Hearing Voices - Radio Stories / Travel

Traveling Middle Earth 10:23 Dmae Roberts

Maori meets Mordor, as the premiere of "Lord of the Rings" put New Zealand in the spotlight. A series of audio snapshots of the country and culture. [transcript]

Broadcast: Dec 16 2003 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: Travel, Music, Environment, International

Lewis & Clark’s Only Camp 4:58 Barrett Golding

The Lewis & Clark Trail: 200 Years Later: During their cross-coutry trek, the expedition made more than 600 campsites. None have been found... until now. Archeologist Ken Ken Karsmizski documents his dig at the Lower Portage site near Great Falls, Montana. [transcript]

Broadcast: Nov 14 2003 on NPR Living on EarthSeries: Lewis & Clark Trail: 200 Years Later Subjects: Travel, Science, Historical

Batumi Blues 12:12 Larry Massett

A tale of disappearing train ticket offices, life-limited electric fans and the eccentricities of existence in the post-Soviet republic of Georgia. Alex returns home to Batumi, a port on the Black Sea by the Turkish border. The city has always been an outpost, the farthest reach of different empires from Roman times on. In the Soviet era, up until 1991, it prospered with booming oil refineries and tangerine groves. But now,Alex feels, his old hometown is decaying, like some provincial capital in the Middle Ages after the fall of Rome. [transcript]

Broadcast: Oct 17 2003 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: Business, International, Travel

Housekeepers’s POV 5:18 Jake Warga

Fran Peters, Director of Housekeeping, Paramount Hotel- Seattle: "I mean it takes a lot of labor to pick up a sofa, take it through a sliding glass door, and throw it over a balcony into a swimming pool." Rock star’s rooms, toilet-seat sanity seals, and that hotel sheet smell.

Broadcast: Sep 26 2003 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: Labor, Business, Travel

Surfing instructors Miles Apuakehau and Daylne Vickery

Surf School 14:49 Scott Carrier

An uneasy transition from liking surf music to taking surf lessons, with no board, no place to stay, except a tent on the beach and a big, bad Hawaiian teacher -- part of a native culture that doesn’t trust white men as far as they can throw ’em. Begging the question: How far will the producer get thrown? [transcript]

Broadcast: Sep 26 2003 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: Sports, Travel, Native

South African street sign, intersetcion of Princess Magogo Steeet and King Dinuzulu Highway

Speaking in Clicks 3:25 Larry Massett

How to use the Zulu click language in embarrassing social situations. [transcript]

Broadcast: Aug 29 2003 on PRI/MPR Savvy Traveler Subjects: Spoken Word, Travel, International

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

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

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