, they’ve played with the Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry and Pat Martino. Their 50s R&B band, the Hi-Tones, featured a young sax player: name of John Coltrane. Their most rewarding musical partnership, though, is the one they share with each other. (MITOW stories were produced for NPR and are archived at PRX)

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HV108- Making Music

Hearing Voices from NPR®
108 Making Music: For a Living, For a Life
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-01-19

“Making Music” (52:00 mp3):

Making music, for a living, for a life:

“The Story of Rose Maddox” (1996 / 13:36) Ginna Allison

The Maddox Bros. & Rose were America’s Most Colorful Hillbilly Band. In the 1930s, 40s & 50s, the four brothers and sister/singer Rose paraded thru America in their colorful Cadillacs and cowboy outfits. “Their costumes make Liberace look like a plucked chicken,” said Tennisee Ernie Ford.

Born to sharecroppers in Boaz, Alabama, they rode the rails and hitch hiked to California in 1933, where they formed the band. Their sound was both old-timey and western swing; their rhythms helped plant the roots of rockabilly. Ginna Allison’s sound-portrait features interviews with Rose Maddox, Tennesse Ernie Ford, Cliffie Stone, and her co-prodcuer on this piece, TJ Meekins of KVMR-Nevada City CA. (Images: Maddox Bros. & Rose: Myspace, Rockin’ County Style)

“EZ Malone” (1996 / 7:24) Carmen Delzell

A preacher’s son, met in a North Carolina thrift shop, comes over the house to play guitar, and talk Jesus, G chords, and Gilligan’s Island. Carmen’s grandmother would not approve. Produced by Jay Allison for This American Life (PRX).

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HV107- Strange Days

Paul Bowles sittingHearing Voices from NPR®
107 Strange Days: Paul Bowles, Coyle & Sharp, Ayahuasca
Host: Larry Massett of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2010-12-29

“Strange Days” (52:00 mp3):

Way beyond the norm:

“Paul Bowles” (21:03)

Host Larry Massett has an audio essay on the life and literature of Paul Bowles (December 30, 1910 – November 18, 1999) on his 100th birthday.

Includes the ZBS 1967 conversation “A Time in Tangier,” readings of The Sheltering Sky by Paul Kiernan (IMDb | “A Slight Discomfort” for stage & HV radio), “The Hyena” (Collected Stories) by Erica Heilman (VT Folklife Ctr | HV), and PB himself from his 1992 album Black Star at the Point of Darkness.

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HV106- Courage to Create II

Washington National Cathedral window, by Rowan LeCompteHearing Voices from NPR®
106 Courage to Create II: Interviews with Artists
Host: Russ Germain of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Airs week of: 2010-12-15

“Courage to Create II” (52:00 mp3):

The conclusion of this 1978 NPR/CBC radio classic, featuring interviews with artists on the origins of the creative impulse (part one). Interviewees include:

“Courage to Create II” (52:00) Carolyn Jensen Chadwick & Tom Steward

Psychologist Rollo May (author of The Courage to Create), scupltor Ernst Neizvestny (translation read by Mike Waters), jazz violinist Joe Venuti, composer Harry Somers, classical guitarist Larry Snitzler, dancer Francesca Corkle (Joffrey Ballet), actor/director Jeanne Moreau, stained glass artist Rowan LeCompte, photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Produced by Carolyn Jensen Chadwick and Tom Steward; narrator: Russ Germain; technicians: Jim Anderson, Jan Stewart; executive producer: Digby Piers.

In HV’s not-so-humble opinion, Carolyn Jensen Chadwick was NPR’s best producer. She died August 2010; a few remembrances: All Things Considered | The Atlantic | Hearing Voices | LA Observed | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Morning Edition.

HV105- Courage to Create I

Harold Town painting Mechanical Forest Sound, oil on masonite, 1953, photo: farm1.static.flickr.comHearing Voices from NPR®
105 Courage to Create I: Interviews with Artists
Host: Russ Germain of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Airs week of: 2010-12-08

“Courage to Create I” (52:00 mp3):

Interviews with artists on the origins of the creative impulse (part one of two):

“Courage to Create I” (52:00) Carolyn Jensen Chadwick & Tom Steward

A 1978 NPR/CBC radio classic, featuring interviews with artists on the origins of the creative impulse. This first of two hours includes:

Psychologist Rollo May (author of The Courage to Create), classical guitarist Larry Snitzler, actor/director Jeanne Moreau, pianist Lorin Hollander, photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, stained glass artist Rowan LeCompte, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, painter Harold Town (CBC), novelist Marie-Claire Blais, flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, folk guitarist Leo Kottke.

Produced by Carolyn Jensen Chadwick and Tom Steward; narrator: Russ Germain; technicians: Jim Anderson, Jan Stewart; executive producer: Digby Piers.

In HV’s not-so-humble opinion, Carolyn Jensen Chadwick was NPR’s best producer. She died August 2010; a few remembrances: All Things Considered | The Atlantic | Hearing Voices | LA Observed | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Morning Edition.

HV104- Vet Vox

US Army troops pose in front of Iraqi palaceHearing Voices from NPR®
104 Vet Vox: Voices of Veterans
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2010-11-10

“Vet Vox” (52:00 mp3):

For Veterans Day, Vietnam, Korean, and World War Two vets, recorded by StoryCorps, along with a Marine Sergeant’s recent “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” discharge. And we plug into the iPods of active-duty troops in Iraq (photo gallery), asking them what they’re listening to, and what their lives are like:

“Specialist “Laser” Lawrence” (2:08) Jake Warga

Soldier Soundtrack, Iraq- Song: “Indestructible” by Disturbed from Indestructible. “You got to show people that soldiers aren’t just war fighters, they’re peace keepers too…”

“Bob and Carol Harllee” (1:34) StoryCorps

Bob Harlee served as an Army Chaplain for 18 years. In 1965, Harllee was sent to Vietnam, and he had to leave his wife and three children behind. One of those children, Carol, now 47, recently asked her father about his life in those days. As part of the 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell, Ky., Harllee had to reconcile his role as a spiritual guide within a unit whose job it was to destroy the enemy. Still, Harllee says, his task was clear: “to encourage everybody to keep their faith strong, even though they’re in the midst of the most terrible thing that mankind can bring upon itself.” Bob Harllee died in Charlottesville, Va., several months after his interview session. He was 73.

“Staff Sergeant Treen” (3:12) Jake Warga

Soldier Soundtrack, Iraq- Song: “Send in the Clowns” by Barbara Streisand from The Broadway Album. “They’re not really geared towards a democratic or republic sort of society… the biggest issue will be trying to keep Iran or Syria from moving into the power vacuum when we leave…”

“Army-Navy Classic” (0:26) Firesign Theatre

From. their series of of Jack Poet Volkswagon ads

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HV103- Political Party

SLC Mayor Rocky Anderson on-stage debating FOX News host Sean HannityHearing Voices from NPR®
103 Political Party: For Election Season
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2010-10-27

“Political Party” (52:00 mp3):

Let’s rev-up this election process with a cross-county Political Party:

“Salt Lake City Debate” (2007 / 15:52) Scott Carrier

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson publicly debates FOX News host Sean Hannity. The spectacle took place inside a chasm called Us versus Them. Produced in 2007 for This American Life; music: Rickie Lee Jones, “Nobody Knows My Name” from Sermon On Exposition Boulevard.

“Yeagh” (2004 / 1:08) James Lileks

Politics can be frustrating. It can make you scream — which made one Presidential candidate became famous for. Here’s Howard Dean’s scream put to music (more mixes at James Lileks’ Bleatophony).

“Kids on Constitution” (1986 / 3:01) Dmae Roberts

From the 1980s archives, we present this pre-teen perspective on our government’s founding document.

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