HV079- Sacred Places

Hearing Voices from NPR®
079 Sacred Places: Maps to Heaven
Host: Alex Chadwick of Conservation Sound
Airs week of: 2009-12-23

“Sacred Places” (52:00 mp3):

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The spirits of personal shrines and collective spaces:

Our show host maps get directions to Heaven, in the holy Hindu city of Vrindavan, India. A three story series:

“The Streets of a Holy Hindu City” are reminders that the Hindu faith is everywhere in Vrindavan — countless temples line the streets and pilgrims march in devotion. There is also stark, third-world poverty and suffering. But for the faithful, the city is a manifestation of heaven, here on Earth.

“Pilgrims on the Path of Krishna“, among the stones of ancient temples and bathing pools, march and chant praise to Krishna and his consort, Radha. They touch the holy water of the Yamuna River and walk barefoot down the same paths they believe Krishna himself once trod.

“The Embodiment of Earthly Divinity“, the focus of many worshippers in Vrindavan, is the Sri Radha Raman Temple, where a black stone statue of Krishna sits enshrined and wrapped in saffron robes. Many consider the small stone statue to be Krishna himself.

Produced by Carolyn Jensen, for Radio Expeditions, a co-production of the National Geographic Society and NPR News. The editor was Jessica Goldstein; the engineer, Flawn Williams. Photo-gallery at NPR.

Finding four places of faith around Montana: a Soiux Sundance, in a Buddhist woman’s home, a Methodist prairie church, and a sculptor’s ranch.

The producers gather sounds from the streets of their own backyard, the 112 square miles of the borough of Queens, New York, home to the largest mix of immigrants and refugees in the United States. These are people praying in different neighborhoods, in churches, mosques, synagogues, in apartments, at public gatherings and in private moments who come from Togo, China, Haiti, Nigeria, Queens, Romania, even North Carolina. Part of: Crossing the BLVD: strangers, neighbors, aliens in a new America.

The producer is in Harvard Square with his aunts, looking for a “side-room”: That’s their word for a place to pray. Five times daily, even when they’re away from home, they perform “namaaz” (nah-MAHZ), their prayer service. They find the direction of Mecca, and a space that, temporarily at least, is sacred. Hammad Ahmed’s piece, was produced for the Say It This Way podcast. A brief glossary for the uninitiated: “qibla” = the direction Muslims face while praying (i.e. towards Mecca), “namaaz” = any of the five daily prayers, “hijab” = Muslim headscarf, “sajdah” = lying prostrate during prayer, “side-room” = a private-or-not-private space that Muslims occupy for prayer when away from home.

A woman’s song on the streets of Taipei, Taiwan, leads the producer to the outskirts of town, to climb the rock steps of the White Temple. There, high in the clouds, one hundred voices are singing a salutation to the Buddha.

HV024- Caregiver

Hearing Voices from NPR®
024 Caregiver: Taking Care, Taking Heart
Host: Dmae Roberts of Stories1st.org
Airs week of: 2009-09-30 (Originally: 2008-08-13)

“Caregiver” (52:00 mp3):

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Health caretakers, friends, family, workers and volunteers:

“Dialysis” by Joe Frank: A phone call, kidney failure and a friend indeed; followed by a flight of final fancy, from the hour “Goodbye.”

“Three Woman” by host by Dmae Roberts: Three women, a Chicana, African American and Romanian immigrant, describe their different approaches to surviving breast cancer. Produced as part of the “The Breast Cancer Monologues,” with Miae Kim, Anca Micheti, and music by Maria Esteves.

“Messages” by Dmae Roberts (of MediaRites): Every 100 days, the producer saves the phone messages of her mom who passed away two years ago as a living memorial. Music by Aaron Meyer and Tim Ellis.

“Bad Teeth at King Drew Dental Clinic” by Ayala Ben-Yehuda: a morning at the Dental Divide at a dental clinic of last resort in South LA’s King Drew Medical Center.

“A Square Meal, Regardless” by Jennifer Nathan: After John’s wife passed away and his children moved across the country, John turned to Cedric when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Produced for the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.

“Hospice Chronicles” (excerpt) by Long Haul Productions: Hospice volunteer Bettie viusits her first patient.

“The Person I Admire Most” by Jake Warga: A day with Jenafir in Ethiopia, trying to save the world (video version).

HV063- Lincoln Monument

Hearing Voices from NPR®
063 Lincoln Monument: A Civil War
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2009-07-01

“Lincoln Monument” (52:00 mp3):

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For Lincoln’s birthday bicentennial year and Independence Day, Old Abe, the Civil War, and its still-present aftermath:

The United States Marine Band recorded a “Lincoln Centennial” on February 12 1909 (from A Lincoln Portrait).

Abe’s 1860 presidential campaign song was “Lincoln and Liberty;” it’s sung for us by Dan Zanes (ex-Del Fuegos, off Parades And Panoramas: 25 Songs Collected By Carl Sandburg For The American Songbag).

“I Heard Lincoln That Day,” says Gettysburg eyewitness Walter Rathvon, in archival audio recorded on Lincoln’s birthday 1938 by WRUL radio, Boston. Set to an instrumental “Lincoln’s Triumph (a Funeral March),” part of the Lincoln Shuffle (by Bryce Dessner, guitarist for The National and Clogs, composed for the great bicentennial site 21st Century Abe, used with their re-mixing blessings).

NPR recreates the “Gettysburg Address,” with the words of John Dos Passos read by Noah Adams, and Lincoln’s speech read by Lars Hoel; produced by Bob Malesky for NPR’s The Sunday Show. More…

Miracle on the Streets

Miracle Draven was a homeless girl on the streets of Portland, Oregon. She recounts a day in her life as a crystal meth addict. Excerpted from a longer work (2005) at Stories1st.org. Aired on NPR Day to Day; by producer Dmae Roberts, “Miracle on the Streets” (3:27 mp3):

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HV051- Dog Tales

Hearing Voices from NPR®:
051 Dog Tales— Barks, Bites, Best Friends
Host— Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of— 2009-02-18

Dog Tales (52:00 mp3):

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A canine compilation — the dogs have their day:

Scott Carrier encounters a frisbee-catching “Blind Dog” (4:22).

Kevin Kling can’t connect with his family’s “Dogs” (3:50), off his collection of Stories off the Shallow End.

Musician Steven Vitiello makes a multi-bark audio art composition out of “Dogs in the Yard” (1:20).

In 1984 people told producer Jay Allison about their “Dog’s Dreams” (6:50), produced with Christina Eggloff for their series Animals and Other Stories, with funds from the New York State Council for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. More…

HV007- The Earth Sings

Hearing Voices from NPR®:
007 The Earth Sings — For Earth Day
Host— Dmae Roberts of Stories1st.org
Airdates— 2008.04.16-2008.04.23

The Earth Sings (53:00 mp3):

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Host Dmae Roberts of of Stories1st.org, for Earth Day, presents Sounds for and from Mother Earth:

The Quiet American takes an audio trek through Nepal”s “Annapurna” Circuit.

Host Dmae Roberts records Maori music and culture. We hear Pulse of the Planet’s “Extraordinary Sounds From the Natural World.”

And from Gregg McVicar and the Earthsongs series: Sioux Soprano Bonnie Jo Hunt layers opera over insects (on Robbie Robertson’s Music for the Native Americans), and the band Pamyua mimics creature calls.

HV003- Her Stories

Hearing Voices from NPR®:
002 Her Stories— For Women’s History Month
Host— Dmae Roberts of Stories1st.org
Airdates— 2008.03.19-26

Her Stories (54:00 mp3):

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The Kitchen Sisters go to “Tupperware®” parties.

A supermarket checker checks out her life, in ZBS’s radio soap Saratoga Springs.

Jenifir returns “Home From Africa” with all 13 Symptoms of Chronic Peace Corps Withdrawal, produced by Jake Warga.

Host Dmae Roberts has a collage of and about “Sisters.”

In a new syntax of whispers and words Susan Stone tells the story of “Ruby” and her husbands.

And Sonia Sanchez, Tracie Morris, Jill Battson and Meryn Cadell perform short poems.

Music from Tara Key’s Ear & Echo.

Reparations

In this week’s HV cast— A woman sits cross-legged, panhandling on a busy city sidewalk. She takes money only from white folks, and gives it to blacks who pass by. Her sign reads: “200 Years of Slavery in the United States. Reparation payments accepted here.” damali ayo is a street performance artist. “I offer people a convenient opportunity to pay for the unpaid labor of African Americans.” This piece is part of her “living flag” project. A story by Dmae Roberts and damali ayo, “Living Flag- Reparations” (9:02 mp3):

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