The Hub & Spoke Radio Hour | Episode 5: Change

Lowlines, Episode 1: Second Line

PLACE:The first stop on this journey to tune into the pulse of place has to start in New Orleans. So powerful and charismatic is it that the mere mention of it to almost anyone, anywhere, elicits a reaction – a look of wonder, excitement, energy. Yes, it is the seafood, the jazz, the Mississippi – but the idea of it carries a charge. What is that? To me it’s the ‘irrational’ swampland within which the city sits, low down, below sea level, acting like a bowl. It’s the darkness of its past in the trading of sugar, cotton, humans – and the emergence from that of a rich music, culture and vibration. There’s a thickness in the air here, an embodied, tactile feeling where the city gets on you and in you – where the streets are almost bouncy PULSE:And bubbling up from those streets is the high-voltage pulse that provides the life force for the whole city – it’s the second line. A Sunday parade, a rolling block party a barrelling procession of brass bands, social aid and pleasure clubs, friends, family, neighbours that courses through the city’s veins every week. It’s syncopated, polyrhythmic, exploding with funk, groove and glorious, soaring melodies. And for many Black New Orleanians it’s the day when you OWN the streets, so you better bring that FOOTWORK PERSON:There are a hundred different styles of footwork at the second line, but it’s Jarrad DeGruy [https://www.jarraddegruy.com/] who always gets me when I see her hit those streets like they’re damn trampolines! The levity, the spirit, the freedom! – but also the intent. Because when you tap in you see that it’s a party with a purpose, deeply connected to this place, these swamps, these streets, those who have been here, danced here, stamping out community, personality, frustrations, on the contours of these streets, week after week, come hell or high water. For Episode 1 I sat down with Jarrad to discover more about the relationship between her and the ground upon which she dances ROLL CALL: Jarrad DeGruy [https://www.jarraddegruy.com/] – for giving me her time, spirit and new ideas while I visited her at her grandma’s house Da Truth Brass Band [https://www.facebook.com/groups/443415579092001/] – for messing up the streets at the second line so many weeks, and in particular for the week I put my recorder in the air for this episode Ole & Nu Style Fellas Social Aid & Pleasure Club [https://www.hnoc.org/dits-club-narratives/ole-nu-style-fellas] – for putting on the parade that I recorded at. The clubs pay big money to come out when they are the ones who should be getting paid to create all that feeling and value for the cityEveryone who took a minute to talk with me at the second line My Name is Phlegm [https://www.mynameisphlegm.com/] – for coining the mantra that ‘Everything You Love About New Orleans is Because of Black People’ ROUTE:Episode 1 is the most conventional format of the series in terms of interviewing one person about a subject. It begins on the streets and at the second line, with all its propulsive music and energy. Then it moves to Jarrad’s home where we get into a fairly free-flow conversation, with footwork and connection to the ground at the centre. Speaking with Jarrad is rich and powerful and lays out many of the themes and threads that the series goes on to tune into. CREDITS: Petra Barran — Host and Producer Lucia Scazzocchio — Producer Lina Prestwood — Executive Producer More information about Lowlines here [https://low-lines.com/]. Follow all the Hub & Spoke shows here [https://www.hubspokeaudio.org/]. Subscribe [https://hubspokeaudio.substack.com/] to our newsletter. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hubspokeaudio.substack.com [https://hubspokeaudio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

H&S Expo Presents: Lowlines

Hub & Spoke Expo is proud to present Lowlines, a sonic scrapbook, a passport to roam, following a pull to tune into the pulse of place—befriending strangers along the way. Part precursor, part trailer, this prologue is the set up for the series and a hint at what’s to come. CREDITS: Petra Barran — Host and Producer Lucia Scazzocchio — Producer Lina Prestwood — Executive Producer More information about Lowlines here [https://low-lines.com/]. Follow all the Hub & Spoke shows here [https://www.hubspokeaudio.org/]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hubspokeaudio.substack.com [https://hubspokeaudio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Hub & Spoke Radio Hour | Sounds Like America, Vol. 1

What does it sound like right now, where you are? How would you share it with someone who has never been there? What makes that place unique? What makes it yours? Earlier this year, Hub & Spoke invited producers from around the country — every one of our 50 states (and DC!) — to send us a sonic postcard. We wanted to hear anything and everything that is hyper-local to you: a minute of train-whistle. An interview with your mayor, your dentist, your mail carrier. A description of your favorite painting at the local art museum. The sound of the birds in your backyard. We are all living in this enormous sonic canvas, and this year, as our immeasurable country celebrates its 250th birthday, it’s the special gift of audio producers to listen for and isolate the sounds that are both familiar and foreign to us all. This episode of our Radio Hour is devoted entirely to the first batch of sounds we got. Come explore the country with us. Featuring the work of: * Fil Corbitt (Reno, Nevada) * Hannah Sobol and Jackie Glass (Norfolk, Virginia) * Lusen Mendel (Sonoma, California) * Diane Hope (Flagstaff, Arizona) * Vivian Schütz (Bedstuy, New York) * Will Coley (Harlem, New York) * Mitra Kaboli (Brooklyn, New York) * Dianne Ballon (Portland, Maine) * Patrick McNameeKing (Loudon, New Hampshire) * Luke Green (New York City, New York) * Nikki Schaffer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Thank you to our partners, Transom’s The Listeners [https://transom.org/the-listeners/] and XMTR Audio Arts Festival [https://www.xmtr.fm/festival]. Our next deadline is JULY 15, 2026. All the information is here [https://www.hubspokeaudio.org/sounds-like-america]. Submit here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-MbLvrtflHNfcjA_Cm7AUKw0CAkeAyF-MTeJiFgq4jLCLDA/viewform]! This episode was produced by Tamar Avishai and Wade Roush, with production help from Mariel Cariker. It was mixed by Tamar Avishai. Music by the inimitable Evalyn Parry. All Hub & Spoke-related info, including all of our shows, is at hubspokeaudio.org [https://www.hubspokeaudio.org/]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hubspokeaudio.substack.com [https://hubspokeaudio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Hub & Spoke Presents: Turning Corners, Episode 1

Yesterday we sent you a newsletter issue all about Turning Corners, our new podcast from Hub & Spoke co-founder and member producer Wade Roush. And today we're using the Hub & Spoke Presents audio feed to share the actual audio of Wade's first episode. It's called Whose Private Mountain? Pueblo artists reclaim Tewa Country at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum [https://www.turningcorners.org/p/whose-private-mountain-pueblo-artists]. Enjoy! ----- Discover the full slate of Hub & Spoke shows [https://www.hubspokeaudio.org/]. Hub & Spoke Presents is now available wherever you get your podcasts, so please do share it widely, and maybe in lieu of a thank you card, leave a rating and review at Apple Podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hubspokeaudio.substack.com [https://hubspokeaudio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Hub & Spoke Radio Hour | Episode 7: Contrasts

There’s a number of Japanese expressions that address the importance of contrasts. “A prized steer looks best against a thatched hut.” “The moon is not pleasing unless it is partially obscured by a cloud.” Contrasts, in other words, help us understand a concept by examining it in relation to its opposite. They challenge us to deepen and sharpen our thinking. They make both more resonant. In the latest edition of the Hub & Spoke Radio Hour, we listen to both the moons and the clouds, the steers and the huts, and we hope we’ve illuminated it all. This episode is hosted and edited by Tamar Avishai, with invaluable scripting help by Lori Mortimer, and additional production help by Wade Roush, and Mariel Cariker. Music by Evalyn Parry. Listen to the full episodes: * Audio Flux, “Circuit 01: A Study in Blue [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-audio-flux-podcast/id1846422537?i=1000732975982]” * The Lonely Palette, “Caravaggio’s ‘The Crucifixion of St. Andrew (1607) [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lonely-palette/id1110780638?i=1000682916235]” * Soonish, “This is How You Win the Time War [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-how-you-win-the-time-war/id1185234753?i=1000540737004]” * Open Source, “From Social to Spiritual Media [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/open-source-with-christopher-lydon/id73330619?i=1000701147451]” Discover the full slate of Hub & Spoke shows [https://www.hubspokeaudio.org/]. The Hub & Spoke Radio Hour is now available wherever you get your podcasts, so please do share it widely, and maybe in lieu of a Midwestern thank you card, leave a rating and review at Apple Podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hubspokeaudio.substack.com [https://hubspokeaudio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]