Like Blackpool Went Through Rock
By Sara Parker
Presented by Sean Street

In the late 1950's folk musicians Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, and BBC radio producer Charles Parker joined forces on a radio endeavor unlike anything the BBC (or the world, for that matter) had heard before. By 1964 the trio had carved their place in radio history with the Radio Ballads, eight documentaries that brought voices from England's furthest corners and least-celebrated communities to the airwaves in one-hour, non-narrated programs that were part radio documentary, part sound-rich poetry and part musical tapestry.

The first Radio Ballad, The Ballad of John Axon, told the story of a steam-locomotive driver from Stockport, posthumously awarded the George Cross for an act of heroism when he refused to abandon his runaway train and saved lives at the expense of his own.

To mark the 50th anniversary of The Ballad of John Axon, Sara Parker (daughter of Charles) and Sean Street collaborated on Like Blackpool Went Through Rock, revisiting the making of this monumental radio program, and exploring the Radio Ballads' influence on today's documentary makers and audiences. The program is a Falling Tree Productions for BBC Radio 4's Archive Hour.

Catch Sara Parker presenting the historic Radio Ballads and their significance in radio history at the upcoming Third Coast Festival Conference or buy a ticket to hear her talk at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music on October 12.

Two from Jonathan Goldstein

Jonathan Goldstein's got a knack for exploring life's great (and simple) mysteries via the telephone. Luckily, he records these conversations and broadcasts them far and wide, on WireTap - the weekly show he hosts and produces for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Each week listeners easvesdrop in as Goldstein chats with friends, strangers, ex-girlfriends and, often, his parents. The result? Riveting stories that blur the line between fact and fiction, and are at turns funny, wistful, and even slightly strange...in the best possible way.

WireTap airs across Canada on the CBC, and is distributed in the US by PRI, Public Radio International. And yes, it has one: myspace.com/wiretapradio

Live! One weekend only!
Jonathan will be joining us for the TCF Conference coming up October
9-11. Don't miss this chance to hear him share prized trade secrets about making radio stories...that aren't exactly stories.

Aimee Semple McPherson – An Oral Mystery
By Deborah George and Art Silverman with the Kitchen Sisters

Before Billy Graham, Jim Bakker or even Bob Jones took to the airwaves, the first media evangelist in this country was a woman - Sister Aimee Semple McPherson. Her soap box back in the 1920’s was the brand new medium of radio, and part of her mass appeal was her simple home spun warmth and humor. But like many a charismatic preacher, McPherson’s life was also filled with mystery, intrigue and not just a little bit of scandal. Producers Debra George and Art Silverman bring her rich story to life through archival recordings and a rare radio interview with McPherson’s daughter.

"Aimee Semple McPherson – An Oral Mystery" was presented as part of the Lost and Found Sound series produced by the Kitchen Sisters with Jay Allison in 1999 for National Public Radio.

Lifting Poetry off the Page: Two From Curtis Fox

Award-winning producer Curtis Fox has covered arts and culture for many years...first for public radio and more recently as a full-time podcaster. Over time he's developed a soft spot for one of the least understood corners of his beat - poetry. You could even say he's on a bit of a mission to bring verse to the masses, which he does by making it both accessible and thoroughly enjoyable. Here are two examples of what we mean: an episode of Fox's weekly podcast for the Poetry Foundation and an excerpt from his joyous profile of Walt Whitman.

Sweeping Statements
By Judith Sloan
with music by Taylor Rivelli for Taylormade Sounds

Being a teenager can be really hard. Especially if you’ve flunked out of school. Or your dad has disappeared. Or you’re incarcerated at a juvenile detention center and don’t see much hope for the future. And teaching those teenagers can be pretty hard too, as Judith Sloan can attest. She works with at-risk youth, teaching theater, writing, and juggling in alternative schools and jails. Most of her students are angry and at first reluctant to express themselves. But often, with some coaxing, they eventually do. And then Judith finds ways to shape their words and expressions into stories that are part drama, part documentary and part music.

One story in particular, Sweeping Statements, explores this process and the complicated lives of Judith's students.

BONUS track! Here's another story by Judith called What's Your Status?

It was inspired by her work with undocumented college and high school students.

Meat Factory Ear Worms
By Richie Beirne
Edited by Ronan Kelly

You know how sometimes you just can't get a song out of your head? Radio producer Richie Beirne can sympathize. Before finding the airwaves, he worked on the killing lines in meat factories around Ireland, and was plagued by a few "ear worms" that he just couldn't chase away. Now those songs vividly represent a certain time in his life, and as far as he can tell - they always will.

Meat Factory Ear Worms aired on RTE Radio 1, on The Curious Ear.

Featured songs:
"I Useta Love Her", The Saw Doctors
"Bright Eyes", Simon & Garfunkel
"Vincent", Don McLean

Wait for the Beep:
Stories Inspired by Telephones and the Messages People Leave Behind

Curated by the Third Coast Festival in collaboration with Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Imagine this scenario: A cell phone rings and the owner is no where in sight…so you pick it up. The screen reveals that there are unheard messages and, driven by curiosity, you listen to them. What unfolds is a mini drama, dripping with the familiar themes of love, revenge, loneliness, betrayal. Could this happen? Maybe, but what you’re listening to is one of five cell phone “plays” commissioned by the Third Coast Festival in collaboration with Steppenwolf’s new production of Sara Ruhl’s “Dead Man’s Cell Phone.”

How did the cell phone plays come to be?
In early 2008 the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago invited the Third Coast Festival to work with audio producers to create audio “plays” for cell phones based on a simple premise...that a series of phone messages can tell a story, and reveal strange and interesting details about the phone owner’s life.

The invitation was directly inspired by Steppenwolf's production of the darkly humorous "Dead Man’s Cell Phone," by Pulitzer finalist Sarah Ruhl. Three of the commissioned cell phone plays are currently featured as an audio installation in Steppenwolf's Upstairs Theatre lobby, the other two were presented at a Third Coast Festival Listening Room on April 9th.

They are all here for your listening pleasure, because who doesn’t enjoy a little bit of eavesdropping now and then?

Stories from the Heart of the Land
Curated and produced by Jay Allison and Emily Botein

The words "nature story" may conjure fact-filled, science-laden educational segments about insect colonies or environmental devastation. But that's not always what you're in for. Case in point - Stories from the Heart of the Land, a radio series made up of 31 very different and sound-rich personal stories that focus on the human connection to land and the landscape. These stories tackle huge, abstract questions through single, focused voices, revealing so much about how we interact with the natural world around us. Or in some cases - would rather not.

Here are three selections from Stories from the Heart of the Land. You can hear the rest of the series (six, one-hour shows), see some related, beautiful photographs and find out much more about the project here.

(Photo above by Elizabeth Arnold)


Stories from the Heart of the Land comes from Atlanta Public Media and was funded by the Nature Conservancy. Music for the series was composed by Bill Frisell.

Divided Families: The Hidden Cost of Migration
by Catrin Einhorn and Linda Lutton

Right on time, here's a love story that stretches across two decades, thousands of miles and an international border. Rocio and Francisco are married but have kept their family together by living apart for the past 19 years. Rocio's raising their children in Michaocan, Mexico, while Francisco's working two jobs in Rolling Meadows, IL and sending his earnings back home. The couple's decision to live this way comes as the global economy is pushing thousands worldwide to make similar choices. Reporters Linda Lutton and Catrin Einhorn straddle the US/Mexico border to tell Rocio and Francisco's complicated story.

Divided Families: The Hidden Cost of Migration was produced for Chicago Public Radio's 2007 series on immigration, Chicago Matters: Beyond Borders. The story was edited by Julie McEvoy and mixed by Mary Gaffney.

Little Black Train
by Nora Harrington

Eighty-two year old Daphne Reed is married to and madly in love with a man 30 years her juinor. She's been thinking a lot about death recently, and about the future years her husband will likely spend without her. Producer Nora Harrington talked with Daphne and with others about their fears and beliefs about mortality. After her 53-year old father died, Harrington wondered if becoming more familiar with death would make it easier to deal with. Through a series of brave and deeply personal conversations with elderly friends and her own mother, Harrington comes to understand the value of talking about a subject most choose to avoid.

Live? Die? Kill?
by Karen Michel

Soon after 9-11 producer Karen Michel moved to Pleasant Valley, NY, from a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood in Brooklyn. At that time overt patriotism wasn't so unusual, but still, Michel wanted to know more about her new, American flag-flying neighborhood.  So she selected sites within a 30 mile radius or a 30 minute drive from her country-suburban home, looking for a diversity of occupation, inclination and age, and asked anyone who'd answer three questions:  "What do you live for? What would you die for? What would you kill for?" This story is the result of at least one hundred interviews distilled into less than a quarter hour of radio.

This story was originally produced for Wisconsin Public Radio’s To the Best of Our Knowledge.