10:05 If you’ve never tried Malort, I don’t know how to recommend it to you. On one hand, if you’ve never had it, you’re missing out on something authentically Chicago. On the other hand, it’s disgusting. It’s a liquor that’s a Chicago tradition, as robust and unique as it is nasty. When I first moved […]

2:01 First what happens is you see the light. The light is the first thing you see. You don’t hear anything, you see the light. Chris Johnson tells the story of the time he saw 2500 lbs of C4 explode. This piece was recorded as part of Vocalo.org‘s initiative Your Digital Life: Stories from the […]

One of a series of “30 second stories” I produced for Vocalo.org. The “Viagra Triangle” is a section of the upscale Gold Coast neighborhood in Chicago where older, wealthier men (allegedly) go to pick up younger women. Here , one young woman from the neighborhood recounts a particularly memorable evening. Photo by Darwin Bell. 1:12 […]

I made this sketch in collaboration with my friend and colleague Dan Weissmann, originally for Vocalo.org.  Dan met Stephen Redd in a bar in Chesterton, Indiana.  Stephen was one of those rare people who open up right away. He was frank, boastful, unapologetic about his life choices, and overall a totally memorable character. Photo by […]

2:31 This sketch grew out of a “grab bag” project organized by Megan Hall. She asked several producers to submit a short audio clip of their choosing, then gave each of us copies of everyone else’s clips. The resulting pieces were collected and aired on BSR. The speakers here are actually members of my family […]

Providence vs. Boston 3:27 For a year and a half I lived in the semi-abandoned downtown of Providence, Rhode Island, where one of the most prominent sounds (bar noise and construction aside) was the bells from nearby Grace Episcopal Church. The church has been a fixture in the city for over a hundred years, and […]