Confession

I get my cards read every year by this wonderful woman in Chicago. Even though I roll my eyes when she tells me she’s talked with my spirit guides, I desperately want to know what they have to say.

This was produced as part of a larger self portrait project.

New Yorkers: a good old fashioned listening room. March 15th.

I listened to Michael Bernstein’s story “Sit With Me” over and over at Salt and obsessed over the intimacy he created. “Sit With Me” builds towards this truly moving conversation between a young boy and his Dad who suffers from debilitating depression. The moment is so powerful… you can practically hear their hearts crack open.

Bound and determined to create a moment like this, I gave Marissa, the subject of my Salt story, an audio kit and encouraged her to interview her brother Andrew who has asperger’s syndrome. I gave her questions and prompted her to write her own. I was convinced that story of my subjects could squish into the structure of Michael’s wonderful piece, but… turns out I was trying to shove a square peg into a round hole.

Ultimately I learned how two stories about seemingly similar things: health, family, love etc. couldn’t be told, try as I might, in the same way. And of course, that you just can’t force or create that magical tape.

Independent producer, Josh Gleason is hosting a good old fashioned listening room at UnionDocs on March 15th where you can hear both of our pieces and several other excellent Salt works. I’m psyched to meet Michael for the first time and we’ll both be around after for a QandA.

To get directions and read about the other pieces that will air go to www.uniondocs.org or
click here.

The Physiology of Romantic Humiliation

Social scientist Paul Eastwick insists its normal to be wildly, sickeningly, embarrassingly nervous in those first few weeks of a romance. BLECH.

Produced for New Hampshire Public Radio’s Word of Mouth.

Miss Baker’s Biology blog on NHPR’s Word of Mouth

Stacy Baker and her freshman Biology students, Erik and Brandon, get ready for their LIVE interview with Virginia Prescott at the NPR studios in DC. They insist they were nervous, but don’t let ‘em fool you. They totally rocked.

This was just such a fun segment to produce. The content was great but mostly it’s just clear these guys had a blast.

Stacy, Erik and Brandon were on the show to talk about their class Biology blog that’s getting a lot of attention. They, of course, blogged about their visit and posted some great photos.

The segment was linked on NPR’s Science Friday Twitter Feed

Read more here: www.missbakersbiologyclass.com/blog

NHPR’s Word Of Mouth

Word of Mouth reports daily on new ideas and trends in popular culture, and the intersections of science, technology and the arts. Believe it or not, Facebook connected me to Avishay when they were looking for an extra hand to book guests for their LIVE segments on NHPR.

It’s been a fun challenge to dig up content for this show that is always one step ahead of the curve.

A few segments I had my hand in:

I love this story: Stacy Baker uses blogging, Twitter and YouTube to get kids psyched about science.

Claire Strader is America’s pick to be the White House Farmer… a position that doesn’t exist. Yet.

Social scientist Paul Eastwick insists its normal to be wildly, sickeningly, embarrassingly nervous in those first few weeks of a romance.

Script and Scribble: what happens to penmanship in the age of twitter and text?

New Yorkers anticipate Obama’s Inauguration – for WNYC

Vasilios Gatzonis of Akropolis Meat Market in Astoria, Queens.
3104 30th Avenue   photo by Tommy Galloway

Vasilios Gatzonis slices baby lamb bones in his Greektown butcher shop and worries about Obama’s ability to follow through on his promises. 

Also, here’s an outtake that I really struggled with. Wanted to include it, but ultimately felt it didn’t fit. hmm. Still not totally sure.

ATC Listener Comments and The New York Times

Listen to Robert Siegel read listener comments about “Except Me” (now also called “Coping With An Autistic Brother: A Teenager’s Take”) on the January 2nd episode of All Things Considered.

Tara Parker-Pope of the The New York Times WELL blog also linked the story.

NPR: All Things Considered

NPR’s All Things Considered aired “Except Me” on January 1, 2009. A slideshow of Erica Burkharts photographs can be seen here and you can listen here.

Documentary Fieldwork in Moraine, Ohio

GM’s Moraine Ohio Assembly plant closes for good December 23rd, 2008. The 1,100 workers not previously laid off or bought out will be unemployed in a dead Ohio economy. I was thrilled to work so closely with the filmmakers documenting this important story – friends and mentors Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar.

Salt Cast features “Except Me”

The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies has a podcast! A few weeks ago I got to talk to Rob Rosenthal
for the first time since Third Coast
and this is what came of our lovely conversation.

Listen to the interview.

Subscribe to the free radio lessons.