Hearing Voices - Radio Stories / Jay Allison

Father Figures 54:00 Jay Allison, Scott Carrier, Viki Merrick, Sound Portraits & [Hearing Voices]

For Father's Day, hosted by Jay Allison, stories of paternal praise, pride, disappointment and love: Scott Carrier gives his son Milo a "Ski Lesson." From Animals and Other Stories, we hear "Reflections of Fathers," aka, Bugs & Dads. Comic strip artist Lynda Barry wishes her divorced dad a "Happy Father's Day." A doctor tells his daughter about her granddad in "Story Corps- Dr. William Weaver." Jay Allison describes his daughter's questions about his love life as "Grilling Me Softly". Dan Robb's family remembers the day "Dad's Moving Out," from Life Stories. "Doc Merrick" and daughter Viki go through some girl problems. David Greenberger tells David Cobb's story "Because of Dad." Deirdre Sullivan's father advises "Always Go to the Funeral," a This I Believe essay. And from producer by Viki Merrick, Dave Masch wants to be "A Better Father" (

Broadcast: Jun 17 2007 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Spoken Word, Holidays, Family

Coast Guardsman salute at a military cemetery

For the Fallen 54:00 Jay Allison, Barrett Golding, Sound Portraits, Marjorie Van Halteren, Robin Wise & [Hearing Voices]

A public radio special for Memorial Day, Monday May 28 2007. The host is Green Beret and poet Major Robert Schaefer, U.S. Army Special Forces. The hour features voices of veterans remembering their comrades. We hear troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, reading their emails, poems, and journals, as part of the NEA project: Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience. We hear interviews from StoryCorps, essays from This I Believe, and the sounds of a Military Honor Guard, recorded by Charles Lane. And we attend the daily ceremony by Belgian veterans honoring the WWI British soldiers who died defending a small town in western Belgium (produced by Marjorie Van Halteren).

Broadcast: May 28 2007 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Family, War, Holidays

Circus Blood 54:00 Jay Allison, Joe Frank, Larry Massett & [Hearing Voices]

Tales from the Big Top. Emcee John Dankosky, of WNPR- Connecticut Public Radio, presents a world-class troupe of audio daredevils and media magicians: SF Chronicle journalist Jon Carroll interviews his daughter Shana as she hang upside down on her "Trapeze", ready to fly away; from the Life Stories series by Jay Allison. Joe Frank loves the lady "Lion Tamer," an excerpt from his hour "The Dictator- Part 2." Adam Rosen mixes a medley of the many versions of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." Drummer Bobby Previte composes the "Music of the Moscow Circus." Elizabeth Eck returns to the circus family she ran away to join in Larry Massett's "Circus in the Blood." And Twink serves up "The Great Circus Show" from The Broken Record. More audio, info and links...

Broadcast: Jul 1 2006 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Specials, Spoken Word, Entertainment

Shoah 59:00 Jay Allison, Barrett Golding & [Hearing Voices]

A Holocaust Memorial in this (((Hearing Voices))) Yom Ha Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) special. Hosted by Barrett Golding, featuring: "Descended from the Holocaust" - Dr. Alan Berkenwald's parents never talked to him about their experience in the concentration camps. Last summer, at age 41, when Alan found out that his parents and their survivor friends had rented a bus to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, he asked if he could come along and bring a tape recorder. Produced by Jay Allison with Christina Eggloff, from their series Life Stories. Also, "Yom Hashoah 1994" combines music and prayers from Shoah services (Congregations Beth Aaron- Billings MT & B'nai Jeshuran- Cleveland OH) with survivor interviews. And it documents the Billings communities united, emphatic "Not in Our Town" response that stopped a series of anti-Jewish crimes. Cleveland recordist was NPR's Rick Karr. Billings recordist and story producer was Barrett Golding. And "Death Marches and Liberation" produced by David Notowitz as part of "Voices of the Shoah: Remembrances of the Holocaust," a project of Richard Foos, President of Rhino Records, narrated by Elliot Gould; drawn from interviews with 180 survivors; available as a 4-CD box set, with a 100-page book of photos, interviews and historical perspectives. Also live May 1945 BBC reports "From Belsen Concentration Camp" by Patrick Gordon Walker. More audio, info and links...

Broadcast: May 6 2005 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Historical Anniversaries, Historical, Specials, War, Justice

The Earth Sings 59:00 Jay Allison, Gregg McVicar, Jeff Rice, Dmae Roberts & [Hearing Voices]

Sounds for and from Mother Earth in this (((Hearing Voices))) Earth Day special. Hosted by Dmae Roberts of Stories1st.org, featuring: "Annapurna Circuit" in Nepal's Himalayan Mountains by Quiet American (Aaron & Bronwyn Ximm). " Traveling Middle Earth" and " Maori Singers, New Zealand" culture and country by Dmae Roberts of Stories1st.org. Portraits of Alaskan singers/dancers Pamyua and of Sioux soprano opera Bonnie Jo Hunt singing with Robbie Robertson and crickets, produced by Gregg McVicar of EarthSongs.net. Ant sounds from Dr. Hayword Spangler of Tuscon's Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, recorded by Jeff Rice. "Hide And Seek" with animal trainer Ken Decroo and Dar the Chimp, part of Jay Allison's Animals & Other Stories. And Cosmic Background Radiation, Lava Flow, River Drumming, Leafhoppers and Elephants from the Pulse of the Planet CD "Extraordinary Sounds From the Natural World" by Jim Metzner. More audio, info and links...

Broadcast: Apr 20 2004 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Travel, Environment, Specials

Drawing of pilgrams and detail of painting

Let�s Eat 59:00 Jay Allison, Scott Carrier, Joe Frank, Susan Stone & [Hearing Voices]

An Audio Feast in this (((Hearing Voices))) Thanksgiving special. Hosted by Larry Massett, featuring: Scott Carrier tours a turkey ranch, unflinchingly following the gobbler from farmyard to frozen food. Susan Stone serves up a tongue-twisting knife-wielding cut-up collage of the Joy of Cooking. Joe Frank describes a typically twisted Thanksgiving dinner, in an excerpt from his program "Pilgrim." Dean Olscher trips through the Twin Cities, going among the Hmong, with assistance from by Chowhound Jim Leff on the cellphone. oet Todd Colby will do absolutely anything for some cake. And "Concerning Breakfast"- Annie Cheney offers a touching document of her eating disorder, produced by Jay Allison. More audio, info and links...

Broadcast: Nov 27 2003 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Food, Specials, Holidays

Pickup on dirt road, photo by Scott Carrier

Backroads 59:00 Jay Allison, Scott Carrier, Kitchen Sisters, John Rieger & [Hearing Voices]

Five traveling stories from public radio's past in this (((Hearing Voices))) special. Hosted by the producers, featuring: "Fifty Miles Out of Gerlach" by John Rieger- Small-town society. "Navajo Pentacostalists" by Scott Carrier- Holy ghosts, hitchhikers and stratocasters. "Road Ranger" The Kitchen Sisters- a highway hero fixes strangers' cars. "Cross My Path" by Jay Allison- Leo Grillo cares for animals, thousands of them. "Trip to the Dentist" by Larry Massett- A nitrous-feuled excursion thru a history of bad dental health. More audio, info and links...

Broadcast: Apr 1 2003 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Religious, Health, Specials, Travel

Her Stories 59:00 Jay Allison, Kitchen Sisters, Ginger Miles, Dmae Roberts, Steve Rowland, Jake Warga & [Hearing Voices]

HER STORIES- a (((Hearing Voices))) Women's History Month special. Hosted by Dmae Roberts of Stories1st.org, featuring: "Tupperware�" by the Kitchen Sisters- the one-time staple of American housewifery: the Tupperware� party. "Donna Checks Out Her Life" by Tom Lopez / ZBS- Asupermarket checker, scans the items in her existence. "Home From Africa" by Jake Warga, edited by Jay Allison- Jenifir returns from Benin with all 13 Symptoms of Chronic Peace Corps Withdrawal. "Sisters" by Dmae Roberts- A montaged discussion what it's like to have and be a sister. "Ruby" by Susan Stone- A new syntax of whispers and words tells the story of a woman and her husbands. "Sooner or Later" by Ginger Miles- A sound-portrait of the producer's friend, Anna Lee, a jazz photographer in lower Manhattan, recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Poems by Sonia Sanchez produced for radio by Steve Rowland and mixed by Joe Waters with original music by Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Joe Waters. And poems by spoken-word artists Tracie Morris, Jill Battson and Meryn Cadell. More audio, info and links...

Broadcast: Mar 1 2003 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: International, Family, Literature, Specials, Women

Statue of soldier at Gettysbrug battlefield

State of Union 59:00 Jay Allison, Scott Carrier & [Hearing Voices]

For the U.S. Presidential State of the Union speech. Hosted by Jay Allison of Transom.org, featuring: "State of the Union" by Scott Carrier- A cross-county drive asking people: What is the state of our union? "Last Night in New York" by Wednesday Kennedy- wandering the streets of NYC in the wake of 9/11. "Song of Marconi" by Dennis Downey- an imagistic essay on the founder of radio and the reveberations from his transmissions that still reflect today. "Amber" by Christopher Lydon- insights to a call-in talk show from an undocumented American. More audio, info and links...

Broadcast: Jan 20 2003 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Public Affairs, Specials, Politics

An Hour of Earth 59:00 Jay Allison, Scott Carrier, Andrei Codrescu, Barrett Golding, Tom Lopez, Sarah Vowell & [Hearing Voices]

An Earth Day special. Hosted by Barrett Golding, featuring: "Underground Lunchroom" by Sarah Vowell- A congressional controversy over a cave cafeteria. "Green River Stories" by Scott Carrier- floating a Rocky Mountain river. "Singing Frogs" by Tom Lopez of ZBS- a true tale of toads... or are they frogs? "Subtext: Communicating with Horses" and "Killer Whales" by Jay Allison- from his series Animals & Other Storeis. "The Environment" by Andrei Codrescu- from cowfields to fast rood in under a minute. "Blackfish" by Barrett Golding- Dr. John Ford of the Vancouver Aquariium, with music by Jeff Arntsen of Racket Ship. More audio, info and links...

Broadcast: Apr 20 2002 on HV SpecialSeries: Hearing Voices- Specials Subjects: Travel, Science, Environment, Specials