The Selects Podcast

The Big Read: A Lesson Before Dying

This week we're sharing a piece from The Big Read, a book club for public radio from the National Endowment for the Arts. This episode is about Ernest Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying.  Set in the fictional community of Bayonne, Louisiana, in the late 1940s, A Lesson Before Dying tells the story of Jefferson, a twenty-one-year-old Black field worker wrongfully accused and convicted of the robbery and murder of a white man, and sentenced to death by electrocution.  It's an incredible story of friendship and what it means to resist and defy one's fateOriginal Series Credits:This program was created by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  It was hosted by Dana Gioia and written and produced by Molly Murphy and Dan Stone, and mixed by Molly Murphy.Readings from A Lesson Before Dying were by KenYatta Rogers. "Were You There?," "Guitar Man," "John Henry," "Piedmont Medley" and "Amazing Grace" by NEA Heritage Fellow Cephas and Wiggins used courtesy of John Cephas, Phil Wiggins and Joe Wilson."Cotton Fields," "Leaving Blues," "Let it Shine on Me" and "Moanin'" performed by Lead Belly. Plus "Death is Awful" by Doc Reed, all used with permission of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.  Original sound effects by Brent Finley at Sonic Magic Studios. Production Assistant: Adam Kampe. Administrative Assistants: Pepper Smith and Erica Koss. Special thanks to Ken Hoffman, Louise Herras, Keith Cornell, Sister Margaret, Luthetha Martin, Angie Knorwood and to our contributors: Warden Burl Cain, Ruby Dee, Ernest J. Gaines, Ash Green, Romulus Linney, Sister Helen Prejean and Cicely Tyson.  

American Icons: I Love Lucy by Studio 360

Today we're featuring one of our favorite series, American Icons, on a true work of art: I Love Lucy.  It's a hilarious and bittersweet documentary, exemplary of the incredibly thoughtful work that Studio 360 bestowed upon listeners for twenty years until its end in F2020. Original Series Credits: American Icons: I Love Lucy was produced by Jenny Lawton, with production assistance from Chloe Plaunt and Claes Andreasson. David Krasnow edited the show.Peabody Award-winning Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen is public radio’s smart, fun, and provocative window on pop culture and the arts. Listen to surprising conversations, performances, and stories from across the spectrum of art and culture. 

The Vietnam Tapes of Lance Corporal Michael A. Baronowski by Christina Egloff with Jay Allison

This week we share a story from the front lines.  Literally, from the front lines of a brutal war.  But also figuratively, from the front lines of a change in technology that would shape how civilians understand war: personal recording.   We've got two additional episodes in a new collection for subscribers including a special from Hearing Voices that is actually six individual pieces.  It's great listening for the long night. Original Series Credits for The Vietnam Tapes:The Vietnam Tapes of Lance Corporal Michael A. Baronowski was produced by Christina Egloff with Jay Allison. It won the Best Documentary: Gold Award in the 2001 Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition. It was originally produced for the Lost and Found Sound series.  The original series also included special thanks to:  the Family of Michael A. Baronowski, including his sister, Lorraine “Cookie Meckley; Tim Duffie, Art Silverman, Darcy Bacon, Deb George and Bill Deputy of NPR; Phil Prince, Mike’s squad leader; Ray Borowski and Tom Mosher, Mike’s comrades; Brent Runyon and Viki Merrick of Atlantic Public Media; Barbara McQuiston; public radio stations WGBH, WCAI and WNAN in Massachusetts.More about the story can be found here: https://transom.org/2013/the-vietnam-tapes-of-lance-corporal-michael-a-baronowski/

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.*****Original Series Credits:  Our story was narrated by Bridgette McGee-Robinson and produced Joe Richman and Samara Freemark of Radio Diaries, with help from Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, Deborah George and Ben Shapiro.