Hearing Voices - Radio Stories / Historical

Big Stone Heads 7:45 Jack Chance

A trip to Easter Island to gather recordings of local musicians and theories on who made and moved the "moai," the ilse’s famous stone heads. A mystery of aliens, archeologists; and arboreal emptiness: What happened to all the trees? (Accompanied by Chance’s Easter island photos.)
[transcript]

Broadcast: Jul 23 2007 on HV PODCAST; Mar 14 2007 on HV Webwork; Mar 7 2007 on PRX Nature Stories Podcast; Nov 14 2004 on NPR Day to Day Subjects: Music, Historical, International, Native

The Pledge of Allegiance 5:14 Barrett Golding

For Independence Day:People with different regional, ethnic, and national accents recite and reflect upon the single, century-old sentence: ""The Pledge of Allegiance." [transcript]

Broadcast: Jul 2 2007 on HV PODCAST; Jul 4 2005 on NPR Day to Day Subjects: Public Affairs, Historical, Cultural, Acoustic, Justice

Otha Turner’s Picnic 14:36 Ben Adair

Mississippi moonshine, barbecued goat and the last of the old-time Fife & Drum picnics [transcript]

Broadcast: Jun 25 2007 on HV PODCAST; Sep 1 2001 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: Travel, Historical, Americana, African American

Dubya’s Word 2:14 Jesse Boggs

State of the Union undone; mashup and music by Jesse Boggs.

Broadcast: Jan 22 2007 on HV PODCAST Subjects: Historical, Politics

Canoe in water, with painted sides and paddles

Tribal Journey- Photos Jesse Boggs

A (Flash) photo-audio-essay on the annual aqueous outing of the Canoe Nations of the Northwest.

Broadcast: Nov 24 2006 on HV WebworkSeries: Tribal Journey Subjects: Native, Historical, Travel

Mahalia Jackson 4:27 Barrett Golding

Gospel music's great Mahalia Jackson, was born 95 years ago today (October 26 1911). She recorded for Decca and Columbia, had her own CBS radio sow, performed at John F. Kennedy's inauguration and Martin Luther King, Jr's funeral. Mahalia grew up in the "Black Pearl" section of New Orleans, singing in the Baptist Church. In this 1950s interview, she recalls the music of her youth. [transcript]

Broadcast: Oct 26 2006 on NPR Day to Day Subjects: Religious, Music, Historical, African American

Mal Sharpe with tape recorder lying on a city sidewalk

Original Man on the Street: Mal Sharpe 6:30 Jesse Boggs

In the 1960s, Jim Coyle and Mal Sharpe took to the streets of San Francisco in the name of radio comedy. They asked strangers random questions and give them wild scenarios. Along the way, they captured the San Francisco culture and attitude of the time. Their work has been compiled on a four-disc set called "Coyle and Sharpe: These Two Men Are Imposters."

Broadcast: Oct 21 2006 on APM Weekend America Subjects: Historical, Comedy

Window broken in schoolhouse, photo by Adam Dolnick

Beslan, Russia: 2004 School Siege- Part 2 7:46 Kelly McEvers

The conclusion of this two-part series on the 2004 takeover of a school in Beslan Russia by Chechnyn militants. Could negotiations could have prevented the tragic end to the siege? (See the Beslan Timeline: How the School Siege Unfolded.) [transcript]

Broadcast: Sep 1 2006 on NPR Day to DaySeries: Russian School Siege- 2004 Subjects: War, International, Historical, Religious

Beslan, Russia: 2004 School Siege- Part 1 7:46 Kelly McEvers

A two-part NPR series: In 2004 Chechnyn militants seized 1,200 hostages at School No. 1 in Beslan, Russia. More than three hundred hostages died, mostly children, in explosions and battles between militants and Russian soldiers. The series relives the three-day siege: traveling to where the militants planned the attack, examining their demands, and exploring authority's refusal to negotiate. (See the Beslan Timeline: How the School Siege Unfolded.) [transcript]

Broadcast: Aug 31 2006 on NPR Day to DaySeries: Russian School Siege- 2004 Subjects: International, Religious, War, Historical

Album cover: Clothesline Revival's Long Gone

Clothesline Revival 6:52 Barrett Golding

The vocals on the new album by Clothesline Revival are more than half a century old: unprofessional singers recorded in the rural south, by John and Alan Lomax. The music of Clothesline Revival is by multi-instrumentalist Robert Powell and composer Conrad Praetzel Conrad is a former archeologist. His research skills came in handy unearthing material for the band's latest collection, called Long Gone. [transcript]

Broadcast: Jul 4 2006 on NPR Day to Day Subjects: Music, Interviews, Americana, Historical