KCRW's 24-Hour Radio Race

At the stroke of 10am PT on August 17th, 2013, producers around the world lept into action.

2013 / Bob Carlson / Cristina Parry / KCRW, USA

At the stroke of 10am PT on August 17th, 2013, producers around the world lept into action.

Mics in hand, they proceeded to write, record and edit a non-fiction radio story inspired by a topic revealed in that exact moment. Participants in KCRW's 24-Hour Radio Race then spent the next day in frantic, creative pursuit of true stories about "the last thing you'd expect." By the close of the race one day later, 101 stories of all stripes had been proudly submitted, all under six minutes long, and just as many producers collapsed into a deep sleep.

Here's the Grand Prize winner, Tic Talk, produced by Cristina Parry, with the help of Hayley, Richard, Lewis and - of course - Spencer.

KCRW's 24-Hour Radio Race was produced by Bob Carlson, Jenny Radelet and Harriet Ells, of the Independent Producer Project. Read interviews with Carlson and winning producer Cristina Parry about their experiences on both sides of the race, Behind the Scenes.


produced by

Bob Carlson

Bob Carlson is the producer and host of UnFictional, part of KCRW's Independent Producer Project, an initiative working to cultivate and support the efforts of independent radio producers.

Cristina Parry

Cristina Parry lives in Kidlington, England, with her three boys, boyfriend and cat. She has worked for the BBC for about 18 years, first as a volunteer and eventually working her way up to producer. Besides radio, she's just earned her yellow belt in karate and also does Brazilian jujitsu.


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