The Selects Podcast

Desert Air by Hearing Voices

Today we're featuring a selection from an episode of the groundbreaking show Hearing Voices.  With Montana-based producer Barrett Golding at the helm, the show was known for cross pollinating with performance and poetry to create a space for audio producers to experiment and grow. Each episode was adventurous, unpredictable and exciting.  We've also got a whole collection of Hearing Voices episodes available to subscribers ($20 for the whole year!).

Hauntin' the Quabbin by Sean Cole

Today we're sharing a classic Sean Cole work from his time on the documentary team at WBUR's Inside Out.  It's a beautiful work of scene and memory, taking listeners to a reunion for a town that hasn't physically existed for generations.

I Can Almost See the Lights of Home by Charles Hardy III and Allesandro Portelli

Today we're featuring a excerpt of a work that explores the relationship of art, documentary, and history through a search for class struggle in Appalachia.  Beyond the limited academic concept of oral history, I Can Almost See the Lights of Home: A Field Trip to Harlan County, Kentucky is a essay-in-sound that weaves the words and stories of Harlan County residents with the sounds and music of the place itself.  The result is documentary art, and a deeply compelling listen.   Original Series Credits: "I Can Almost See the Lights of Home ~ A Field Trip to Harlan County, Kentucky An Essay-In-Sound" Writers: Charles Hardy III and Alessandro Portelli Interviews: Alessandro Portelli Musical recordings: Alessandro Portelli and Charles Hardy III Producer/Engineer: Charles Hardy Financial assistance provided by the Columbia University Oral History Research Office, the West Chester University Faculty Development Program, the English Department of the Univerity of Rome "La Sapienza," and a grant from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Special thanks to Annie Napier, Ron Grele, Mary Marshall Clark, Stig Hornshøf-Møller, Steve Rowland, and the participants of the 1997 Oral History Research Office Oral History Summer Institute. More of Hardy's and others' writing on these works and others can be found here: Aural History, The Digital Revolution, and the Making of I Can Almost See the Lights of Home: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137322029_4 “Authoring in Sound: Aural History, Radio, and the Digital Revolution,” The Oral History Reader, 2nd edition, editors Rob Perks and Alistair Thomson, (Routledge, 2006): 393-406. “Oral History in Sound and Moving Image Documentaries,” (with Pamela Dean) Handbook of Oral History, editors Thomas Charlton et. al., (AltaMira Press, 2006): 510-62. Reprinted in Thinking About Oral History: Theories and Applications, (AltaMira Press, 2008). Painting in Sound: Aural History and Audio Art,” Oral History: The Challenges of Dialogue. Marta Kurkowska-Budzan and Krysztof Zamorski, eds. (John Benjamins Publishing, 2009): 147-67 https://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/hist_facpub/14/ Oral History in the Digital Age: https://ohda.matrix.msu.edu/about/authors/hardy/

A Chat with Eleanor McDowall

This week we're featuring a super interesting conversation with Eleanor McDowall, creator of Radio Atlas, about the world of the radio feature and the artistry of audio works that aren't in English.

S.E.I.N.F.E.L.D. by Ross Sutherland

Today we share a prescient work by Ross Sutherland from his long running, award winning show Imaginary Advice.  It's a darkly funny spiral and a fantastic listen.   ******* S.E.I.N.F.E.L.D. originally aired in 2016 on Imaginary Advice [https://www.imaginaryadvice.com/].  It was written, produced and voiced by Ross Sutherland and a robot voice.