Third Coast International Audio Festival

This hour, the story of a man who's ultimate goal is to become a national evening news anchor. Anchor Dreams — The Passion of Scoop Nemeth by Noel Black & Jake Brownell (Wish We Were Here, KRCC, 2015) Brian 'Scoop' Nemeth has a singular goal: to become a national news anchor on the Fox News Network's prime-time broadcast. Despite the challenges of Asperger's, 'Scoop' moved from his hometown of Colorado Springs to the city of Denver, where he's built a following through YouTube videos and public access TV. On top of this, he's published a book of erotic poetry and designs women's activewear. But is America ready for someone like 'Scoop' to takeover TV news as the 'black Bill O'Reilly'? Help Third Coast launch the next generation of great audio storytelling. Donate here: goo.gl/DDrkPr

This week on a special feature podcast, we're flashing back in time to 2004 to have a listen to the very first episode of Re:sound. Producer Dennis Funk talks with Re:sound's Host, Gwen Macasi and Third Coast's Director Johanna Zorn about how it all began, and they provide a little commentary throughout the hour. Third Coast is in the middle of our annual fundraiser at the moment, and we're celebrating the role that Third Coast has played in launching the audio storytelling revolution. For photos from our #ThirdCoastLaunchPad click here: https://goo.gl/ZYwxVZ Donate here: https://goo.gl/DDrkPr

The 2015 Third Coast Festival Broadcast, featuring the winners of our annual competition.

The 2015 Third Coast Festival Broadcast, featuring the winners of our annual competition.

This hour, two delightfully out-of-the-ordinary musical portraits from producer Alan Hall. The Grace of Jeff Buckley by Alan Hall (Falling Tree Productions for BBC Radio 4, 2014) The story of the day Jeff Buckley arrived on the UK music scene in 1994 — from a photo shoot in the morning, a live radio appearance in the afternoon and then to a gig at Bunjies folk club so over-booked that a second concert was arranged for later that evening at the 12 Bar. The Voices of Elly Stone by Alan Hall (Falling Tree Productions for BBC Radio 4, 2014) Elly Stone is a modest, 87-year-old New Yorker — 'born and dragged up' — whose sublime voice will forever be associated with the songs of Belgian chanteur Jacques Brel. Twenty years after her retirement from the stage, she offers a rare insight into her life and what music has meant to her. 'The Voices of Elly Stone' won the 2015 Prix Europa for Best European Music Programme. Listen to 'Rhapsody in Bohemia' by Alan Hall, winner of the Directors' Choice Award at the 2006 Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition — http://goo.gl/qob4wh

This hour, we follow three addicts through Australia's drug court system. Inside the Drug Court: part 1—the last chance by Sharon Davis and sound engineer Steven Tilley (Earshot, ABC RN, 2015) After a year of negotiations with the government of New South Wales, Australia, producer Sharon Davis was granted exclusive access to the state's Drug Courts — a program where long term addicts, many of them hardened criminals, are released from jail in order to join a strict rehabilitation program designed to end their addiction.. In the first episode of this three part series, Sharon follows three addicts on their journey to sobriety through the Drug Court system. Listen to part 2 & 3 of this series: http://ab.co/1FSGHir Photo epSos.de http://bit.ly/1hUFwVZ

This hour: audio stories inspired by the written word, be it a novel or a comic book. Tim Key and Gogol's Overcoat [NOTE: only available at http://ThirdCoastFestival.org until November 2, 2015] by Steven Rajam & written by Tim Key (BBC Radio 4, 2012) Tim Key — poet, comedian, and crumpled polymath — is obsessed with Nikolai Gogol's short story 'The Overcoat'. Written in 1842, it's a fable of a simple Russian clerk whose desire for a new coat to keep the St Petersburg winter at bay forever changes his life... and ultimately destroys him. Tim's off to find out what — if anything — Gogol's mysterious story can tell us, whilst contending with his own filthy disgrace of a jacket. [Listen to the piece here: http://bit.ly/1jEg88G] Superman by Laura Starcheski and Al Letson (State of the Re:Union, 2012) Al Letson is a storyteller and public radio host who is hugely, passionately into comics. In his search for super stories, he found a Superman superfan that fell prey to a real life villain, and a tight-knit comics community that pitched in to help. Poioumenon by Jon Steiner & read by Adam Norris, sound by Louis Mitchell (Radiotonic [ABC RN], 2015) Poioumenon is a (sort of) short story by Jon Steiner, inspired (sort of) by and in homage (kind of) to the American postmodern (ish) writer David Foster Wallace, adapted (sort of) for the radio, and about (sort of): figuring out where to go post-post-modernism. Photo Cams http://bit.ly/1WCpWOx

This hour two stories that dive into the depths of the inner ear. Disequlibrium [NOTE: not available on the podcast] by Nick Ryan, Lisa Gee and Jeremy Mortimer (Between the Ears, BBC Radio 3, 2012) Nick Ryan, is award-winning sound designer and composer. For reasons unknown, he wakes up every day feeling dizzy, nauseous and destabilized. Despite medication and his GP's assurances, the feelings persist. At the same time Nick is building a game-world entirely from sound through which players must navigate using only their hearing. 'Disequilibrium' is a meditation on the nature of sound and hearing. It traces Nick's experience of his balance disorder as it morphs his world into a space nearly as alien as the one he's creating. LISTEN HERE: http://thirdcoastfestival.org/library/1835-re-sound-210-the-inner-ear-show In One Ear and Out the Other by Tim Hinman (Radiotonic, ABC RN, 2015) 'In One Ear and Out the Other' takes a bizarre trip inside the brain of Danish documentary producer Tim Hinman, as he does his best to follow the pathways of cognition to the source — only to be confronted with a stranger and stranger inner universe. With help from a few seasoned Danish scholars, 'In One Ear and Out the Other' is a radio first: real live reportage from inside a living brain. Well… almost. Photo BBC

This hour: first lines, first days back and every last first you can think of. Getting Back Out There by Tally Abecassis (First Day Back, 2015) First Day Back is a documentary podcast that follows filmmaker Tally Abecassis as she faces the challenges of picking up her career after an extended maternity leave. In this episode, Tally lays out her situation and makes a move to restart her filmmaking career. She talks about “freelancer math” and asks her family some big questions, getting the most surprising answer from her son. My First... [Excerpt: listen at www.thirdcoastfestival.org] by Steve Heather & Siegmar Zacharias (Soundproof [ABC RN], 2015) Your first breath, your first mistake, your first lie, your first kiss, your first job, your first death. The first time you celebrated, and the first time you regretted a first time. 'My First...' constructs a collective life biography from years 0 to 100, through memory, story, and music. The piece traces a society from the 1920's to 2015 and into the future to offer meaning shaped from collective memory. Tim Key's Suspended Sentence [NOTE: not available on the podcast listen at www.thirdcoastfestival.org] by Steven Rajam & written by Tim Key (BBC Radio 4, 2013) Tim Key is on a mission to pen the ultimate opening line: one that will knock your socks off, hook you in, blow you away (he'll sort out the rest later, yeah?). As he slowly crafts his one-sentence magnum opus, Tim taps into the minds of some of Britain's top literary talents to find out what a first line should and shouldn't do, and the hours of sweat and toil enshrined in those crucial few words. Photo Peter Thoeny http://bit.ly/1I16FfE

This hour stories of black lives caught in the cross hairs of injustice. 695BGK by Phoebe Judge & Lauren Spohrer (Criminal, 2015) Just before 2am on December 31, 2008, police officer John Edwards was patrolling in Bellaire, Texas when he saw an SUV driven by two young African-American men. Edwards followed the SUV and ran the license plate number. His computer indicated that the SUV was stolen, and Edwards drew his gun and told the two men to get down on the ground. By the time Edwards realized he had made a mistake, one of the men had already been shot. Strange Fruit [NOTE: only available at www.ThirdCoastFestival.org until 31 August] by Maggie Ayre (Soul Music, BBC Radio 4, 2014) Billie Holiday's famous song 'Strange Fruit' expresses the horror and anguish of a community subjected to lynching in the American South. In this programe, we hear the stories of people whose relatives were lynched by white racists and of the various forms of grief, anger and reconciliation that have followed. And learn the roots of the song itself. We've Forgotten James Powell by Nate DiMeo (The Memory Palace, 2014) Nate Dimeo looks back to the summer of 1964. It's late afternoon in New York City: a group of kids hangs out on a stoop after a day of summer school, just kicking it, like they always do. Alex Landau and Patsy Hathaway by Jud Etsy Kendall (StoryCorp, 2014) Alex Landau, an African American who was adopted by a white couple, grew up in a largely white, middle-class suburb of Denver, Colorado. After a traffic stop one night, Alex was severely beaten by Denver Police officers. He and his mother, Patsy Hathaway, visited StoryCorps to talk about how Alex’s race has influenced his life and what happened that night the police stopped him. Visit www.ThirdCoastFestival.org for more stories related to this issue. PHOTO Kaitlyn Veto http://bit.ly/1M0C8Gm

On this special Third Coast Podcast we're doing what we do best — sharing the best radio from around the world! On this episode we're featuring the podcast How to Be a Girl, and show's creator, Marlo Mack tells us about her experience at the Third Coast Conference. Also, Re:sound host Gwen Macsai talks with the 2015 People's ShortDoc Award winning producer, Sara Curtis, about the her piece and the ShortDocs Challenge. FEATURING: Mama, I'm a Girl by Marlo Mack (How to Be a Girl, 2014) When he was three years old, Marlo's son informed me that her was actually her daughter. She's now the mother of a happy, confident little transgender girl, but it took a while to get there. Where Do I Find You Now? by Sara Curtis (Third Coast ShortDocs Challenge, 2015) An intimate conversation with Studs Terkel about the edges of life and death. And don't forget, it's fundraising time here at Third Coast, so if you love what we do, and want to love us forever, then please support us with a donation. donatenow.networkforgood.org/ThirdCoast PHOTO Sharon Hall Shipp http://bit.ly/1HYRa99

To kick-off Third Coast's summer fundraiser, we're doing what we do best — sharing great radio from around the world — with some extra special feature podcasts over the next two weeks. On this episode, Re:sound producer Dennis Funk talks to Ann Heppermann and Martin Johnson founders of the new, Third Coast-inspired audio fiction competition, The Sarah Awards. We also hear a few pieces that will feature on their new podcast Serendipity and learn about their Very Very Short Short Fiction Contest. FEATURING: Every Heart Has a Limited Amount of Heartbeats by Martin Johnson (Serendipity, 2015) We will all die, and those who are already dead slowly becomes faint memories, that can be awakened, and relived. I Blinked and I Was 30 by Andrea Silenzi (Serendipity, 2015) On Andrea's 30th birthday, the universe gave her an impossible assignment. Could she use that day to come to terms with everything she’d done before, and everything she’d hope to do now? Subscribe to Serendipity: http://apple.co/1OczBGk And remember, it's fundraiser time here at Third Coast, so if you love what we do, please consider making a donation (pssst there are prizes if you do. We'd all be super thankful. donatenow.networkforgood.org/ThirdCoast

This hour two mysteries: one involving an obscure novel and Britney Spears, and the other a real life murder most fowl. Case #2: Britney by Starlee Kine, Alex Blumberg, Melinda Shopsin and Eric Mennel (Mystery Show, 2015) Andrea, a writer no one reads, one day, she makes a shocking discovery that the paparazzi snapped a photo of Britney Spears holding a copy of her second novel. The author then enlists super sleuth Starlee Kine to track down Britney in hope of learning whether the popstar actually read her book and, if so, did she like it. Animal Instincts by Phoebe Judge, Lauren Spohrer and Eric Mennel (Criminal, 2014) In 2001, a woman was found dead in a pool of her own blood. Her husband was convicted of her murder. But a curious neighbor had a different theory… one that brings new meaning to man vs. beast. Photo BritneyExperts.com

This hour we explore nearly a decade's worth of work from Canadian sound artist, musician and radio producer Sarah Boothroyd. Gleeful Barbarians by Sarah Boothroyd (Short Cuts, BBC Radio 4, 2012) An audio postcard from the often joyful, sometimes exasperating, and always busy world of early parenthood. Featuring very silly noises, nearly-indecipherable toddler chitchat, and 27 different ways a two-year-old can say 'no.' Do What You Fear And Fear Disappears by Sarah Boothroyd (Third Coast International Audio Festival Short Docs Challenge, 2006) Screams, thoughts on fear, screams, spooky music, more screams. Rabble Rousers by Sarah Boothroyd (Ontario Arts Council, 2012) Touching on ethics, justice, democracy, and global citizenship, Rabble Rousers explores the notion of protest as a spontaneous installation of improvised 'music' in public space. Forest To Desert by Sarah Boothroyd (Third Coast International Audio Festival Short Docs Challenge, 2008) An audio doodle about this phrase: 'Humankind is preceded by forest, and followed by desert.' Through a Door by Sarah Boothroyd (CBC Radio and New Adventures In Sound Art, 2008) A soundscape about the Nicholas Street Jail in Ottawa, a structure described by a jail inspector in 1946 as 'a monstrous relic of an imperfect civilization where cells are medieval, incredibly cramped, with conditions far below the limits of human decency.' Chance by Sarah Boothroyd (Between The Ears, BBC Radio 3, 2013) Turn right and you meet the man or woman of your dreams. Turn left and you get hit by a car. Much of life is a matter of being in the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the wrong time. This impressionistic audio work explores randomness, chance, and luck through the microcosm of the racetrack.

This hour what you see, is not always what you get. Chook In Memorium by Mike Ladd (360 Documentaries, ABC Radio National, 2014) The Australian lyrebird is a remarkable creature, able to mimic almost every man made and natural sound; sirens, car engines, other birds. Chook was very popular with visitors at the Adealaide Zoo until he died in 2011 at the age of 32. In this audio tribute to Chook we hear him mimic innumberable sounds. The Two Lives of Asa Carter by Joe Richman & Samara Freemark (Radio Diaries, 2012) Asa Carter was a speechwriter for Alabama Governor George Wallace. He penned one of the most infamous speeches of the era… Wallace’s 'Segregation Now, Segregation Forever' address. Forrest Carter was a Cherokee writer who lived in Texas. His autobiography, The Education of Little Tree, is a beloved classic that has sold millions of copies around the world. But these two men shared a secret. 45s at 33 by Steve Urquhart (Radiotonic, ABC Radio National, 2015) It started with Dolly Parton's song ‘Jolene'. Someone uploaded a slowed-down version to YouTube – and the reaction was extraordinary. But ‘Jolene’ was just the beginning. Search for 'slowed down to 33', and you’ll find hundreds of examples of old 7-inch singles playing at 33rpm, rather than 45rpm. As he turns 40 — and perhaps a bit preoccupied with the idea of “slowing down time” — radio producer Steve Urquhart discovers some unexpected gems. The Mysterious James Tiptree by Eric Molinsky (Unfictional, KCRW, 2015) James Tiptree Jr. was a science fiction writer in the late 60's and early 70's. His books and stories had a loyal following, and were notable for the way he handled gender issues and male/female relationships in an era when science fiction featured almost only male heroes. Tiptree was a mysterious figure and only communicated to a few friends and fans. That's because his career hinged on a very big secret. Photo Nate http://bit.ly/1LSGtYe