In response to COVID-19, producers Shaina Shealy and Naomi Zeveloff put together this short series where we interviewed people all over the world who had experienced lockdowns before. I was able to contribute three segments to this project.

Letters from Lockdown – Liberia, Columbus, Chicago

This episode features an interview with anti-violence activist Ameena Matthews, who I’ve known since working with her on the 2011 film The Interrupters. There’s no one like Ameena, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

Letters from Lockdown – Philippines, Greece, Michigan, Libya

My first story in this episode is an interview with Father Amado Picardal, or ‘Father Picx’ as his friends and congregants know him. Father Picx is a Catholic priest and an activist in the Philippines, who has been forced to flee his home country. He’s also a brilliant musician and writer. Thank you Father Picx.

My second story is an interview with Alison Gibson. Alison spent five days trapped in her tub when she was unable to reach the safety bar to pull herself out. There is humor in this story, but make no mistake: mobility issues are serious business.

More than 18 million people in this country experience mobility issues. They’re old, they’re young, they’re veterans. They’re people for whom everyday life presents a series of obstacles, and many times their stories, like Alison’s, are as compelling as a prison break drama.

Thank you, Alison.

The story of a chimpanzee and a man whose dream brought disaster to a small American town.

Listen here.

Mary needed to get away from her husband. A handsome stranger offered her a way out. All she had to do was participate in the strangest group experiment of all time.

Listen here.

In 2012, Rihanna embarked on the infamous “777 Tour,” better known as the “Rihannaplane.” She brought 150 journalists on a 7-day globe trotting tour but neglected to provide quotes, interviews, and, on an even more basic level, adequate food and opportunity to sleep.

Come relive the “Fyre Fest in the sky.” Listen here.

For as long as I have been in radio, I have wanted to make this story. I don’t think there’s any other place I could have made it besides Snap, and turned out better than my wildest dreams. Hope you enjoy.

Many thanks to Julianne, Tim, Lama, Mary, Maud, Esteban, Jeff, and Soo-Young. Also the people who didn’t make it into the story: Mike, Malik, Jesper, Wilson, Clare.

My big homie Kristen told me about this story in the first place, Elizabeth got a massage, and Lawrence brought the harmonica. Kudos to Teo for the artwork and Renzo for the score. All praise to Rihanna, my role model and fellow Pisces.

My collaboration with Snap Judgment started in 2017, and since then I have produced or worked on dozens of audio stories. In 2019, I was hired as a full-time producer by Snap and relocated to the Bay Area.

Below is a recap of my work for Snap Judgment and their spin-off show Spooked. This ends the resume section of my blog. Every post after this will be about a single new piece of work.

Snap stories —

“Blink Once for Yes” (May 2017) – I first worked for Snap when they ran a condensed version of my award-winning personal documentary, first aired on Love + Radio. 52 min.

“Beyond Faces of Death” (August 2018) – The story of the most infamous movie of all time. 35 min. I also wrote about this story for The Guardian.

“The Other Secret Weapon” (January 2019) – The true story of the bat bomb, a US military effort to bomb Japan with flaming bats, told by one of the original members of the team. 25 min.

“This Is Not A Drill” (January 2019) – On January 13th 2018, at exactly 8:07 in the morning, one text message turned the state of Hawaii into a state of emergency. 36 min. Won Silver at the 2019 Third Coast International Audio Festival.

“Life on Easy Street” (Aug 2019) – A musician writes a song so catchy, it takes over the world. Then he finds out it’s become a weapon. 15 min.

Spooked —

“Decorations” (Sept 2018) – Nic doesn’t know who keeps hanging paintings on his walls. All he knows is, something sinister is at work. 5 min.

“Under the Staircase” (Oct 2018) – Mido discovers that the former tenants of her apartment left some breadcrumbs behind. 15 min.

“Robert The Doll” (Oct 2019) – The story of a man, a haunted doll, and a whole lotta pie. 15 min.

I have produced two 40+ minute stories for 99% Invisible.

“Breaking Bad News” (May 2018) – The story of the comedian who wrote the guidelines that doctors use to tell patients that they’re dying. Featuring John Cleese. 45 min.

“The Many Deaths of a Painting” (March 2019) – An deranged man attacks a painting with a box cutter. Then things get messy. 46 min.

In 2016, I produced “Blink Once for Yes,” a personal documentary about a difficult and tragic choice my family was faced with. Listen to the Love + Radio version here and the one that later ran on Snap Judgment here. I also wrote about the experience of making this piece for Transom.

“Blink Once for Yes” won Bronze at the 2017 Third Coast International Audio Festival and was Runner-Up for the 2017 Whicker’s World Foundation Audio Recognition Award. To this day, it’s still the piece I hear most about from listeners.

My collaboration with Love + Radio has never stopped. In 2019, they released an episode of my forthcoming podcast Hot Lunch titled “The Episode About Animals.” I’m currently working on another episode with them that is about pipe organs and also maybe human organs.

In 2016, I co-founded a project to document the lives of ordinary people during the Trump Era. With a team of producers across the country, we found people from all walks of life and political persuasions willing to be interviewed periodically and/or make recordings of themselves.

After self-fundraising and putting together a pilot, KCRW gave the project a home, releasing the first of several planned documentaries in 2017. That piece, titled “Two Years,” features six characters, including a middle school teacher running for office, a Trump voter in Maine who changes her mind, and a Texas conservative married to a liberal feminist. Listen here.

“Two Years” ran on 25 public media stations across the U.S. and was shortlisted for the 2019 Whicker’s World Audio Recognition Award.

This project is ongoing. Stay tuned for more updates.

In October 2017, WILL released a series produced by me titled Still Here. The series contains one 52-minute non-narrated doc and 4 short features. Survivors of the Vietnam War tell their stories of conflict. Listen here.

Winner – Best News Documentary, 2018 Edward R. Murrow Awards

Winner – Best Series or Documentary, 2018 Illinois Associated Press Broadcasters competition

From 2015 to 2018, I worked with Chicago Public Media (WBEZ) as a reporter, audio producer, and digital producer.

The majority of my time was spend with Curious City, a podcast/broadcast program where reporters answer questions submitted by listeners.

“Doors Closing!” (June 2018): The lives of a CTA rail operators include: awesome vistas, cool trains, falling asleep at the wheel, suicide. 12 min.

“City of Big Potholes” (May 2017): Why are Chicago’s streets paved with material that easily falls apart? Why???? 8 min.

“Most Kids on the Block” (March 2017): Writer Eve Ewing and a 10-year old named Moji take us on a tour of Chicago’s most kid-friendly neighborhoods. 8 min.

“Signs of the Times” (January 2017): The story of the ubiquitous “Old Style” signs that hang outside Chicago bars, how they got there, and what that has to do with one man’s relationship with his father. 9 min. Digital treatment includes WBEZ’s first-ever VR story.

“Escape from Chicago” (May 2016): How long would it take to evacuate the city of Chicago? Don’t ask the city of Chicago, because they have no idea. 12 min.

“Little Eddie’s Field Trip” (May 2016): A 95-year old man recalls his eighth grade field trip to Chicago’s famed slaughterhouses. 4 min. Winner of the 2016 Illinois AP Award for Best Use of Sound.

“The Last Defender” (May 2016): Ordinary people become NORAD scientists tasked with saving the world from nuclear annihilation. 5 min.

“Mold-a-Rama-Rama!” (Nov 2016): My first ever audio story! Listen to baby me explore a famed Midwestern tchotchke with the help of Jack White. 8 min.

“Icebreakers of the Chicago River” (February 2016): How boats, jacuzzi jets, and an old guy with a spear keep the the Chicago river navigable during the harsh months of winter. 4 min. Make sure you check out the icebreaking trade magazine that I founded.

“Curious City: The Mystery Collection” (Dec 2015): A noir-themed holiday special that I seem to remember writing some good poop jokes for. 52 min.

In addition, I reported a story for the newsroom, did some documentary photography work, and produced a series of ads, including one where Peter Sagal performs his dream version of Hamilton.

WBEZ gave me my start in radio. It was between that and an internship working for an ad company. My tire blew on the way to the ad company interview, I figured that was a sign, and went with radio. By far the better choice.

Love and thanks to my WBEZ fam.