A year ago, Jesse Straight started a small farm in the urban center of Charlottesville, VA. The farm was a one year experiment and in the course of that year, he found himself talking to people in his neighborhood who he hadn't known before. The farm became a way of getting to know his neighbors, and he started collecting the stories of the people he met. With his friend Ross McDermott, Jesse recorded and edited this story about Max, a young boy with a great love of audio speakers. In this is the final installment of Big Shed's "The Jar Chronicles" ... the usurper Jesse Dukes has been feeling guilty and depressed, and our heroes, Shea and Jennifer, finally whine their way out of the jar, and this saga is brought to an exciting conclusion ... or is it.

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Don't tell, but we decided to sneak a podcast out of the jar where Jesse Dukes has been keeping us neatly tucked away. Thanks to some help from a veteran Big Shed producer, Emma Rayes, we're secretly bringing you our first PoopCast ... straight from the big poop shed. Emma brought us this documentary journey from lovely Rio de Janeiro. While working in Brazil, she had a little incident ... which led to this trip for a poop exam. Emma took time away from a supercool project to put her pride and prudence aside to bring us this flowing tale (pun intended) of adventure and misfortune. If you're wiped out (again ... intended) after a long week at work, we hope you'll kick back and enjoy it. We think you will, in the end (dear god ... somebody stop us). Ps. Rumor has it that we're getting out of this jar in the very near future. Stay tuned for updates and new audio!

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(Produced by Rachel Quimby) Nobody really knows why Rockland, Maine has a rather large population of Jews--legend says a ship was turned aside at Ellis Island and sent up the coast to the picturesque and sleepy coastal town. In any case, Adas Yoshuron Synagogue is an old building with many generations of Amita Jarmon discusses what it's like to be Rockland's first rabbi since 1937. Congregants, community members and Hebrew School kids weigh in, too. Rachel Quimby produced the story in the Fall of 2007 while attending the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Now she lives and works in Charlottesville, VA. To set up the piece, our introduction includes outtakes from an interview with David Berman, of the Silver Jews recorded by Jesse Dukes, who produced this piece in 2006. Jesse Dukes continues to usurp curator duties, but seems to be feeling some pangs in his conscience about trapping Shea and Jennifer in a jar. Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes.

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(Produced by Amy O'Leary) In the 1980's, Danny Felsenfeld was a nerdy, Jewish kid--crazy about Richard Wagner--who naively showed up at a meeting of the Wagner Appreciation Society in Southern California.  He found himself in the midst of some very scary Wagner enthusiasts, and had to cast about for a way to make his escape.  Amy O'Leary talked to Danny while she was producing the WNYC mini-series "The Tristan Mysteries". Also: Jesse Dukes has usurped curating duties in the Shed and Jennifer and Shea remain miniaturized and trapped in a small jar. Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Jesse Dukes) Last summer, Philadelphia rock band The Extraordinaires tried their hands at musical theater. Producing a musical might be the last thing you'd expect from these early twentysomethings who hail from the DIY punk rock universe. Nevertheless, they felt that the the fullest expression of their album "Ribbons of War" could only be a musical play, complete with costumes, props, actors, and a democratically written script.  Producer Jesse Dukes was commissioned by Studio 360 to produce a narrated story about the musical.  He did so, but afterwards he wasn't quite satisfied that he had told the story he originally wanted to tell. Inspired by the Maysles Brothers, he decided to retell the entire story without using his own voice to narrate, but instead try out the verite form in audio.  Oh, and something strange seems to have befallen Shea and Jennifer... Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Tim Telkamp) Come along for a ride on the rails with this audio postcard from the New Hope Valley Railway.  This postcard is a companion piece to Tim Telkamp's photo-essay â4â 8 1/2" â A year in the life of the New Hope Valley Railway, 2003-2006.â Timâs audio and photographs tell the story of a tourist railroad in Bonsal, NC.  The project follows the volunteer staff as they maintain and operate locomotives and tracks.  It is history being relived and preserved, and itâs all for the love of Railroading. This week's podcast is also a Big Shed Birthday shout-out to our dear friend, fine accordianist, and brilliant artist Ann Marie. Happy Birthday, Ann Marie!!! Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Love & Radio) We'll it's time for our annual pilgrimage to chi-town to the beloved Third Coast International Audio Festival.  So we thought it would be appropriate to bring you a little taste of last year's conference, courtesy of Nick and Adrianne at Love & Radio.  This interview took place in the bathroom during the PRX dance party.  It contains physical violence, broken hearts, video games and Gregorian-ish chanting ... weird, but true.  For the geeks in the Shed, Nick recorded this with one of these cool HHB mic/recorders. The long-ass intro features Big Shed alum Owen Agnew, Clive (one of Shea's students who hosts a death-metal radio show at the youth center where he works), and the ungodly-fun band pictured above who plays regularly at Dupont Circle in DC.  Thanks to producerly cowardice, we have no idea what the name of the band is.  Maybe someday Shea will ask them. We'll try to drop you a line from the Festival or soon thereafter.  Hopefully this year, Shea will be a little more composed than he was in last years podcast from chi-town ... but what fun would that be?  Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by David Goren) We've got a big new idea at Big Shed ... returning series!!!  In the coming year, we're going to offer a few returning series from amazing and innovative audio producers, and proud doesn't quite capture how we feel about bringing you David Goren's Shortwaveology. We're sure you'll love his first installment. Shortwaveology is a periodic rumination on the sound, history and culture of shortwave radio broadcasting. David wants to thank former Radio Canada International program host Ian McFarland for the use of his compilation of shortwave station interval signals and sign-ons. You can find more information about that here. Also thanks also to Kim Andrew Elliot for the Moscow Mailbag recording. Kim has a very interesting blog about international broadcasting, and public diplomacy. Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Rebecca Sheir) David Traver, Alaska's reigning Mr. Fur Face, is the president of the Southcentral Alaska Beard & Mustache Club, and his belly-length whiskers won him a first-place prize at the 2003 World Beard & Mustache Championships.  This fall, he's competing in the 2007 World Championships in England, after which he'll retire -- shaving his award-winning facial hair down to something more manageable -- much to the delight of his wife.  Rebecca spent time with David at the barbershop where he's a brand new customer (his former barber recently fled Alaska for the Lower 48). We met Rebecca last year at the Third Coast Festival, where her story "Honoring the Body: Tahrah" received the Director's Choice Award.  Rebecca is also a Host and Producer for AK (Alaska Public Radio Network).  We're tickled pink to welcome her to the Shed. Just in case our bbq outing piqued your aural appetite, here's a little audio hushpuppy where Shea reveals insights from one of the darker periods of his life. Ps. Thanks for bearing with our belated posting of new audio.  We have (um ... shea has ;-) been running a bit behind.  But please stay tuned.  We've got a ton of great tape coming soon that's definitely worth the wait! Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Amara Hark-Weber) We're back!  And this week, we're listening to three short pieces from Ghana--"Storytime," "Sweeping with Simone" and "Daniel in the Market"--sent to us by our friend and Producer Amara Hark-Weber.  Amara recorded these while working as a Hines Documentary Fellow in Ghana. We looking forward to hearing more tape from Amara before she returns to the States. This episode of Big Shed proudly features Shea's mom (aww) and dad (like father, like son).  Click here for a super bonus mysery rough cut outtake of his interview with them! Big Shed is proud to air the second installment from our infamous international documentary desk.  Shed alums Emma Raynes and Amanda Hark-Weber are both working overseas as Lewis Hines Documentary Fellows and are sending us wonderful tape of the people and places they're getting to know.  We really appreciate their doing this and are elated to share their sounds and stories with you. Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Jennifer Deer) Like a traveling medicine man peddling a homeopathic remedy for the mass media slogans of the day, the Mantra Trailer focuses attention on the personal and spiritual mantras people live by, one voice at a time. Jen speaks with artist Sherri Wood about the podcast she's created to kick-start this project. Check out the Mantra Trailer site and drop her a mantra!  FYI - Sherri just returned from The MacDowell Colony, the oldest artists' colony in the country.  Check out this NPR story about MacDowell that featured Sherri's project.  Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Jesse Dukes) Drive west from Portland, Maine on US 302 and youâll pass a giant mechanical television repairman on the left. The repairman was built by Al Hawkes years ago to promote his television store. Al sold TVs for years, but his real love was always country and bluegrass music. Heâs been a performing musician, record producer, pirate radio broadcaster, and general promoter. Now, he works like a mad scientist in his basement to preserve recordings and document musicians who played a part in Maineâs musical history. His basement is filled with records; some 50,000 or more. Every now and then, he goes into his stacks and pulls out an old treasure. Jen forgot to say in the piece that Jesse Dukes is a producer on the Virginia-based radio program, With Good Reason.  Thanks so much for turning her on to this awesome tune "Shifting Texas Sand." She went on a web hunt for it immediately.  (And Shea wants to out Jesse as an alum of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Maine.) Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Katie Mingle) Looking to get more experience with the dead and ghosts, producer Katie Mingle spent some time in a "pauper's graveyard". She narrates her experiences there. She tell what she finds, and more importantly, doesn't find, in one of the only "below ground" cemeteries in New Orleans, LA. A special thanks to Katie for her patience (link for MySpace users).  Have a great time at The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies! Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Emma Raynes) Meet Ruana, the world's cutest 6-year-old Portugese teacher.  This languange lesson comes to us from our friend and Producer Emma Raynes.  Emma recently ran off to Brazil, where she's working as a Hines Documentary Fellow, a very cool program housed at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies. Check out Emma's blog to read about her encounters with language, rivers, rituals, migrant workers, orphans and lice! Big Shed is proud to announce our international documentary desk.  Shed alums Emma Raynes and Amanda Hark-Weber are both working overseas as Lewis Hines Documentary Fellows and are sending us wonderful tape of the people and places they're getting to know.  We really appreciate their doing this and are elated to share their sounds and stories with you. Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Jill Summers and David Whitcomb ... aka Stray Dog Recording Company) A tragic turn of events at the worldâs smallest circus.  Les Petits Tristes is an excerpt from Transfixed: Through the Fresnel Lens, Tiny Tales of Woe, a collection of audio shorts.  Notes:  Words by Jill Summers, music by David Whitcomb. Engineered by David Whitcomb at Stray Dog Recording Co. in Chicago.  Also, do yourself a favor and check out "Talk to Me About Love," their beautiful submission to the Third Coast Festival's 99 Ways to Tell a Story project.

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(Produced by John Biewen + Jennifer Deer) Merry Christmas from Big Shed!!  Producer John Biewen (seen here in his own japanese manga) dropped by with some great recordings of bedtime with his kids.  Thanks for sharing it, John.  We wish we were eight, again. This is a real treat, and for once we're seasonally timely!  We hope you enjoy it.    In addition to all of his own documentary work, John also directs the audio program at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies.  We're big fans of the program and are glad to add this to their special place in the shed. In case you're insatiable and want more Big Shed fun, we have two bonus downloads for you:- Jingle Bells (the skype remix)- And last year's hit video Mitchell the Christmas Moose. We'll be back next week with something to help you ring in the New Year.  Until then, Happy holidays! (from jen and shea) Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Owen Agnew) (Photo: Allison Lucas) Happy Thanksgiving at Big Shed!! This holiday we're thankful for everyone who's been so supportive of Big Shed.  We're feeling the love.  Thanks so much for listening and for sharing your amazing work.  Woohoo!!!!!  (much luv, jen and shea) But instead of Turkey, we're offering you a big serving of pigeons.  WTF?!  That's right pigeon haters, this week they've come home to roost at Big Shed.  Owen Agnew (audio) and Allison Lucas (photo) just started work on a new project about pigeons keepers in Brooklyn, New Yorkâa group of folks they've found to be surprisingly large and diverse.  Owen and Allison were kind enough to send us sights and sounds from their first day of recording.  The voice in the piece and face in the photo is Michael Scott, whose father had pigeons before him. And this particular recording was made at one of his coops in Canarsie, on top of his grandmotherâs house. Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the

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(Produced by Zak Rosen) Here's the next episode in our series live from the Third Coast International Audio Festival, where we're bringing you a little good, clean audio fun with Zak Rosen.  We rarely have a chance to talk in person with our producers before the show ... so sometimes we get a little carried away.  Fortunately, Zak was up for the excursion.  Once you get past the tomfoolery (did I just type "tomfoolery"?)  You'll be treated to a beautiful sonic spanish soundscape.  Here's what Zak has to say about his piece: "These are some of the sounds I heard while I was living in Alicante, Spain during the Spring of 2005.   I brought with me a mini-disc player, binaural mics, and a ridiculously rudimentary grasp of the language.  This is my first collage, and one of my first pieces altogether.  The Quiet American is owed a debt of gratitude for creating a wonderfully inspirational and informative  website that helped me a lot in the beginning."  Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes  or go straight to the Ps. Now can hear "Shed Your Audio Inhbitions," the Big Shed Listening Session at the Third Coast Website. along with recordings of all the other amazing sessions.

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(Photo by John Barth of PRX ... thanks for being a shutterbug) (Produced by Jennifer Deer) Last week, Jennifer and I joined 350-ish other audiophiles in Chicago (well, Evanston, IL) for the  sixth annual Third Coast International Audio Festival.   The conference alone was so inspiring that we're both back home with a wonderful mix of enthusiasm and exhaustion.  This year was extra special for us because Big Shed kicked off the conference by hosting a listening room on the opening night.  It was a great chance to show though sound what this podcast has evolved into the last two years.  Everyone had wonderful questions and comments about the pieces.  And conversations about the podcast continued on throughout the conference.  We were and remain flattered and elated about the reception.  You can download the full presentation here.  It's about 90 minutes long and plenty of fun.  We thought it might be a little long for the regular podcast, but if you're interested, please download and enjoy it. That being said, a personal note from Shea: Oh my god.  Jennifer, I can't believe you're running this tape!  My mother will be horrified.  My friends will be ... not so surprised.  My ego will be deflated.  I'm glad we have the documentary courage to use this.  Just kidding.  all I really want to say is thanks for the Alka Seltzer ;-).   Ps. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone at the Third Coast International Audio Festival!  (Thanks to Adrienne Mathiowetz of Love and Radio, Dennis Conrow of New Letters on the Air, Paul Sturtz of the True/False Film Festival and  Noah Miller of the outLoud Radio Project for being semi-recognizable in the above photo.) Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes

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(Produced by David Sommerstein) A few weeks ago, Shea was visiting beautiful SUNY Potsdam in upstate NY to make a presentation about audio documentaries to students at the school, an audio pep rally recruiting students for a cool project he's working on with prof. audrey sprenger (you'll hear more about that in the coming months ... enjoying the mystery?).  David Sommerstein, a supercool reporter with North Country Public Radio, came out for the presentation, too (that's David in the photo above).  After the presentation--flattering us to no end (truly, we're still blushing)--David interviewed Shea about Big Shed and ran this really nice piece. The North Country Public Radio website summed up the presentation this way: "Sound is really cool and everyone should grab a microphone and recorder and try their hand at making radio. After the lecture, he and David Sommerstein ducked into a stairwell to escape the rain and chat about why he prefers radio to other media." Thanks for the story, David, and for letting us re-cast it here. Ps. Woohoo!!!! -- We're going to the Third Coast Audio Festival! October 25-28 in Chicago . Big Shed will be presenting a listening session Wednesday night.  Hope to see some of you there. Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes

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(Produced by Layne Garrett) About this week's piece, Layne says:  "this piece is made entirely of samples from a winter camping trip in Feb.06 to Smarts Mountain in New Hampshire, plus guitar recorded the next day in the inter-zone b/w woods and all the rest. It was debuted at the DC listening lounge and appears on my recent cd 'the lost spaces ... reconstructed' on the dc-based sockets label. textual accompaniment goes something like this: human again. sense of self as distinct from world happily crumbles as the earth offers itself to you, opens as it is always open, and you offer yrself open yrself lose yrself sink into crunching earth breathing sky fading light warming friends creeping cold enveloping silence." Check out Layne's MySpace page. (He's one of our friends. You could be too!) Ps. Woohoo!!!! -- We're going to the Third Coast Audio Festival! October 25-28 in Chicago . Big Shed will be presenting a listening session Wednesday night.  Hope to see some of you there. Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes

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(Produced by Shea Shackelford) "There's nothing I can say to you that will prepare you for this." - Matt Largey Thanks to Matt and TK for dropping by the Big Shed.  Hope the stars at night are big and bright down there. Personal Note: This is also a belated birthday shout out to Shea's father, Ben Shackelford (who's pictured here with a youger, clean-cut Shea).  Shea questions whether he will tell him about it, because of the scattalogical content leading up to our birthday wish at the end of the piece.  But he asks, "it's the thought that counts, right?!"Historical Note: Matt Largey and Shea originally produced this piece for Radio Pie, an ocassional audio collective (of which Shea must confess membership) in June of 2005. We're going to make a bold claim here, the kind one can only make when inflating the significance of internet-related history.  Thanks to the marketing prowress of Big Shed's Jennifer Deer and the ballsy vision of Jim Gates and the rest of the folks at APM's Weekend America, we think that this was the first instance of audio being produced for a podcast being picked up as a public radio segment.  Woohoo!! Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes

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(Produced by David Engen) Get your dancin' shoes on.  This piece from Minnesota producer Dave Engen is a treat for your audio feet.  We first met Dave a year ago at a Duke Center for Documentary Studies summer audio institute.  He returned to Duke again this summer to produce this fine piece.  Weâre proud to run it.  A little bit of trivia, Dave was partners with Big Shed alum Laura Kwerel at their first audio institute â two peas in your iPod. Hereâs what Dave had to say about this piece: âThe Bandwagon old-time TV music show is one of the countryâs longest-running local programs.  It first aired in late 1960.  As a fairly new resident of Southern Minnesota, I found myself oddly captivated by the polka dancers Iâd occasionally see on our local CBS affiliate.  To the untrained eye the program seemed, well, really goofy.  People danced, polka bands played, and the hosts talked about upcoming events like Tuba Mania and the Bavarian Blast.  The more I watched, the more I noticed the hosts talking about the audienceâalways wishing them well on birthdays and anniversaries. Everybody on the show seemed to be having a great time.  Old folks with great calves were there dancing, high school kids would show up every so often (maybe as a dare, butâ), and mentally disabled people were dancing and welcomed by all.  I got to wondering if locally produced TV is about as important as locally produced food.  I had to check it outâand this is what I found.â Note: Photo by Kimberly Musser Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes

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(Produced by Nic Beery) L o o k   d e e p l y   I n t o   o u r   e a r s   . . .   (it's okay, we used q-tips)Oddly, this turned out to be a nice follow-up to our last podcast, "Hello."  Nic sent us this eerie "found sound" that came with a 1970's Revox reel to reel recorder that his neighbor was throwing away after a yard sale back in 2002.  Unfortunately, he doesn't know the spooky guy on the tape, nor does he know Sandy.  But hopefully she's either kicked her habit ... or at least ditched this scary friend."I have always been attracted to found sounds, the kinds of things you find in thrift shops with the LPs.  When I heard this, I knew I had to share it with others that have this interest.  It's kind of voyeuristic in a way." Nic's a video producer who's been rediscovering the joys of audio.   You can hear more of Nic's recent foray's into audio at these fanfreakingtastic sites: "Circus Clowns" (week 70) @ Tape Findings "Stupidity Realized" (#18) @ 99 Ways to Tell a Story(from Third Coast Audio Festival) Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes

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(Produced by Jennifer Deer) We're taking our own medicine this week, and damn it tastes good. For your listening pleasure, Jen re-cut this piece, which she originally produced a few years ago.  "Hello" is a fun excursion into the in-between space of a phone conversation.  enjoy!

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(Produced by Jennifer Deer) You've waited for it, and here it is ... another Budget Buddies!!!  Don't worry, we didn't sort out all of our financial or personal issues since the last episode.  This week, Shea questions Jen's medical practices.  Jen question's Shea's sanitation.  And change, change, change ... change of fools--what the hell is that noise in the background?  By the way, the grand total was over $50, and my apartment is now spotless thanks to some guitar lessons 4 house cleaning bartering.  Happy schadenfreude ... er, listening.Note: Check out Allyn's new shed [pictured here]!   Pretty sweet.

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(Produced by Nikki Brown and Kavanah Ramsier) Can a cup of tea a day keep the doctor away? North Carolina native Annie Melvin continues the tradition of keeping her medicine chest in the garden. Kavanah Ramsier and Nikki Brown produced this piece as part of the Summer 2006 Audio Institute at the Center for Documentary Studies in Durham, North Carolina. Another shameless plug for CDS! But they do good stuff, and we are really captivated by this piece. Shea was down for the Audio Institute as well, and the same weekend Nikki and Kavanah were getting to know Annie Melvin, we were having our first ever old-time jam on my porch with our friend and accordion player, Ann Marie. Please note: June is National Accordion Awareness Month, so we here at Big Shed are doing our part! (Ann Marie will be playing for you in today's feed). The porch jam was mostly a total car crash, but we had a big time! (See photo).

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(Produced by Todd Tinkham) When a severe thunderstorm chases two independent filmmakers off of a North Carolina beach, the director decides to interview the cinematographer while waiting out the storm. Beginning with a simple question - ÃïïWhatÃïïs the most amazing thing youÃïïve ever experienced?Ãïï - Elephantoms takes the listener on a true wildlife adventure, from the rainy coast of North Carolina to the parched deserts of Namibia Ãïï in search of wild, South African elephants. We met Todd during a podcasting presentation at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies, during one of their Summer Audio Institutes. We recorded the audio that surrounds it the next night.  Many thanks to CDS front porch revellers Nikki, both Bens, Jamie, Rachel, Jon and Carol for lending your debauchery to this podcast.  I'm as sorry as you are relieved that I could only use this much of the tape from that evening. My Odeo Channel (odeo/90bf571e1ad73cb9)

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(Producer Laura Kwerel) Less a band than an experiment in sound, The Books, create an emotional collage of music, found sound, and documentary.  Much of their work is stitched together from recordings that seem strangely familiar--old television shows, home movies, outdoor sounds-- making their songs feel like a nostalgic trip through our own memories.  This year the band, composed of Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong, finally came out of the studio for a national tour.  Their first stop was at Bostonâs Musuem of Fine Arts, where I talked to them before the show.

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(Producer: Jennifer Deer) That's right, it's round four of Big Shed's financial soap opera.  In this exciting edition, Shea gets a bait and switch on his capers and pasta, and Jenn adds a new line item in her budget ... "crazy people."  Happy Tax Day!!!! Note: Perhaps you think you've discovered the source of our financial struggles--an inability to count.  Sadly, it's not that simple.  We didn't forget episode 3 of budget buddies, we just finished this one first. 

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(Produced by Amara Hark-Weber) Playing for X is the story about an unexpected birthday gift from an old friend. It tells how the friendship has changed over time, and why this specific gift is important. We heard this piece at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies tenth annual Documentary Happening. Hopefully, we'll feature a few more pieces from that weekend, including a bbq cellphone adventure (yikes!).

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(Producers: Jennifer Deer + Shea Shackelford) Here's round two in our personal documentary soap opera. What bills to pay ... what foods to eat (or not eat) when shopping on a budget ... and other important questions facing two freelancers hoping to de-emphasize the "free" part of that title. As before, we suggest that you listen to this one while you're planting bulbs for the spring or darning your socks--like an overheard conversation on a train, where the ocassional bizarre turn of conversation grabs your attention. What's up with the negros frijoles in the photo? I can't bear to tell you.

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(Producers: Vige Millington + Andrew Starner) One afternoon, we talked about Skyâs experiences growing up as a child in Istanbul, Turkey, a landscape that exists now only in his memories. This is one of the stories he told us, and the song he sings (with a translation) is his sonâs current favorite. Sky and his wife run The Wellness Cafà on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DCâa health store that also sells amazing soups (hence the photo). Note: Andrew and Vige produced this piece as a project for the DC Listening Lounge, a radio-loving salon in Washington.

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(Producer: Jennifer Deer) Here's a new idea in our efforts to keep you knee deep in fresh content ... and echoing Jen's closing words in this piece, for god's sake please send us more material or we'll run more than these. I'm kidding. This is a fun new idea from Jen to bring you some of our personal budgeting hysteria. This was not staged. How scary is that?! This is one to put on while you're folding the clothes, like an overheard conversation on a train, where the ocassional bizarre turn of conversation grabs your attention. So, what the hell does the Heinz stash can above have to do with anything? Why would we put a link to this nearly pornographic short film? If you make it to the end of this piece, you just might find out. Note: No bills were payed during the making of this piece.

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(Producer: Shea Shackelford) Happy 2006! Thanks for subscribing. We're looking forward to a year full of great sound + stories for you. One of our New Years resolutions here at Big Shed was to keep in better touch with you. So even when we don't have a fabulous piece of audio prepared for you, we'll drop you an audio note--on the fly, like this one--just to say hey. Note: No insects were harmed in the recording of this audio scrap ... though I make no promises about what happened once the mic was turned off.

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(Producer: Julia Cooksey) Fork is a superfun vox pop piece from producer Julia Cooksey, exploring important questions of cutlery. If you're spending the holidays with family or friends, We hope this audio inpires you to take stock of their kitchenware. We've been looking forward to bringing you this piece for a good long while, which is a well-spun way of saying that we've been running behind, and sitting on this great audio for far too long. In the holiday spirit, we wrapped this piece in a fun audio experiment. Producer Jeanette Woods allowed us to exploit her synesthetic/phobic/amazing/hysterical tendencies for your audio pleasure. Hee hee hee ... it was fun. Oh, and that's why we featured the big (masonic) shed as the photo for this one. Ps. Special thanks to Chateau Debris for letting Julia (and us) use the song 'Le Femme Agile' from their album, Venus Has Seen Us.

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It's a video ... enjoy!

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(Producer: Emma Raynes) Roller derby was a popular sport in the 1960's, airing on T.V. and drawing crowds to see teams like the Bay City Bombers. The sport lost steam in the 70's, but recently, women's derby teams have been popping up all over the country. Three years ago, Celia Fate (also known as Laura Weekland) founded the Carolina Roller Girls team in Raleigh, NC. The team is made up of an energetic group of women who like to put on a good show and knock each other around. This piece takes you to the last bout of this years' roller derby season: a face-off between the Debutant Brawlers and the Trauma Queens.

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(Producer: David Schulman) Every March, close to 500,000 Sandhill Cranes break their long migration with a stop along the Platte River in central Nebraska. For two or three weeks, they spend their days eating and dancing in the cornfields, and their nights roosting, en masse, along the muddy river shallows. Last March, our friend Margery Nicolson led us on a pre-dawn hike to a blind along the banks of the Platte, and within the Rowe Audubon Sanctuary. As dawn finally came, we became aware of tens of thousands of cranes roosting on the river around us. Over the course of an hour or more, the sound of the birds calling to each other slowly grew as more and more became active. Then, in an instant, the moment came â a group of birds to our left took to the air, and within moments thousands, and thousands more joined them in a vast cloud, many of them passing directly over our heads.

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(Producers: Jennifer Deer + Shea Shackelford) This is our first attempt at a remote report. So ... consider it a learning experience. Shea headed to Chicago for the always amazing Third Coast International Audio Festival, while Jennifer held down the Shed back home. Shea had such a great time with all of the amazing folks at the festival that ... well, he overslept the morning we'd scheduled a phone interview from the conference. As a result, enjoy this thrilling call from his hotel room.

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(Producer: Eve Abrams) Eve interviewed kids entering junior high school about their excitement and anxiety. I can't get over how serious they are. I love the kid who reflects how he spent his childhood playing, but now those days are numbered. [This week's unrelated shed photo (courtesy Google Image Search) takes an innovative look inside.]

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(Producer: Liz Lindsey) For me this story began with a phone call from a stranger. I was at work readying a photographic exhibit to travel to the mountains of Lenoir, North Carolina. The exhibitâs subject was teenage pregnancy. The woman on the phone identified herself as Crystal Dixon. A postcard for the exhibit had come across her desk in Lenoir, featuring a black and white image of young parents. Crystal relayed that when she had been pregnant 21 years ago, she had allowed only one photograph of herself to be taken. Years later, in a moment of shame, she had ripped the photo to pieces. When she saw the exhibit postcard of other young parents, it hit home to her that she wanted there to be a record of her experience, both for herself and for others. This is her story [Photo by: John Moses. The postcard is from the Caldwell County Arts Council]

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(Producer: Jennifer Deer + Shea Shackelford) Joe Thompson, an 86-year-old native of Mebane, NC, is perhaps the last African-American fiddler playing square dance music who actually grew up in this tradition. 28-year-old Rhiannon Giddens of Durham, NC, is one of a handful of black banjo players excited about carrying on the tradition. Joe opens his home to young musicians like Rhiannon who are interested in learning the songs and the style of music heâs been playing his whole life. Rhiannon takes you along on one of her visits to see Joe. A special thanks to both of them for spending some time with us. A shorter version of this piece aired on Weekend America on 7/30/05. [Photo credit: P. Thompson] Ps. Jeep2This is officially the longest piece ever run at Big Shed! The piece itself is 14 minutes, but we had a trainwreck/adventure while recording the intro/outros for this piece. For better or for worse, we thought we should just share what resulted with you in real time. Just stay tuned after the actual story about Rhiannon and Joe. (-:

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(Producer: Allyn Meredith) I interviewed Sherri Wood for my thesis project about the creative re-use of items that would otherwise be trashed, such as the material that Sherri works with from deceased persons clothing for the making of quilts. For my purposes, this interview clearly illustrated the inherent power that is within the used cloth. In fact, the most vulnerable areasâthe worn and at times patched placesâbecome the most provocative during the making and in the final product of the passage quilts. As the material is handled and stitched by the deceased membersâ loved ones, the makers are able to process their grief with Sherriâs guidance. Photo: Michaelâs Quilt, 2004 - Sherri Wood assisted Mary Kessler in constructing this memorial quilt from her sonâs garments and other personal accoutrements after his death.

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(Producer: Shea Shackelford + Jennifer Deer) We hope you enjoy our second piece from the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia. This piece was a fun experiment for Jennifer and me. We basically wanted to take you on a walk through the campground, because it's a trip (like "that's trippy, man"). One of the amazing things about Clifftop is that once the music starts, it keeps going 24-7. And it's not just one or two bands, it's 5, 10, ... 30 small jams playing all over the place. There's a constant hum of music. You kind of tune in a band when you walk up on them. And when they stop playing or you walk away, you suddenly start to distinguish some new song from another group 20 feet away in the dark (well, it was pretty dark when we did this, anyway). This little tour starts at 2AM ... and that was still early at Clifftop.

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(Producer: Paul Overton) Producer Paul Overton sent us this inspired audio shout out. We loved it and had to share it with you. Keep on rockin', Paul. We're giving you the devil horns right back, man. Paul also produced Subway Symphony, one of the first pieces aired on Big Shed. ["Pole" painting by Paul Overton]

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(Producer: Laura Kwerel) When I heard that Steve, one of my supervisors at the coffee shop I work at, was leaving, I knew I had to do something. So I went around recording everyone I could find to talk about himâemployees, customers, friendsârandom people sitting outside on the porch. This is what I came up with. See ya, Steve.

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(Producer: Jennifer Deer) HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAPNICK!!! This piece is a birthday shout out to my brother ... here's a musical snapshot from Clifftop, home of this year's Appalachian String Band Festival. More music from Clifftop on Big Shed in the next few weeks ...

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(Producer: Jennifer Deer*) *This original tape came to us from Melanie Hammet. It was recorded by her sister Marcy. âFound Tape.â A family recording: Marcy valiantly attempts to record her parents Joan and Martin singing hymns. She sends a CD to her sister, musician and songwriter Melanie Hammet. Melanie shares the love â and the hilarity - with Big Shed! ["shed sketch" by Sampson]

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(Producer: Sarah Elzas) Cathy is 16. She loves listening to Outkast. She thinks she wants to be an accountant. Cathy is also still a freshman in high school because she is the mother of two little boys, the oldest, James, is two years old. She attends a high school for teen moms, which is where she gets the most support from anyone all day. This is a non-narrated, first-person glimpse into the chaotic life of a very young mother. Cathy reflects on her need to be grown-up, as a mother to her two boys, while also wanting to be just a teenager. This piece was produced at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. [photo by: Allison Wightman, Courtesy Salt Archive]

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(Producer: Thomas Hausen) A soundscape made entirely from tweeked sounds made by a clothes washing machine.

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(Producer: Jennifer Deer) Experimental Personal Narrative. Special thanks to Jim Lee. This piece was produced as a final project for his class at Duke in 2003.

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(Producer: Scott Gurian) This piece is a montage of participants--including my father--at karaoke night at Nicola's Italian Restaurant in Hawthorne, New Jersey. After a version of this aired on NPR, my father started getting calls and visits from random friends and neighbors saying they heard him on the radio and congratulating him on his singing ability. This all caught him completely off-guard, since he didn't think anyone was actually listening. He also got a call from a woman who looked him up in the phone book. The conversation apparently went something like this: "You don't know me, but I heard you on the radio, and I thought you were really good! Say, are you single?" He politely thanked her for calling but said he wasn't interested.

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(Producer: Emma Raynes) Artist Notes: While I was doing research in Gurung villages, I had go back and forth between Pokhara (a hill town) and Kathmandu (the capital of Nepal). The seven hour bus route began in the bustling city, dodging and swerving around other cars and bullock carts. Eventually the route took the wide bus along a narrow, precarious dirt road that snaked through the mountains. I often took photographs or recorded sound to distract myself from my fear of getting in an accident or falling off a cliff into a raging river. The terrifying bus rides were accompanied by jolly Nepali music.

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(Producer: Shea Shackelford) This interview happened while I was interviewing Susan and Eric about trips with their families for a game of audio tag we were playing at radiopie.org. They were having trouble remembering stories when we realized they'd had a pretty interesting first family trip as a new family -- travelling to Korea to adopt their son, Isaac. It's a simple story, told by good folks, and it makes me glad I own a microphone.

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(Producer: Julie Shapiro) Here's an homage in sound to Chicago's 524 (last count) public parks, and the ubiquity of the ice cream truck within them. All sound was gathered in twelve parks all over the city, over the course of June - August, 2004. This piece was originally commissioned for the 2004 Outer Ear Festival of Sound and aired on WLUW, WNUR and WZRD in Chicago. Julie Shapiro lives in Chicago where she is inextricably involved with all sorts of audio projects, including the Third Coast International Audio Festival.

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(Producer: Paul Overton) Trains are, by nature, rythmic. None more so than the trains of the New York City Subway system. Over the course of three days, I set out to capture the sonic spirit of the subway and turn it into audio stew.

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(Producer: TK McGuirt) "My garb, so to speak, is a t-shirt and velvet pant, some people object to that but I like to be comfortable when I play." That is Yvonne Adams, she has been playing the violin for 70 years. Yvonne used to play in symphony halls. Now she walks the halls of Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine playing the violin for patients. Courtesy the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

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(Shea Shackelford) What's not to love about subway sounds? How shy do I sound, recording on that platform?

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(Jennifer Deer) We both seem to have chosen transportation themes for our promos. Though this one has the distinction of being both our first podcast in a moving vehicle and the first one to take advantage of the lack of FCC regulation on the profanity front.

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