The Selects Podcast

Holiday Shorts! feat. Cat Names, Arlie Adlington, and the humble farmer

In this episode, we offer a few of our favorite shorts as sonic gifts.  We've got the humble farmer, an early work by Arlie Adlington, and one of the most formative works of contemporary audio: CAT NAMES.  

Willie McGee and the Traveling Electric Chair by Radio Diaries

This week we bring you a rare longform piece by Radio Diaries featuring Bridgette McGee, our narrator as she uncovers the truth about her grandfather's death, through uncomfortable interviews, original reporting, and some of the most arresting archival tape.  We are with Bridgette for every step of her process, and in doing so, we share a history that could have otherwise been erased.Photo courtesy of Bridgette McGee.

Diary of a Bad Year by Kelly McEvers

This week we're sharing a banger documentary from Kelly McEvers which may leave you standing, staring at a wall by the end.  The podcast version of a driveway moment.  Ten years before McEvers' show Embedded hit the air, you can hear the idea for it beginning to form.  Diary of a Bad Year is a bold and compelling look at why journalists risk it all for the story.  

Tony Schwartz: 30,000 Recordings Later by The Kitchen Sisters

Today we're presenting a documentary about an icon, Tony Schwartz, and made by icons, The Kitchen Sisters.  For thirty years (1945-1976), Schwartz created and produced a radio program for WNYC featuring the people and sounds of New York City.  He amassed an archive of recordings (now housed in the Library of Congress) that are expertly mixed together in this documentary so listeners can hear the world as Tony Schwartz did. 

Contested by Scene on Radio

This week we're sharing the story "A Level Playing Field" from John Biewen's series Contested, the first season of his iconic show Scene on Radio.  Contested considers the American relationship to sports, and this episode looks at the way money permeates sport and how it distorts reality to create unrealistic expectations for young athletes and communities of color.