Radiotopia Presents

From our friends at Personal Best (CBC) [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/personalbest] — Personal Best from CBC celebrates small ambitions, half-wins and the quiet satisfaction of getting less bad at things. Each week they help ordinary people work through the little things they’d never bring to a life coach — like having the courage to dine alone at a fancy restaurant or getting less awkward at handshakes. Let them be your self-improvement sidekicks! In this episode, you’ll meet Will who likes the simple things in life, but is haunted by a fear of commitment. Only a very special shawarma can break the curse. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/HcfhFnRc

From our friends at the LAist — In 2023, North Hollywood’s Star Garden reopened as the only unionized strip club in the U.S. LAist Producer Emma Alabaster tells us the behind-the-scenes story of the workplace conditions that pushed the dancers into action.  CONTENT WARNING: This episode includes sensitive content about sexual assault. For sexual assault and harassment support and resources, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 [tel:18006564673], which is a service of RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network). Here are some resources that informed our reporting: * Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex [https://pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1323]  (In particular, the essay "White Supremacy in Organizing" by Domino Rey) * Unequal Desires: Race and Erotic Capital in the Stripping Industry [https://sunypress.edu/Books/U/Unequal-Desires] by Siobhan Brooks * Tits and Sass: Service Journalism by and for Sex Workers [https://titsandsass.com/] * LA Co-op Lab [https://lacooplab.com/] * U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives [https://www.usworker.coop/en/] * 2021 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector Report [https://democracy.institute.coop/2021-worker-cooperative-state-sector-report] * Yes, A Stripper Podcast [https://www.youtube.com/@YesAStripperPodcast] For more resources [https://laist.com/news/shows/imperfectparadise/star-garden-unionization-effort-origins]  For more, visit https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise [https://laist.com/ImperfectParadise]

Back in 2017, Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative host/producer Jess Shane made “Perfect Woman” [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/loveme/i-m-on-your-scent-1.4234475], an episode of Love Me [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/loveme], the CBC podcast. In 2018, Nick van der Kolk made “Points of Egress [https://loveandradio.org/2018/10/points-of-egress/]” for his show, Love + Radio [https://loveandradio.org/], inspired by “Perfect Woman”. Today, we come full circle to share “Points of Egress” with you. Listen to the end for Jess’s version of the credits.

After Jess receives feedback that throws a major wrench into her production schedule, she has to make some tough decisions. Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is written, hosted and produced by Jess Shane. Sara Nics is the story editor. Sound design, mix/mastering by Michelle Macklem. Production support from Mona Hassan. Cover art is by Justin Broadbent. Jess’s bibliography is available here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/16qfZqDAHYmrArO-ZlZfqej4zF9gBi4baAKNk995qsFA/edit?usp=sharing]. This reporting was supported in part by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G.Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. Special thanks to Eleanor McDowall and Chioke I’Anson. For Radiotopia Presents, Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices. Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm [http://radiotopiapresents.fm/] and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm [http://radiotopia.fm/]. We’d like to thank the extended Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative team, without whom you may not have heard about this project. For PRX marketing: Gretchen Borzi, David Cotrone, Sher Delva, Apu Goteh, and Maggie Gourville. For PRX sponsorship: Audrey Davidson, Melissa Garcia-Houle, Carolyn Willander, and Jeanne Yeh. This series was possible thanks to Ernesto, Michael, and Judy, whose vibrant souls could never fit into the confines of any series. Most of all, thank you for listening.

With only a few months till launch, Jess plays a draft of the series for her subjects and gives them an opportunity to request major changes. Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is written, hosted and produced by Jess Shane. Sara Nics is the story editor. Sound design, mix/mastering by Michelle Macklem. Production support from Mona Hassan. Cover art is by Justin Broadbent. Jess’s bibliography is available here [https://docs.google.com/document/d/16qfZqDAHYmrArO-ZlZfqej4zF9gBi4baAKNk995qsFA/edit?usp=sharing]. This reporting was supported in part by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G.Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. Special thanks to Eleanor McDowall and Chioke I’Anson. For Radiotopia Presents, Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices. Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm [http://radiotopiapresents.fm/] and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm [http://radiotopia.fm/].