Third Coast International Audio Festival

This hour some of our favorite childhood icons: from the man who gave us Thing One & Thing Two... to Dorothy, the Tin Man and Toto too. Dr Seuss and the Butter Battles by Eleanor McDowall (Falling Tree Productions for BBC Radio 4, 2011) Theodor 'Dr Seuss' Geisel remains one of the best-loved children's authors in America. Famed for his witty and often subversive stories such as, 'The Cat in the Hat' and 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!' his whimsical characters and playful rhymes are deeply embedded in American childhoods and those of children around the world. However, few readers are aware of the surprising political subtext to many of his tales. American Icons: The Wizard of Oz [Excerpt] by Ave Carrillo, Jonathan Mitchell and Eric Molinsky with host Kurt Andersen (Studio360, 2005) It's been more than seventy years since movie audiences first watched The Wizard of Oz. Meet the original man behind the curtain, L. Frank Baum, who had all the vision of Walt Disney, but none of the business sense. Discover how Oz captivated the imaginations of novelists, artists and thinkers all over the world. Listen to the entire hour here: http://bit.ly/1fnrUf8 A Goodnight Moon Story by Kelley Libby (With Good Reason, 2013) First published in 1947, Goodnight Moon has become one of the most popular books for young children. Yet the book’s author, Margaret Wise Brown, always wanted to write for adults. Kelley Libby tells the story of Brown’s work, life, and tragic early death. Special thanks to Nia Tavoularis & Tim Akimoff. Photo Alvin Trusty http://bit.ly/1H6RYNn

This hour we meander our way down three rivers in search of solace, spiritual healing and, of course, total domination. Reversal of Fortune by Dan Weissman, Roman Mars and Sam Greenspan (99% Invisible, 2013) Chicago’s biggest design achievement isn’t the achitectural wonders that rise high above the city's lakefront and river — it’s the Chicago River itself. Descent by Alex Chadwick and Bill Abbott (Unfictional, KCRW, 2011) The story of two men whose troubles and tragedies find respite in the raging rapids of Cataract Canyon. The Ganges River by Phoebe Judge and edited by Katie Davis (The Story, APM/WUNC, 2012) The Ganges, a 1,500-mile river that flows through Northern India, is a place where people bathe, wash clothes and pray. It is also where waste lines pour out sewage every day. Producer Phoebe Judge travels to the city of Varanasi, where she meets people who live along the Ganges River and want to clean it up. Special Thanks to Richard Steele for reading the show's open. Photo Hideyuki Kamon http://bit.ly/1DaGcdj

This hour a revealing snapshot of Martin Luther King, Jr. as he struggled to stay the course he'd set out for himself and the nation. To Heal A Sick Nation [EXCERPT] by Greg Kelly & Stephen Smith and presented by Paul Kennedy (Ideas [CBC], 2014) By 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. saw his dream becoming 'a nightmare'. Criticised by black militants, rejected by white allies, and threatened with death as violence tore America apart.That year was also Canada's Cenntenial Celebration, and Dr. King was invited to give a series of annual lectures on the CBC radio program Ideas. This piece unfolds the behind-the-scenes story leading to King's message of hope delived in his 1967 Massey Lectures. To hear the full episode, visit www.ThirdCoastFestival.org

This hour: how and why we're wired for sound. A look at music and the brain. The Nerve (episode 1): Music and the Brain by Jowi Taylor, Chris Brookes, and Paolo Pietropaolo (Inside the Music, CBC, 2009) Consider music, if you will. Music! Beautiful, wonderful music, which can elevate your mood until you’re dancing ecstatically or deplete it until you stop showering for a month; that entire flurry of sensation boils down to wave patterns and neuro-chemical events. Not exactly romantic perhaps, but endlessly fascinating. The Nerve, a six part series from the CBC, explores music and the brain, digging into exactly how and why we're wired for sound.

This week on the podcast, a Third Coast original production. The Sitter Dispatch by Maya Goldberg-Safir & Dennis Funk (Re:sound debut, 2015) Straight out of college, Maya was living in her cousins' attic and was working a part-time, unpaid internship. Then she took a job as a nanny that turned out to be nothing like she'd expected.

This hour we celebrate the ethereal, Dickens-inspired works of British producer Cathy Fitzgerald. Skylarking [Excerpt] by Cathy Fitzgerald [Sound Design by Joe Acheson] (Between the Ears, BBC Radio 3, 2014) Cathy FitzGerald meets a prisoner and a paraglider in this airy daydream about the delights of looking up at a big blue sky. **Please note Skylarking is a lawn-based, horizontal radio feature best experienced from the comfort of a picnic blanket with a long drink, a soft pillow and a view of the sky. How to Dig a Grave [Excerpt] by Cathy Fitzgerald (BBC Radio 4, 2014) Gravediggers exist in the popular imagination as a creepy, ghoulish breed. We keep them safely at a distance where they can carry the weight of our fantasies and fears about death. But what's the reality? And what lessons are there to learn six feet under the ground? The Cabinet of Animosities [Excerpt] by Cathy Fitzgerald and Matt Thompson (The Documentary, BBC World Service, 2012) The Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb exhibits objects left behind at the end of love affairs. In this audio-guide for radio we hear tales of love won and lost, told through the things we give, the things we treasure, and the things we fling at one another when it all goes wrong. Photo Rockethouse

This hour: We showcase some of our favorite stories from the 2013 Third Coast ShortDocs Challenge: Appetite, and talk to the organizer of the project, former Third Coast Artistic Director Julie Shapiro about the rules, the incentives, and our collaboration with the James Beard Foundation. Plus, Third Coast's Managing Director Sarah Geis talks the rules for the 2015 ShortDocs Challenge Sweet, Sweet Victory by Logan Jaffe Sweet Aunt Nuska by Jeremy Wilmot and Matt Thomas Bittersweet Apostrophe's by Tim Needles Sweet Cheesecake Heartbreak: Three Dates by Catie Talarski #BuzzyNumbingElectricSourSpice by Jeff Towne Essen, My Sweet by Deena Prichep and Joanna Stein My Umami Gas Mask by Sam Agee The Last Morning Was a Sweet One by Alix Blair Sel Trois Façons (Salt: Three Ways) by Kelly Jones Salt On the Lips by Jenny Asarnow Blackbird Pot Pie: Not the Pie Umami Made by Mary T. Diorio Schilling

This hour: when two people meet, sometimes extraordinary things happen. And sometimes extraordinary things happen in order for two people to meet. Message in a Bottle by Peter Mulryan and Liam O'Brien (Documentary on One, RTE, 2012) On Christmas day of 1945, an American serviceman tossed a message in a bottle into the Atlantic Ocean. Eight months later it was found by a young woman on a beach in Ireland. Irish producer Peter Mulryan tells the story of what happened next. Big Jim and Smokey Joe by Lea Thau (Strangers, KCRW, 2012) When Jennefer Ludwigsen was a waitress in Hollywood, a grumpy, foul-mouthed customer turned out to be the strangest fairy godfather ever. Photo internets_dairy http://bit.ly/1zbdoAu

This hour: things anonymous. Someone's Screaming Outside by Mad Genius (Re:sound debut, 2013) Someone's Screaming Outside by the anonymous producer collective, Mad Genius, revisits the rainy Florida night George Zimmerman met Trayvon Martin, using only 911 calls from that evening and musical samples from YouTube videos reacting to the tragedy. The Adventures of Hurricane Mike by Mad Genius (Re:sound debut, 2013) Part song, part narrative, and completely built from sampling media on the internet, The Adventures of Hurricane Mike tells one man's incredible survival story. Anonymous: Just for the Lulz? by Gabriella Lahti with sound engineer Steven Tilley (360 Documentaries, ABC RN, 2012) The online group known as Anonymous has no leaders, no rules, no wrongs and no public face. Yet, they have made headlines around the world as hacktivists, fighting for the freedom of information, and against censorship, the church of scientology and homophobia, among other things. The Wire by David Weinberg (Wiretap, CBC, 2012) For David Weinberg, secretly recording people started out as a sort of a hobby — a possible way to break into, of all things, public radio. Eventually it mutated into an obsession. And finally, in an odd twist of fate, this anonymous act became David’s salvation. Photo Jason Scragz http://bit.ly/1BYv7M7

This hour: hauntings of war, ethereal recordings, and other ghosts of Vietnam. The Vietnam Tapes of Lance Corporal Michael A. Baronowski by Christina Egloff and Jay Allison (All Things Considered, 2001) In 1966, Michael Baronowski took a reel-to-reel tape recorder with him into the Vietnam War. Thirty-five years later, the eerie, ghost-like recordings that survived him ended up in the hands of radio producers Christina Egloff and Jay Allison. Wandering Souls by Cathy Fitzgerald (BBC World Service, 2011) Both Vietnam and the United States remain haunted by the war. In the US, some soldiers are still chased by vivid memories. In Vietnam, the haunting is literal. There, it is believed that war deaths prevent the peaceful continuation of a soul as it journeys from this world to the next. Quiet American by Katie Mingle (Re:sound premiere, 2013) In this short feature, Aaron Ximm talks about the field recordings he made in Vietnam using quasi-binaural microphones, and about why he believes sound recordings are the best way to document our experiences.

This hour stories of dads who are starting to slip away and the sons who are desperately trying to stay connected. The Mind Shaft by Lea Thau (KCRW, Strangers, 2014) Greg O'Brien has been a writer, journalist and thinker all his life. Now he is losing his mind due to early on-set Alzheimer's, and he's an astute observer of his own decline. He compares this clicking in and out to the flickering light of a loose plug in a socket. He's in a race against time to share his story before the plug falls out for good. My Father Takes a Vacation by Martin Johnson (RTÉ Radio 1, Documentaries On One, 2008) A few years after Martin Johnson's mother died, his father left he and his two siblings in their native Sweden to go cycling around the coast of Ireland. Six years later, Martin decided to retrace his father’s journey — the places he went, the people he met — to try and better understand who he was, why he disappeared and why he’s been leaving ever since. Photo Michael Strong

This hour: failure of flight. In one story a man mysteriously falls from the sky onto a sunny London street, and in another, a plane crashes into a mountain side, and an 11 year old walks away. Falling by Bob Carlson and Kerstin Zilm (Unfictional, 2013) When Norman Ollestad was a kid, his father was always looking for his next big adventure. In 1979, when Norman was just 11 they boarded a small plane to go skiing in California's San Gabriel mountains. When the plane hit bad weather, Norman was the only one to survive the crash, but then he had to find safety. The Man Who Fell to Earth by Rob Walker (BBC World Service, Assignment, 2013) In September of 2012, on a sunny day in west suburban London, a man was found dead in the middle of the street with no identification. BBC correspondent Rob Walker followed along with the police’s investigation of the incident which began on a plane and ended up spanning two continents and eight countries. Photo David Spinks http://bit.ly/17PZr4e

This hour: families wrestling with love and loyalty. Grilling Me Softly by Jay Allison (Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, 2004) When veteran radio producer Jay Allison went out on his first post-divorce date, his teenage daughter didn’t hold back with her support or her opinions. Jay told the story to a live audience back in 2004. Except Me by Erin Davis (Third Coast National Broadcast, 2008) From early on, Marissa Skilling’s feelings about her Autistic younger brother vacillated between love and hate; some days she wanted to hug him and some days she wanted to strangle him. David and Ted by Max Jungreis (KRUA Alaska, 2012) Blood may be thicker than water, but at what point does loyalty exact too great a cost? David Kaczynski, devoted brother to "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, found himself grappling with this question as he confronted an absolutely unthinkable situation. Basement Story by Austin Bunn (Re:sound premiere, 2013) Writer Austin Bunn was thinking a lot about his twin brother when their mom decided to sell their boyhood home. In the process of cleaning out the basement, Austin unearthed remnants of a dark childhood game. Finding Sumo by Bob Carlson and Wendy Dorr (Unfictional, 2012) Several years ago, Melanie Hoopes and Ed Herbstman lost something extremely valuable (and cute). This is the story of how it was found. Photo freeparking :-| http://bit.ly/1saaaPP

This hour we head back in time to 1984. [Listen to the full show here http://bit.ly/1vNkzgC] 1984 (the year not the book) by Benjamen Walker (Benjamen Walker's Theory of Everything, 2014) In the book 1984, George Orwell predicted that in the future "Big Brother" would watch and dictate our every move. In the year 1984, producer Benjamen Walker was in middle school. Like Orwell's protagonist Winston Smith, Benjamen kept a diary for "future citizens" in which he recorded the country's descent into totalitarianism — and his crush on a girl named Theresa. In 2014, he revisited those diaries and produced this sonic catapult to the days of Reagonomics, Thriller, Clara Peller and the birth of Apple. What would Benjamen's 12-year-old self think about the 42-year-old's documentary? Find out in Behind the Scenes. Advice on Ageing Jonathan Goldstein & Mira Burt-Wintonick What if, by some magic time/space dimensional realignment, you could go back and advise your younger self. What words of wisdom would you share? In this piece, people from age 5 to 90 offer advice on growing up. Photo Matthew Pearce http://bit.ly/1AgbOj4

This hour: where kids go to get away; from themselves, their troubles, the rules they’re supposed to follow, and of course, their parents. Of Kith and Kids by Erin Davis (Transom.org, 2013) Producer Erin Davis takes us to a very unusual "adventure playground" called The Land. Kids adore it for its lack of rules, regulations and limits. Adults are wary of it for those very same reasons. The Tracks by Karen Levine and Emelia Symington Fedy (The Sunday Edition, CBC Radio, 2012) Every town has a place where teenagers go to get away from adults. In the small Canadian town of Armstrong, that place was "the tracks." For years the tracks were a beloved and safe get-away for teens. And then a murder changed everything. (LISTEN HERE: http://bit.ly/1jMysKQ) Heyoon by Alex Goldman, Sam Greenspan & Roman Mars (99% Invisible, 2013) Nothing says "I dare you" like a "no trespassing" sign. Producer Alex Goldman walked right past such a sign when he first visited the mysterious hangout that came to be known as Heyoon. Photo Alex Eflon http://bit.ly/13WMkfM