Musical Migrants: First Person Stories

BBC radio is currently running a series of radio documentaries called Musical Migrants --  first-person narratives of people who've transported themselves to new lands for their music. I listened to the first three and was thoroughly entertained.

The series was produced for the BBC by Falling Tree Productions, a company that specializes in radio documentary content. I first became aware of Falling Tree when I heard the excellent documentary, Blood Stained Banner, about the confederate flag. They do great stuff.

This new series is all first-person: there's a brief BBC-like intro to the documentary and then it's like you're sitting across the table from these fascinating people. Each episode is 15 mins long and can be heard on the BBC website, or if you subscribe to BBC Documentaries in ITunes.

• 1/5. Jesse Lee Jones explains how his love of country music took him from Brazil to Nashville.
• 2/5. A Venezuelan opera singer now living in Italy is the subject of today's programme.
• 3/5. Today's migrant swapped Cheltenham for Zanzibar because of his love of African music.
• 4/5. The wild freedom of Cajun music lured today's migrant to Louisiana.
• 5/5. Daniel Sanden-Warg was drawn to Norway for the hardanger fiddle - its national instrument

Local Podcasters Make Good: I Like You

Toronto-based podcast, I Like You

I Like You, is a bi-weekly podcast with hosts "JP and Ella", that explores love, and dating topics. They just released their 63rd episode this week, and have refined their format into a high-quality offering.

The newer episodes that I've surveyed have great stories, excellent post-production editing, and likeable hosts. It's a winning combination.

For example, the most recent episode, Too Close to Home, is about staying friends with the ex, and the complications that go along with it. The hosts introduce the topic, and then similar to This American Life, they get someone telling a true story on tape that illustrates the topic. Great interview and an amazing story. I don't want to give a spoiler, just listen (it's crazy!).

And, like This American Life, post production fits it all together with music, transitions, commentary, and charming banter. It's got a polished radio sensibility. These guys have studied radio.For that reason, it doesn't matter if you are single or hitched; if you like good storytelling you'll probably like this podcast.

The banter between the hosts doesn't sound forced or scripted. It's a refreshing change from the journalistic voice from nowhere you often hear on public radio. They have respect for their subjects and interviewees, but they don't forgo their own sensibilities. It's a delicate balance, and they succeed.

It's always special when I find a new podcast that I feel confident recommending to others. New voices, new ideas, new stories. Never before have I found one that is based in my home town (Toronto).  Go Hogtown!

The show can be found on ITunes or the I Like You website.

Prize Winning Radio Piece About a Beached Whale

I've was digging around the Saltcast archive for good radio documentaries when I found this 14 min documentary about a beached whale in Maine.

Ten years ago a giant whale was found beached near a small town in Maine. It was a huge event, because the town couldn't do anything with it. It became a problem when it started to go off. How did it get there? What are we going to do with it? It was a bit of a media splash at the time.

Ten years later, an aspiring radio producer at a Salt workshop finds an article on the whale and decides to take her microphone and collect oral histories from people who were there when it happened.

It was thought to be a dead-end by her teachers. Turns out, it ends up being a prize winning documentary. Great use of using recorded footage from many interviews spliced into a meaningful narrative, without the use of a narrator.

Listen: Just Another Fish Story.

Book Review: Reality Radio

Reality Radio: Telling True Stories in Sound is a collection of essays about radio, written by highly regarded contemporary practitioners, including Ira Glass (This American Life), Jad Abumrad (Radiolab), Jay Allison (The Moth), and many more from all over the English speaking world.

Essays about Radio? you ask. Believe me, when you're done reading this book you'll understand why generations of people have been so passionate about radio and why, maybe, even in this hyper-mediated world we live in, radio still has a vital place.

In the age of the podcast, and streaming web content, the word 'radio' probably doesn't accurately capture the possibilities anymore, except for this: that radio is about finding out about things you are interested in, that you didn't know existed.

You never would have thought to seek out a story or author or person, but now that you've heard it.... That's the art of radio: pulling the audience in, making them 'see' what you find so interesting about a subject.

Some of the essays go deep into the challenges of creating documentaries that rely solely on words, sounds, and the audience's ears and imagination, without the aid of video or images. Other essays get artsy and talk about the connection between music, speech and sound and how to move people in more intuitive ways, in addition to, or instead of, 'straight information'.

I tend to be more interested in the practitioners who focus on storytelling and structure, rather than the more  esoteric producers (who want to create sound art). But the artsy ones do make a case for paying more attention to musicality of the human voice and the power of sound. I intend to learn more about sound art, now.

Jay Allison

No two producers are passionate in the same way, or have the same approach to creating great radio, revealing the artful nature of radio documentary. The essays in this book are personal and entertaining in their own right.

Ira Glass is great, as always, but it was Jay Allison's idealism and radio activism that moved me the most. Putting tape recorders in the hands of teenagers so they could record their own stories, for example. Or helping start up The Public Radio Exchange so independent radio producers could share unique content with the world.

I wasn't expecting that -- to come away from the book with a renewed sense of idealism about the power people's stories: collecting them, telling them, sharing them. I finished the book in two sittings.

99% Invisible Podcast: Explorations Into the Built Environment

For anyone interested in urban design, architecture and industrial design: I recommend listening to 99% Invisible. It's a short format podcast (5-10min, usually), produced by public radio producer Roman Mars. It's slick, easy on the ears, and surprisingly insightful at times.

If you're a RadioLab fan, you'll hear about him soon enough. He's going to be featured on the upcoming Radiolab episode. They're going to run a few episodes and interview producer Roman Mars.

The easiest way to listen to back episodes (all 42 of them!) is using ITUNES. The website is built on Tumblr and has poor navigation, but it has text and supporting images for the episodes.

Start anywhere, they're all good.

The Mind's Eye: Independent Radio Documentaries

Whether you're an avid public radio listener or Podcast addict, you'll want to read this article. As a fan, you've probably come to love certain shows, like Radiolab, This American Life, The Moth, or Fresh Air. But, you may also want to hear different voices -- produced at the same high quality you've come to expect from those shows. That's where independents come in.

This article runs through a few online resources where you can download and listen to great independent audio documentaries, for free. For those of you who want to create and distribute your own podcast or radio documentaries, they are essential resources.

Transom.org
Transom supports up-and-coming radio producers as well as producers making content that pushes the envelope of public radio. Resources on their site include gear reviews, interview technique and story development.

Transom takes submissions and encourages new producers by offering production support and providing a vehicle to get the radio documentary out to the public.

The shows archive features dozens of excellent radio documentaries that you can download (or subscribe using ITunes). Here are a few docs that I liked:

• 99% Invisible. 5 min doc about the flag of San Francisco. Very fun and flawlessly made. Produced by Roman Mars, who is a bit of a star in public radio in the US.
• Scene of the Crime. A private investigator goes to Columbia to find evidence of human rights violations. Transom furnishes him with recording gear.
• Girl Detectives. The cops think it was suicide, friends and family think it was murder.

Public Radio Exchange (PRX.org)

The Public Radio Exchange is a portal where independent radio producers upload their radio documentaries for consideration. Public radio stations can pick and choose content to fill a need. 

Topics are well organized so it's easy to find based on area of interest. They also feature seasonal docs (i.e. Thanksgiving themed docs). For the general public, it's easy and free to sign up and listen to these shows.There are thousands of docs to choose from.

HowSound.org (formerly Saltcast)

HowSound: The Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling is geared towards aspiring producers but it's got lots of great documentaries for the general audience, too.

Many episodes feature a documentary and then provide a background story to how it got made, and the challenges the producer had in making it. They also give pointers on how to produce great radio.

Don't forget to check the archive of great stories on the old Saltcast website (and also in Saltcast in ITunes). They didn't transfer over the old content to the new site when they they re-branded.