Hearing Voices - Radio Stories / All

Shanghai-ed In Portland 7:15 Dmae Roberts

A descent into the "Shanghai Tunnels" underneath Portland, Oregon, where "shanghai-ed" men were held before being forced to work on ships for no pay. Shangahai-ing started in 1850 and fizzled out by 1941, the start of World War II. "Now, the first thing the shanghai-ers would do when they grabbed you, was take your shoes, because they broke glass and spread it throughout the underground, so if you escaped, you couldn’t run too fast or too far." [transcript]

Broadcast: Aug 15 2003 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: Business, Travel, Historical

Losing It at Universal Studios 5:00 Mark Allen

Temporarily insanity during a tour of Universal Studios in southern California. So many cool things to see, to do, to tour. The producer is overwhelmed by the magnificence of it all, and pretty much loses his mind. [transcript]

Broadcast: Aug 9 2003 on NPR All Things Considered Subjects: Entertainment, Travel

Grant & Sue 28:09 Scott Carrier

The story of the most hated environmentalists in Boulder Utah -- people who are actually burned in effigy -- and how, after seven years, they come to agree with the other side on more things than not.

Broadcast: Jul 25 2003 on PRI/WBEZ This American Life Subjects: Environment, Business

Piazza Postcard 2:21 Dmae Roberts

An audio postcard of Piazza San Marcos in Venice, Italy, a blend of timelessness and tourists.

Broadcast: Jul 19 2003 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: Travel, International

Lewis & Clark: Ken Karzmiski 3:34 Barrett Golding

Archaeologist Ken Karzmiski works at the Discovery Center, near the Dalles Dam on the Columbia River in central Oregon. On one side is Interstate-84, on the other a railroad, and in between are the memories of lost languages and cultures. [transcript]

Broadcast: Jul 18 2003 on NPR Living on EarthSeries: Lewis & Clark Trail: 200 Years Later Subjects: Native, Historical, Environment, Spoken Word

Eyes of Sibiu 12:15 Andrei Codrescu & Larry Massett

Andrei returns to Romania, his homeland. "Look at the old lady looking out. She’s been looking out for three hundred years. And she’s still curious. She looks like she’s seen everyone: the Romans in their sandals, Germans in jackboots, gypsies with feet of silver, and the communists in their dialectical slippers; and pretty soon, the rollerblades will be coming. She’s not going anywhere." [transcript]

Broadcast: Jun 13 2003 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: International, Travel, Literature, Historical

Lewis & Clark: Bar Pilots 3:25 Barrett Golding

When Foreign ships enter U.S. waters, they are required to have an American pilot on board. In Astoria, Oregon, the Columbia River Bar Pilots Association brings the pilots out to the boats. Each body of water, each bend of the river, brings a new environmental issue, one that often gets no national attention, but is the focus of intense local debate. Captain Phil O’Shaughnessy and first mate John Leiter discuss the deep and shallow arguments for dredging the mouth of the river. [transcript]

Broadcast: Jun 13 2003 on NPR Living on EarthSeries: Lewis & Clark Trail: 200 Years Later Subjects: Business, Travel, Environment

Lost and Found Department, Disneyland 6:26 Jake Warga

The items left behind by the tens of thousands of visitors to the Happiest Place On Earth. In the back, behind two security doors: a day with the workers that tend time in the underbelly of Disneyland: the lost and found office. Remember the last scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark"? It’s kind of like that, but with rows and rows of Tupperware.

Broadcast: Jun 13 2003 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: Entertainment, Travel, Cultural

Language Removal Service 4:47 Larry Massett

Language without the words, leaving only the breaths, lip-smacks, ums and ahs: "These frozen portraits of a person’s speaking habits outline a spirit or soul that underlies that language," reports the Language Removal Service. ""laboratory that is the only one of its kind in the world -- facilities include our state-of-the-art vocal observation chamber and a special storage facility for our archives, including the world-famous Raymond Chronic Static Language library." [transcript]

Broadcast: Jun 11 2003 on NPR All Things ConsideredSeries: Language Removal Subjects: Comedy, Technology, Spoken Word

Heat 59:00 Scott Carrier, Jeff Rice, John Rieger, Marjorie Van Halteren & [Hearing Voices]

Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer in this (((Hearing Voices))) special. Hosted by Scott Carrier, featuring: "Dead of Summer" by Marjorie van Halteren & Lou Giansante- A sound-poem of summer in the city and longing for "a ten-cent breeze." "Summer Notes" by Joe Frank- The perfection of family, a crippled man on a blind man's back, and a collective scream: "I'm not dead." "Heat" by Jeff Rice- Tuscon residents on desert heat, including author Charles Bowden, poet Ofelia Zepeda, and composer Steve Roach (who wrote the music). "The Little Heroes" by John Rieger- Covering piano-pulling cats in the summer sun -- the fate of the non-network newsman. "Highway 50" by Scott Carrier- A very hot and very long drive down a lonely stretch of pavement. More audio, info and links...

Broadcast: Jun 1 2003 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Specials, Travel, Comedy