HV123- Cystic Fibrosis

Hearing Voices from NPR®
123 Cystic Fibrosis: Living with CF
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-10-05

“Cystic Fibrosis” (52:00 mp3):

Audio diaries document a decade of life with CF, a chronic, often deadly, genetic disease:

“Radio Diaries: My So-Called Lungs”" (2001 / 21:13) Joe Richman

A classic Radio Diaries: When this program premiered, Laura Rothenberg was 21 years old, or, as she likes to say, she already had her mid-life crisis a couple of years ago, and even then it was a few years late. Laura has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and other organs. People with CF lived an average of 30 years then (now it’s 37). Radio Diaries gave Laura a tape recorder and, for two years, she kept an audio diary of her battle with the disease and her attempts to lead a normal life with lungs than often betray her.

“My So-Called Lungs” was reported by Laura Rothenberg and produced by Joe Richman, for Radio-Diaries-dot-org, with support from the Open Society Institute and Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Deborah George was the Editor. Laura Rothenberg died in March 2003. Her memoir, Breathing For a Living was published a few months later. And Joe Richman had this Laura Rothenberg Remembrance on NPR.

“Four Failings Lungs” (2011 / 25:14) Catie Talarski

In 2010, there were 1,770 lung transplants performed in the United States — the most ever in a single year. For a person with Cystic Fibrosis, the transplant may extend life by years — or it could lead to continued suffering and rejection of the new organ. This documentary follows two young people struggling with end-stage Cystic Fibrosis, and struggling with a decision about transplant. While most of us are just hitting our stride in our late 20s, Beth Peters and Brian Sercus are medicating, massaging and coaxing their lungs into lasting as long as possible. Producer Catie Talarski documented Beth and Brian for a year to understand what its like to live with this chronic disease.

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HV116- Homeless

Hearing Voices from NPR®
116 Homeless: Living on the Streets
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-06-01

“Homeless” (52:00 mp3):

The voices of people who were or are 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.

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).

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.

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 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.

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

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).

This mix of this original Andrew Turpening song features interviews with Rene and Tommy. Tommy was recorded at the intersection of Cedar Ave. and Highway 94, between the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul; Rene was in a family shelter in Minneapolis.

Edwin Lanier has been sober for many years. But, as Lanier told his friend David Wright recently, he nearly drank himself to death — that’s the prognosis a doctor gave him after his 28th treatment for alcoholism. Lanier and Wright met on an exit ramp where Lanier stood holding a sign that read, “Homeless. Anything will help. God bless.” Wright handed Lanier a $2 bill and a can of tuna fish every time he passed. Wright and his wife eventually took Lanier in, giving him a shower, clean clothes, and a place to start over. Years later, Lanier and Wright remain good friends. But Edwin’s still homeless — by choice. Recorded in Durham NC.

A collection of poetry, written and performed by homeless poets, and put to music. From the project’s Sidewalk Prophets CD.

Smith is a writer and English instructor in New Orleans. Once homeless, he spent nights fishing at a city park pond where he met a woman who was deaf-mute — or so he thought. Music by Pascal Fricke.

Check Mr. Fricke’s Dozens of Haunting Tom Waits Covers in Bangin’ on the Table (free mp3s from Download This web series Cover Me. Here’s “The Heart of Saturday Night (Tom Waits cover)” (6:14 mp3):

Writer, anthropologist Alyssa Goodman describes a late-night encounter she witnessed on the streets of Bucharest in Romania. Music by Biosphere.

From the series Hidden Kitchens: So many immigrants, homeless people and others of limited means living in single-room occupancies have no kitchens, no legal or official place to cook. To get a hot meal, or eat traditional foods from the countries they’ve left behind, they have to sneak a kind of kitchen into their places. Crock pots, hot plates, microwaves and toaster ovens hidden under the bed. And now, the latest and safest appliance, the appliance that comes in so many colors it looks like a modern piece of furniture: the George Foreman Grill.

The story was suggested to the Sisters by Margaret Engel, managing editor of the Freedom Forum’s Newseum in Arlington VA, and co-author (with her twin sister Alison) of Food Finds: America’s Best Local Foods and the People Who Produce Them. There’s a mouth-watering book, Hidden Kitchens: Stories, Recipes and More from NPR’s The Kitchen Sisters and 3 CD-set, Hidden Kitchens: Stories and More from NPR’s The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, with Jay Allison).

This version of the main theme and interviews from the Land of 10-K Homeless music/audio documentary appeared on the Give US Your Poor benefit CD (video credits).

HV058- Motherly Love

Hearing Voices from NPR®
058 Motherly Love: Moms, Young and Old
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2011-05-04 (Originally: 2009-05-06)

Audio will be posted here by 2011-05-11.

For Mother’s Day:

Muriel & Walter Murch compose “A Mother’s Symphony” from womb sounds.

In 1996 Radio Diaries producer Joe Richman gave ”Melissa Rodriguez from New Haven: Teen Mom” a microphone and tape recorder. Melissa was 18 and pregnant. Joe asked her to make an audio journal of her life, for the series Teenage Diaries.

Amy Jo, single mother of two toddlers, is “Surrounded by Lights,” by producer Erin Mishkin of Public Radio Redux and SALT Institute for Documentary Studies.

Myra Dean tells StoryCorps of the day her son was killed by a reckless driver.

Ben Adair takes his mom in search of her mom and “Family Baggage.” Ben heads American Public Media‘s Sustainability and Global Climate Change Reporting Initiative.

Katie Davis admits “I Live with My Mother,” part of her DC Neighborhood Stories.

Toronto musician Charles Spearin with his neighbor “Mrs. Morris,” from The Happiness Project.

Seattle producer Jake Warga‘s ”Far Side” calendars make metaphor and memories of his mother’s life and death.

And HV wishes all moms, especially ours, a happy Mother’s Day.

StoryCorps Animations

From the Rauch Brothers‘s animations of StoryCorps pieces, “Germans in the Woods” (used in HV’s For the Fallen):

Germans in the Woods: Joseph Robertson was an infantryman in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. The stark black and white images in this short haunt the viewer, just as Robertson is haunted by his memories from that battle. (Directed by: The Rauch Brothers. Art Direction: The Rauch Brothers. Background Painting: Iandry Randriamandroso & Tim Rauch. Producers: Mike Rauch & Lizzie Jacobs. Animation: Tim Rauch. Audio Produced by: Michael Garofalo. Music: Fredrik. Label: The Kora Records. Publisher: House of Hassle.)

See all the animations: StoryCorps | Vimeo | YouTube.

HV041- Christmas Mashup

Hearing Voices from NPR®
041 Christmas Mashup: Holy Days & Silent Nights
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2010-12-22 (Originally: 2008-12-10)

“Christmas Mashup” (52:00 mp3):

Holiday cheer and holiday weird, a mix of lotsa holiday stories, found-sound, and sprinkling of sampled songs:

A home-recording of a “Christmas Gathering 1947″ (4:08 excerpt), on an unlabeled 7″ Wilcox Gay Recordio Disc, was found by Bob Purse. The complete recording is posted at the 365 Days Project, “Christmas Gathering 1947″ (6:32 mp3):

John Beltran remixes Bing Crosby “The First Noel” (5:02), on the compilation Holiday Chill – The Christmas Remixes.

“Dad and Sam” (4:43) is Jay Allison‘s story of father and brotherhood, from his series Life Stories. More…

HV104- Vet Vox

Hearing 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:

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 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.

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…”

From. their series of of Jack Poet Volkswagon ads

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HV043- Go By Train

Hearing Voices from NPR®
043 Go By Train: Riding the Rails
Host: Calvin Johnson of K Records
Airs week of: 2010-06-30 (Originally: 2008-12-24)

“Go By Train” (52:00 mp3):

Musician Calvin Johnson (of the band Beat Happening, and owner of K Records) hosts train tales:

An existential interaction with an automated Amtrak voice.

Calvin reads from his Great Aunt Grace’s diary of a 1891 train ride from Boston to San Francisco.

The Kronos Quartet performs the first movement of Steve Reich‘s Different Trains.

In the Song & Memory series, musician Jules Shear recalls singing for a school principal while riding the rails as a kid.

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StoryCorps- Mom

A new book from StoryCorps comes out April 15, Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps, just in time for Moms Day:

In Mom, Dave Isay, StoryCorps founder and editor of the bestselling book, Listening Is an Act of Love, presents a celebration of American mothers from all walks of life and experiences. Selected from StoryCorps’ extensive archive of interviews, Mom presents the wisdom that has been passed from mothers to their children in StoryCorps’ recording booths across the country.