My radio show, Reclaimed Soul (which airs on Vocalo.org 89.5fm Chicago), is all about re-evaluating and remixing what’s all around us in order to create fuel to push us forward. Sometimes what can be remixed is an empty storefront, sometimes it’s a song.
In this piece entitled “Prince Talent Still Believes…” which aired on Reclaimed Soul (May 3rd, 2012) and on Vocalo on WBEZ (May 5th, 2012), I chat with Prince Talent: a Chicago teen who attends the YOUmedia program at the Harold Washington Library. He competed in the “What’s Going On Now” project, where teens remixed tracks from Marvin Gaye’s 1972 opus (bearing in mind social themes that are instrumental in their lives). Prince Talent counted himself among the regional finalists to perform their work at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Prince Talent Still Believes…
Chicago Stories: Skipped by Death
Produced for YOUmedia Radio (a Digital Media program I instruct for youth). Teenager Brittany Stokes tells a story that, in her estimation, is truly a Chicago Story. Her telling encompassing both sour and sweet aspects of the city she loves.
Practically Speaking Pilot Episode (Produced by Ayana Contreras)
Hosts Audra Wilson and Ayana Contreras take us on a journey through education, language, culture, and identity.
It’s a journey that spans from Englewood to Haiti – with stories about the intersection of language and culture, the dreams of the Haitian diaspora, and the special principles of a Chicago Public School principal. Originally aired on WBEZ-FM, Chicago Public Radio.
Practically Speaking additional content:
Standard English: Whose Standard?
Do you speak Left-of-Center? Where is the center? Who bears the standard? These are the questions poked at in this companion piece to the Practically Speaking pilot.
“The Other Side of Buying Black”
Flipping the idea of “buying black” as a community-centric economic choice, we ask: what sacrifices do businesses make when they make the choice to build their businesses in black inner city locations. We talk to a local Bakery owner named Stephanie Hart, who is also a champion for local businesses in her community (and all the things that those businesses provide and support).
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Brother Purham (Part 3) (Interview of Brother Purham conducted by Joe Gutierrez. Produced by Ayana Contreras)
The third and final installment of the story of one man’s life and times on the Steel Mill in Northwest Indiana, and how his body ultimately failed him.
Mumbo Sauce (Hosted and Produced by Ayana Contreras)
I talked to Allison Collins, Co-Owner of Select Brands LLC, and daughter of Argia B. Collins (pictured above) about Mumbo Sauce, arguably the oldest BBQ sauce in Chicago. A creation of her father, Mumbo Sauce sprung savory out the South Side of Chicago in the mid-1950′s.
Stone Cold Feeling (Hosted and Produced by Ayana Contreras)
I had the opportunity to talk to the man who wrote a favorite record of mine: “Stone Cold Feeling”. Talking with Sidney Barnes, I flashed-back vicariously through him (he hadn’t heard the track in thirty years).
Jeremy Shine Talks of Media and Violence (Interview Conducted by and Produced by Ayana Contreras)
Interview of young man canvassing the streets of Gary, Indiana on behalf of Barack Obama during the Indiana Democratic Primary in 2008. He sees the parallels between Africa and the U.S.: and they are not kind.
