Archive March | Public Radio Remix

Archive for March, 2012

How Far Would You Go for Health Insurance?

Friday, March 30th, 2012 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

While the Supreme Court heard arguments today over the health insurance mandate, Radio Netherlands, of all shops, sent this story our way. CODE RED is an essay written and read by Kairol Rosenthal, a dancer and choreographer from Chicago. Kairol was diagnosed with a complex case of thyroid cancer when she was 27. In this piece — now in rotation on Public Radio Remix — Kairol describes the 100 hours she spent lying to the government and insurance agencies in order to cover her treatment.

Check out her story:

image from Radio Netherlands

Southern Stories Spinning on Remix

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Storytelling… it’s like the new rock n’ roll. Following on the success of The Moth (whose podcasts are also on Public Radio Remix), storytelling events are popping up all over the country — and they’re getting more and more local. In Boston, where PRX is located, MassMouth features local storytellers at venues around the city, and gives workshops for newbies. London has a new storytelling series called The Spark, also on PRX.

The one I’m excited about this week is Tales from the South. Tales from the South is a live storytelling event featuring authors and storytellers exclusively from Southern states — Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama to be specific. There’s something special about hearing Southern accents on public radio, maybe because so many popular public radio personalities are trained to use the most neutral-sounding intonation they can. Don’t be put off by the lengthy introductions (I usually just fast-forward), these southern stories are really delightful. In this one, Judith Waller Carol sees her austere father dance for the first time. And in another, a writer finds herself (along with all the neighborhood children) searching for her neighbor’s finger in his backyard, while he waits for it at the hospital.