From crystal to lips: music can come from many sources. I profiled a concert whistler named Jason Serinus. And then there was the guy who mounted wine glasses on a plywood board and made other-worldly music by stroking them in turn. On to more momentous stuff, meet the Rockabilly legend Rose Maddox. And J.C. Burris, cousin of blues legend Sonny Terry, was a master not only of the harmonica, but of the dancing wooden percussive […]
Read moreDay: May 28, 2014
Radio Programs: Californiana
In 1975, I moved to California for one year, to finish art school. I haven’t left yet. As a producer, I’ve found the state to be a rich source of documentary subject matter. First, there are the earthquakes. I did a short feature for children, who think that our frequent tremors are lots of fun. Fortunately, in recent years we’ve been spared catastrophic events. NPR asked me to do a stereotypical vignette about a new […]
Read moreRadio Programs: South Africa
In 1995, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to South Africa for two months, to teach radio journalism workshops and to co-produce, with talented local producers, two documentaries about life life under apartheid. The Knock at the Door is about the forced removals of “colored” families from their homes in a district that the whites found desirable. Soldiers introduces listeners to the members of the army on both sides of the apartheid divide: […]
Read moreRadio Programs: Love
I suppose just about every radio producer ends up doing at least one program about love and romance. Here are two of mine. Back in the mid-eighties, personal ads were a novelty, long before the era of Match.com. I answered a few ads to get the story. And who doesn’t remember his or her first kiss? I do, but luckily, for this feature I was on the listening end of the microphone.
Read more
Latest Comments…