Sighs and desires. By Laura Canabrava (2020) ‘What is your greatest desire? It’s a question I asked the women who were present on the day of the recording. Along with their answers, I recorded their breath. Our willpower and our desires are what make us breathe, what moves us, what keeps us alive.’ ‘Will’ was … Continue reading "Will"

A dreamlike tumble into insomnia By Suvi Tuuli Kataja for Nordic Shortdox (2019) The radio documentary “When you’re sleeping, I’m awake” (Kun nukut, minä valvon) explores the darkness and temporary insanity of sleepless nights. The documentary is the winner of the 2019 Finnish Shortdox competition and Nordic Shortdox competition. The piece won the jury as … Continue reading "When You’re Sleeping, I’m Awake"

A daughter writes an audio letter to her father as she unfurls a story of his life. By Amelia Umuhire for Deutschlandfunk Kultur (2018)   “There’s a picture from a time when you are wearing a short-sleeved striped shirt and with a plastic cup in your hand are toasting with a friend. You’re smiling and … Continue reading "Fatherland"

Visit a Tehran that blossoms in language, fable and collective imagination. By Arif Mirbaghi for Constellations (2020) Pointing At Canopus was composed by Arif Mirbaghi and edited by Michelle Macklem and Jess Shane. It was made with the voices of over a dozen friends. Special thanks to Michael Eckert for his pedal steel improvisation and … Continue reading "Pointing at Canopus"

A woman tells the story of her own birth. By Nyurpaya Kaika Burton and Caddie Brain (2019) Nyurpaya was born deep in the desert of Central Australia. Her mother travelled hundreds of miles barefoot before giving birth alone at a massive desert mesa called Atila – a place which became her spiritual country. Nyurpaya Kaika Burton is a respected and revered senior artist, educator, storyteller and cultural leader. She is also one of the few remaining poetic speakers of Pitjantjatjara, a...

A night watchman walks alone through an Anatomic Institute. By Stephen Schwartz for DR (1971) A lonely walk in the dark, skeletons and floating body parts caught in the beam of a flashlight… in the ‘The Night Watchman’, Detroit-born Stephen Schwartz pioneers his landmark interview technique known as the ‘moments interview’ or the ‘full Schwartz’. You can learn more about it here. Stephen Schwartz was awarded the Prix Italia for features in 1982 and 1992. He passed away in 2013. Made in...

A night watchman walks alone through an Anatomic Institute. By Stephen Schwartz for DR (1971) A lonely walk in the dark, skeletons and floating body parts caught in the beam of a flashlight… in the ‘The Night Watchman’, Detroit-born Stephen Schwartz pioneers his landmark interview technique known as the ‘moments interview’ or the ‘full Schwartz’. You can learn more about it here. Stephen Schwartz was awarded the Prix Italia for features in 1982 and 1992. He passed away in 2013. Made in...

A series about unspoken secrets. By Zoha Zokaei (2019) Price of Secrecy is a fictionalised podcast series that addresses some of the legal, social, cultural and familial constraints that contribute to the silence around the issue of child sexual abuse in Iran. At the heart of the series is the question – ‘why, as members of society, are we failing to listen to the victims of child sexual abuse?’. A question that takes the responsibility of breaking the silence away from the victim and...

A series about unspoken secrets. By Zoha Zokaei (2019) Price of Secrecy is a fictionalised podcast series that addresses some of the legal, social, cultural and familial constraints that contribute to the silence around the issue of child sexual abuse in Iran. At the heart of the series is the question – ‘why, as members of society, are we failing to listen to the victims of child sexual abuse?’. A question that takes the responsibility of breaking the silence away from the victim and...

A woman tries to meet someone. By Lotta Erikson for Sveriges Radio (1996) Recorded in the pre-internet dating days, Lotta Erikson searches for a partner through telephone contact agencies. Lotta Erikson has been a freelance for the Swedish radio (SR) and Swedish national television (SVT) in various forms since 1992, making around 15 radio documentaries and several TV-documentaries. Her productions have been presented at festivals and have won awards. In recent years she has...

A woman tries to meet someone. By Lotta Erikson for Sveriges Radio (1996) Recorded in the pre-internet dating days, Lotta Erikson searches for a partner through telephone contact agencies. Lotta Erikson has been a freelance for the Swedish radio (SR) and Swedish national television (SVT) in various forms since 1992, making around 15 radio documentaries and several TV-documentaries. Her productions have been presented at festivals and have won awards. In recent years she has...

A power struggle in the domestic space. By Eva Lammelová for Czech Radio (2018) According to numerous statistics, Czechs are a nation of dog-lovers. On average, there is a dog in every second household in the Czech Republic, resulting in the most hounds per capita in all of Europe. In Eva’s house there’s Tonča. Tonča is Eva’s French Bulldog who lives with her and her husband in Prague’s Vinohrady district. She wants to sleep with them in their bedroom so badly that she stakes her...

A power struggle in the domestic space. By Eva Lammelová for Czech Radio (2018) According to numerous statistics, Czechs are a nation of dog-lovers. On average, there is a dog in every second household in the Czech Republic, resulting in the most hounds per capita in all of Europe. In Eva’s house there’s Tonča. Tonča is Eva’s French Bulldog who lives with her and her husband in Prague’s Vinohrady district. She wants to sleep with them in their bedroom so badly that she stakes her...

How (not) to build a home away from home… By Martina Castro, for the Museum of Migration in Montevideo (2015) Sometimes immigrants want to stay super connected to their home countries because they feel that connection slipping away. And well, they can go overboard. At least, that’s what Eduardo Bolioli noticed. This story was produced by Martina Castro as part of an audio documentary series she made with her class at the University of Montevideo for her 2015 Fulbright grant. The series,...

How (not) to build a home away from home… By Martina Castro, for the Museum of Migration in Montevideo (2015) Sometimes immigrants want to stay super connected to their home countries because they feel that connection slipping away. And well, they can go overboard. At least, that’s what Eduardo Bolioli noticed. This story was produced by Martina Castro as part of an audio documentary series she made with her class at the University of Montevideo for her 2015 Fulbright grant. The series,...

A box containing treasured keepsakes opens up painful memories of the past. By Sofia Saldanha for HearSay International Audio Arts Festival (2019) The Box (A Caixa) was shortlisted for both the ‘Create’ and ‘Create GanBéarla’ awards at the 2019 HearSay International Audio Arts Festival. Sofia Saldanha is an award winning audio producer. She started her radio adventure in Portugal at Rádio Universitária do Minho, has a masters degree in Radio and is a graduate of the Salt Institute...

A box containing treasured keepsakes opens up painful memories of the past. By Sofia Saldanha for HearSay International Audio Arts Festival (2019) The Box (A Caixa) was shortlisted for both the ‘Create’ and ‘Create GanBéarla’ awards at the 2019 HearSay International Audio Arts Festival. Sofia Saldanha is an award winning audio producer. She started her radio adventure in Portugal at Rádio Universitária do Minho, has a masters degree in Radio and is a graduate of the Salt Institute...

A broken-hearted granddaughter’s search for understanding. By Neena Pathak for HearSay International Audio Arts Festival (2019) Aaji (Grandma) is in her 90s, proficient in English but more comfortable in Marathi, and hard-of-hearing. Mithu is in her 30s, okay at Marathi (but speaks in a stilted, error-filled, and somewhat childlike way common to many second-generation immigrants), and heartbroken. The piece explores how bearing witness to each other in a family context can be hard and...

A broken-hearted granddaughter’s search for understanding. By Neena Pathak for HearSay International Audio Arts Festival (2019) Aaji (Grandma) is in her 90s, proficient in English but more comfortable in Marathi, and hard-of-hearing. Mithu is in her 30s, okay at Marathi (but speaks in a stilted, error-filled, and somewhat childlike way common to many second-generation immigrants), and heartbroken. The piece explores how bearing witness to each other in a family context can be hard and...

“We have life in our imaginations…” Exploring three alternative visions, ‘A Voice from Utopia’ attempts to deconstruct the concept of the nation state. From virtual communities like Bitnation to micronations like Liberland. It comes from Blank Maps – an Arabic podcast that seeks to address the problem of statelessness in the Arab world. By doing that, the show tries to understand concepts of belonging and citizenship at a time where immigration and refuge are most relevant. Tala Elissa is...

“We have life in our imaginations…” Exploring three alternative visions, ‘A Voice from Utopia’ attempts to deconstruct the concept of the nation state. From virtual communities like Bitnation to micronations like Liberland. It comes from Blank Maps – an Arabic podcast that seeks to address the problem of statelessness in the Arab world. By doing that, the show tries to understand concepts of belonging and citizenship at a time where immigration and refuge are most relevant. Tala Elissa is...

A young woman walks out onto the ice, under a full moon, and disappears. Produced by Rikke Houd for Third Ear (11th March 2014) Deep beneath the Greenlandic ice, lies a hidden history. The Danish feature-maker Rikke Houd travels in the footsteps of Karen Roos, who disappeared on the ice outside the small East Greenlandic town of Tasiilaq in 1933. Winner of the 2015 In The Dark award for audio documentary presented at Sheffield Doc/fest. Produced with support from the Danish Arts...

A young woman walks out onto the ice, under a full moon, and disappears. Produced by Rikke Houd for Third Ear (11th March 2014) Deep beneath the Greenlandic ice, lies a hidden history. The Danish feature-maker Rikke Houd travels in the footsteps of Karen Roos, who disappeared on the ice outside the small East Greenlandic town of Tasiilaq in 1933. Winner of the 2015 In The Dark award for audio documentary presented at Sheffield Doc/fest. Produced with support from the Danish Arts...

Echoes of a rebellion in a mine falling back to nature. By Gianluca Stazi and Giuseppe Casu for Radio3 Rai (2018) Silvestro has worked in the mine since he was 23 years old – he’s the son of a miner, the son of the mine, now he is 67. Manlio, at 40, left teaching to go and work in the mine, but to know himself and this new world, had to take on its most infamous job – the time-keeper. He is now 88. The paths of these two men, different but parallel, meet in 1992 when they barricade...

Echoes of a rebellion in a mine falling back to nature. By Gianluca Stazi and Giuseppe Casu for Radio3 Rai (2018) Silvestro has worked in the mine since he was 23 years old – he’s the son of a miner, the son of the mine, now he is 67. Manlio, at 40, left teaching to go and work in the mine, but to know himself and this new world, had to take on its most infamous job – the time-keeper. He is now 88. The paths of these two men, different but parallel, meet in 1992 when they barricade...