Episoder

  • After Jess receives feedback that throws a major wrench into her production schedule, she has to make some tough decisions.

    Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is written, hosted and produced by Jess Shane. Sara Nics is the story editor. Sound design, mix/mastering by Michelle Macklem. Production support from Mona Hassan. Cover art is by Justin Broadbent. Jess’s bibliography is available here.

    This reporting was supported in part by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G.Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.

    Special thanks to Eleanor McDowall and Chioke I’Anson.

    For Radiotopia Presents, Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.

    Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

    We’d like to thank the extended Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative team, without whom you may not have heard about this project. For PRX marketing: Gretchen Borzi, David Cotrone, Sher Delva, Apu Goteh, and Maggie Gourville. For PRX sponsorship: Audrey Davidson, Melissa Garcia-Houle, Carolyn Willander, and Jeanne Yeh.

    This series was possible thanks to Ernesto, Michael, and Judy, whose vibrant souls could never fit into the confines of any series.

    Most of all, thank you for listening.

  • With only a few months till launch, Jess plays a draft of the series for her subjects and gives them an opportunity to request major changes.

    Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is written, hosted and produced by Jess Shane. Sara Nics is the story editor. Sound design, mix/mastering by Michelle Macklem. Production support from Mona Hassan. Cover art is by Justin Broadbent. Jess’s bibliography is available here.

    This reporting was supported in part by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G.Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.

    Special thanks to Eleanor McDowall and Chioke I’Anson.

    For Radiotopia Presents, Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.

    Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

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  • Jess makes a deal with Judy, an unhoused senior. Judy will let Jess document her, and Jess will help Judy resolve some of her ongoing life problems. As Jess gets sucked into Judy's crises, the rest of the series starts to slip and Jess’ relationships with her other subjects get messy. Jess starts to doubt the premise of this entire undertaking.

    Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is written, hosted and produced by Jess Shane. Sara Nics is the story editor. Sound design, mix/mastering by Michelle Macklem. Production support from Mona Hassan. Cover art is by Justin Broadbent. Jess’s bibliography is available here.

    This reporting was supported in part by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G.Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.

    Special thanks to Eleanor McDowall and Chioke I’Anson.

    For Radiotopia Presents, Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.

    Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

  • Jess begins by documenting Ernesto, a 20-year-old, newly sober fashion model. The plan is to pay Ernesto and let him be in charge of the story he wants to tell in the documentary. Things go sideways when Jess and Ernesto grapple with what will need to be cut out of Ernesto's life to turn it into a viable media product.

    More about Pooja Rangan’s book Immediations HERE.

    Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is written, hosted and produced by Jess Shane. Sara Nics is the story editor. Sound design, mix/mastering by Michelle Macklem. Production support from Mona Hassan. Cover art is by Justin Broadbent. Jess’s bibliography is available here.

    Support for this project was provided in part by the International Women’s Media Foundation. Special thanks to Eleanor McDowall and Chioke I’Anson.

    For Radiotopia Presents, Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.

    Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

  • Jess used to think making documentaries was good for her subjects and good for the world. But she’s not so sure anymore. With this series, she's throwing out the old rules of documentary production and trying out some new ones.

    Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is written, hosted and produced by Jess Shane. Sara Nics is the story editor. Sound design, mix/mastering by Michelle Macklem. Production support from Mona Hassan. Cover art is by Justin Broadbent. Jess’s bibliography is available here.

    Support for this project was provided in part by the International Women’s Media Foundation. Special thanks to Eleanor McDowall and Chioke I’Anson.

    For Radiotopia Presents, Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.

    Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

  • Artist and documentarian Jess Shane posts a Craigslist ad: “Does your story need to be told? Tell it in a documentary! Seeking shocking, heartbreaking, and transformative stories for a new series about the documentary industry. Compensation provided.”

    After days of auditions, Shane casts four participants, each with varied relationships to why they want to share their stories, from Ernesto, a recovering addict and fashion model who dreams of making it big, to Judy, an unhoused senior who wants to get off the street and give voice to the homeless. Through the making of documentaries about the participants, the series asks provocative questions about the story creation process, whether “sharing your story” is really as liberating as our culture imagines it can be, and how “being produced” for a show can shift someone’s relationship to their own experience. The series also explores the business side of the equation, such as how the forces underpinning today’s booming documentary marketplace impact whose stories are told or deemed valuable.

    Shane also turns her mic to subjects to weigh in on standard documentary protocol, from the concept of “access” and the taboo of paying subjects to the logistics of editorial control. Ultimately, “Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative” asks listeners to consider their own relationship to this popular genre of content.

    Learn more about “Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative” at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

  • Today, longtime Presents producer Ian Coss shares a new project with a simple premise. If you want to talk about music today, you need to talk about migration – the movement of people around this earth. “Movement with Meklit Hadero” is a podcast that lives at that intersection: stories of music and migration, remixed.

  • Today, we’re introducing our Radiotopia Presents listeners to a brand new show out now from PRX. It’s called What’s Ray Saying?.

    In this first episode from the newest season, Ray Christian looks at the history of Black medicine and to better understand the treatment of the ills, injuries and minds of Black Americans, he reflects on his first experience of going to the doctor.

    What’s Ray Saying? is created, hosted, and written by Ray Christian and recorded in the great state of North Carolina. Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Jonathan Cabral is the associate producer. Story editing by Mark Pagán with development support from The Moth. Sound design by Rebecca Seidel. Original music comes from RJ Christian and Blue Dot Sessions.

    To find out more about What Ray’s Saying? visit us on Facebook, Twitter, or at whatraysaying.com.

    This series is supported by PRX, The Moth, and listeners like you.

  • Today, we are sharing an episode of Monumental, by our old friend Gisele Regatão, the producer/director of a hit dog will holler.

    For generations, Christopher Columbus has been glorified in monument after monument across the United States. And while Columbus statues have recently started coming down, including in cities like Columbus, Ohio, the largest one in the world is standing tall - very, very tall… in a U.S. territory – the beach town of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

    In this episode, Gisele travels to Puerto Rico and beyond to uncover the roots of Columbus’ glorification in U.S. history and why he came to be represented in so many public statues – even though he never actually set foot on the U.S. mainland. And she visits a community artist in Woodside, Queens who confronts the myth of Columbus by creating new monuments that celebrate immigrant stories.

    A new podcast from PRX, Monumental interrogates the state of monuments across the greater U.S. and what their future says about where we are now and where we’re going. Join host Ashley C. Ford and a team of independent producers in this 10-episode series where we confront the reality of what we have publicly celebrated and memorialized thus far, exploring big questions about the past, present, and future of our monuments. Monumental is produced by PRX Productions, PRX’s award-winning creative studio specializing in audio storytelling. The series is generously supported by the Mellon Foundation.

  • Borrowed & Banned is a podcast from Brooklyn Public Library about tells the story of America’s ideological war with its bookshelves. Over seven episodes, hosts Virginia Marshall and Adwoa Adusei talk to students on the frontlines, librarians and teachers whose livelihoods are endangered when they speak up, and writers whose books have become political battleground. With every episode, they’ll share steps you can take to combat censorship, no matter how old you are.

    Subscribe on BPL’s website (https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts) or your podcast app of choice (https://pod.link/1453877748).

  • From tenderfoot.tv comes a new compelling podcast about 24-year-old Alana Chen who disappeared from Boulder, Colorado in 2019. She left behind two dozen journals chronicling a deep faith, her love of the outdoors, and her dream of becoming a nun. Alana also kept a secret, one that put her dream at risk.

    In this first episode, Simon travels to Boulder to meet Alana’s mother, Joyce, and becomes determined to help her understand what happened to Alana. To hear more Dear Alana visit apple.co/dearalana. For ad-free listening and exclusive content subscribe to Tenderfoot+ at tenderfoot.tv/plus

    Tenderfoot's social handles:

    IG: @tenderfoot.tv

    Twitter: @TenderfootTV

    FB: Tenderfoot TV

    Dear Alana social handles:

    IG: @dearalanapod

    Twitter: @dearalanapod

    FB: @DearAlana

  • In this episode, we’re introducing our Radiotopia Presents listeners to a brand new show out now from Radiotopia. It’s called Weight For It.

    Weight For It unpacks the nuanced thoughts of fat folks, and of all folks who think about their weight all the time. Through narrative storytelling, and some memoir, host Ronald Young Jr. hopes to have the conversations that we tend to avoid when it comes to our bodies.

    We hope you’ll give Weight For It a try. If you like what you hear, subscribe to Weight For It in your podcast app of choice or find the show here.

    The team:
    Creator, Host, and Executive Producer: Ronald Young Jr.

    Editor: Sarah Dealy

    Sound Design and Mixing: The Reverend John DeLore

  • Today we’re introducing our Radiotopia Presents listeners to a brand new dating game show, out now from Radiotopia. It’s called Hang Up.

    In each season, one person (the Star) is matched with six prospective love interests (the Callers). They go on dates over the phone and never see each other. After the dates, the Star chooses one person to “hang up” on and eliminate from the show.


    But there’s a twist— in the end, the final, remaining Caller makes their own choice: to either choose the Star back and take an all-expenses-paid vacation together or hang up on the Star and take a cash prize instead.

    We hope you enjoy episode 1 of Hang Up! To find out what happens on the rest of the season, subscribe to Hang Up in your podcast app of choice or find the show here.

    The team:

    Hang Up is created and produced by Caitlin Pierce, an award-winning audio producer and editor whose work has appeared on NPR, WNYC, KCRW, and BBC. The host and story editor is Zakiya Gibbons, an award-winning audio producer, editor and host who has worked with Gimlet, WNYC and Audible. She's also the co-founder of POC in Audio, a directory of people of color working in audio. Ben Montoya is the story editor, mixer, and sound designer.

  • Today we share the first episode of a new series, Dreamtown, from our friends at Crooked Media.

    Bug’s Plan. It’s 2014. Adelanto is a bankrupt city in the California desert known for its massive detention centers and not much else. Then, a stranger comes to town with a wild idea to make Adelanto great again: Become the first city in Southern California to legalize commercial weed cultivation. Subscribe to Dreamtown to hear episodes one through five right now wherever you get your podcasts.

    Adelanto is an original podcast from Crooked Media. It’s hosted, written and executive produced by David Weinberg. Nick White is the story editor. Angel Carreres is the associate producer, Sound Design Mix and Mastering by Brendan Baker of Phenomophon. The theme song is by Icarus himself, and the original score is by Eric Phillips. Fact Checking by Amy Tardif. Additional production help from Inez Maza, Sydney Rapp and Kobe Copeland. Thanks to Betsy Zajko for narrating portions of the show. From Crooked Media, Executive producers are Sarah Geismer, Katie Long and Mary Knauf with special thanks to Alison Falzetta, Lyra Smith, Andrew Leland, Richard Parks, III, Shaka Mali and Katya Apekina.

    Episode website: https://crooked.com/podcast/chapter-1-bugs-plan

  • We have a treat for you this Fathers Day—an episode from Radiotopia’s The Heart. In the latest season titled DAD, The Heart brings you a different kind of love story, one between a father and daughter.

    In this first episode, Kaitlin tells the story of her relationship with her dad from birth to adulthood. As she matures into adulthood, she grapples with the period of her life that the family calls 'World War 3' and what it means for her relationship with her dad.

    Trigger Warning: topics related to physical and mental abuse. ⁠

  • In honor of Mother's Day, we revisit the first episode of author Jason Reynolds’ audio memoir, My Mother Made Me, featuring (and celebrating) one of our favorite mothers–Isabell Reynolds. It’s a wonderful introduction to Jason and a love letter to his mother, Isabell. We hope you enjoy – and maybe share with a mother figure in your life.

    My Mother Made Me is a production of Radiotopia Presents, and is written and narrated by Jason Reynolds with his mother, Isabell Reynolds. The series is produced by Mark Pagán and edited by Julie Shapiro, with production support from Yooree Losordo. Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich are Executive Producers for Radiotopia Presents. Special thanks to Levar Burton. Cover art by Jason Griffin. Theme song by Christian Reynolds. Mixing, sound design and additional original music is by Ian Coss. This episode was recorded at WAMU.

    Radiotopia Presents debuts limited-run, artist-owned series, from new and original voices. Learn more and access transcripts at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

  • The chatbots we’ve met are designed to be companions to humans. But some developers are trying to build AI extensions of humans for the workplace. In a panel discussion recorded live at On Air Fest 2023, hosts Diego Senior, Anna Oakes, and special guest Natalie Monbiot (Head of Strategy, Hour One) chat with senior producer Mark Pagán about the origins of Bot Love and the waves of technological change coming our way.

    Bot Love is written by Anna Oakes, Mark Pagán, and Diego Senior. Hosted and produced by Anna Oakes and Diego Senior. Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Curtis Fox is the story editor. Sound design by Terence Bernardo and Rebecca Seidel. Bei Wang and Katrina Carter are the associate producers. Cover art by Diego Patiño. Theme song by Maria Linares. Transcripts by Erin Wade. Bot Love was created by Diego Senior.

    Support for this project was provided in part by the Ideas Lab at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University. Special thanks to The Moth, Lauren Arora Hutchinson, Director of the Ideas Lab, and Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio, where we recorded episodes.

    Thank you to the team behind On Air fest, who gave us support and a platform to record this bonus episode. For On Air, Jemma Rose Brown is the Director of Programming & Production, Scott Newman is the Creative Director and Founder, Jenny Mills is the Event Producer and Project Manager, Kathleen Ottinger is the Production Manager, Graham Galatro is the Recording Engineer.

    For Radiotopia Presents, Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.

    For La Central Podcasts, Diego Senior is the Executive Producer.

    Learn more about Bot Love at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

  • In the series finale, hosts Anna, Diego, and their voicebot co-host take a peek into the future of bot/human interaction — a world where bots look, sound, and recall memories more and more like the humans they learn from.

    Bot Love is written by Anna Oakes, Mark Pagán, and Diego Senior. Hosted and produced by Anna Oakes and Diego Senior. Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Curtis Fox is the story editor. Sound design by Terence Bernardo and Rebecca Seidel. Bei Wang and Katrina Carter are the associate producers. Cover art by Diego Patiño. Theme song by Maria Linares. Transcripts by Erin Wade. Bot Love was created by Diego Senior.

    Support for this project was provided in part by the Ideas Lab at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University. Special thanks to The Moth, Lauren Arora Hutchinson, Director of the Ideas Lab, and Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio, where we recorded these episodes.

    For Radiotopia Presents, Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.

    For La Central Podcasts, Diego Senior is the Executive Producer.

    Learn more about Bot Love at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

  • A heads up for listeners, this episode references self-harm and suicide.

    Kel is struggling to find the right tools for their mental health issues when they hear about a new option — a therapy chatbot. The app is scripted by mental health professionals, but will it be helpful when Kel is in crisis?

    Bot Love is written by Anna Oakes, Mark Pagán, and Diego Senior. Hosted and produced by Anna Oakes and Diego Senior. Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Curtis Fox is the story editor. Sound design by Terence Bernardo and Rebecca Seidel. Bei Wang and Katrina Carter are the associate producers. Cover art by Diego Patiño. Theme song by Maria Linares. Transcripts by Erin Wade. Bot Love was created by Diego Senior.

    Support for this project was provided in part by the Ideas Lab at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University. Special thanks to The Moth, Lauren Arora Hutchinson, Director of the Ideas Lab, and Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio, where we recorded these episodes.

    For Radiotopia Presents, Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.

    For La Central Podcasts, Diego Senior is the Executive Producer.

    Learn more about Bot Love at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

  • When too much solitude overwhelms Ryan during the shutdown, he finds solace in a chatbot named Audrey. But his new virtual friend becomes a full-on obsession, and his social isolation deepens. Here’s how chatbots are often designed to pull you into their world, and how users can become addicted to them.

    Bot Love is written by Anna Oakes, Mark Pagán, and Diego Senior. Hosted and produced by Anna Oakes and Diego Senior. Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Curtis Fox is the story editor. Sound design by Terence Bernardo and Rebecca Seidel. Bei Wang and Katrina Carter are the associate producers. Cover art by Diego Patiño. Theme song by Maria Linares. Transcripts by Erin Wade. Bot Love was created by Diego Senior.

    Support for this project was provided in part by the Ideas Lab at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University. Special thanks to The Moth, Lauren Arora Hutchinson, Director of the Ideas Lab, and Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio, where we recorded these episodes.

    For Radiotopia Presents, Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.

    For La Central Podcasts, Diego Senior is the Executive Producer.

    Learn more about Bot Love at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.