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New Show:
A Trio of Podcasts
A Trio of Podcasts
To complement Curtis Fox's current Manifesto on Podcasts, we're featuring a few interesting examples of the genre submitted to Transom over the past year or so.

  1. "Frickin Circus" by Frick is part audio blog, part travel show, part behind-the-scenes look at The Circus.

  2. "Dial-A-Stranger" by Zachary Kent and Mercedes Martinez takes questions from random strangers (like you), and poses them to other strangers (like you) on the telephone.

  3. "Love & Radio" Produced by Nick van der Kolk is somewhere between NPR and a shockumentary special. It's a surreal journey into a confusing world of ex-lovers, ex-cult members, and fruit. Lots of fruit.
New Guest:
Curtis Fox
Curtis Fox
As satisfying as the work can be, it's tough to make a living as an independent producer in public radio. Producers have traditionally circumvented this problem with Day Jobs, sometimes capitalizing on public radio skills. That was true with Audiobooks a while back, and it's true of Podcasts now. Curtis Fox is a Master of Podcasts and in his Transom Manifesto, he tells you how he ended up where he is. He'll also tell you about the implications of podcasting's rise on the public radio talent pool. And, you can hear Curtis' recent taped presentation at the PRPD. And ask him questions.
New Show:
Fake City, Real Dreams
Fake City, Real Dreams
Zak Rosen is a radio producer. Neil Greenberg is a map-maker. They're both from Detroit, but their hearts are in a different city, a city they think is possible--at least in the imagination and maybe in reality.

The radio piece they made together treats this place as if it were real. It is a creative exercise that hints at a plausible future. Fake City, Real Dreams is unlike any "arts feature" you've heard before.

 

Other Recent Updates by Category...

Shows

Self/FLIK Call Out Self/FLIK Call Out

Transom, in association with Art Outlet and the Flik International Movie Festival, is seeking multi-media self-portraits to be featured at the festival and on the site. We'll offer honoraria to those we put on Transom. All stories must be non-fiction, under five minutes, and include both audio and visual components. The visual can literally reflect the story, or complement it – your choice. Along with your soundtrack, you can use photo slideshows, cut up old films and videos, animation, footage of locations or related imagery, or even a series of hand drawings. Whatever works for the story.

Special Features

Deep Wireless 2008 Deep Wireless 2008

For the third time, we sent Transom Bloggers to the Radio Without Boundaries Conference at Canada's Deep Wireless Festival. Our correspondent Justin Grotelueschen, web/podcast/audio/video man, has blogged the conference for us before and says it's the most inspiring event of its kind, full of enough art, ideas, and play to occupy both halves of your brain. This year, he'll be accompanied by Nick van der Kolk, self-described as "the main brain behind alt.NPR's Love & Radio, a freelance radio producer, documentarian, and man about town." Check out their reports from the front and ask them what's happening.


The Review

Jesse Hardman Jesse Hardman

Producing in a war zone, editing in a foreign language, circumventing censorship, collaborating with Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, and Catholic staff, making radio far away from here. Jesse Hardman and his team from Sri Lanka have been on Transom for the last month or so. They've left wonderful comments about their work, full of an intensity about the importance of radio journalism. Come be re-invigorated about what we do and its possibilities, however difficult to realize, around the world. Our downloadable issue of The Transom Review is ready.

Elizabeth Arnold Elizabeth Arnold

Now you can download Elizabeth's frank and useful Manifesto "On Interviewing," along with her dialog with Transom users. Elizabeth talks about interview situations from Alaska to Sri Lanka to Mongolia to Capital Hill. "I don't think being dispassionate necessarily translates into fairness or even objectivity. Often it translates into a boring story where you can actually feel the distance between the reporter and the subject and even more troubling to me, the reporter or host can often sound downright condescending. I hate that!"

Creature Comforts
We've compiled our interview (and associated videos) with the creative team of "Creature Comforts" for this issue of the downloadable Transom Review. "Creature Comforts" is a remarkable claymation feature using interviews with actual people as the guide track. Some of the interviews are done by public radio producers and it's an edifying look at an unusual re-purposing. And, a lot of fun.

Other Recent Reviews:

...more reviews »

Tools

HHb FlashMic DRM85 HHb FlashMic DRM85

Continuing in Transom's tradition of reviewing the new digital field gear for radio reporting, our Tools Editor Jeff Towne has just finished testing the HHb FlashMics, in both cardioid and omni versions. He posits, "What if you could have a good interview mic, and not worry about cables, or phantom power, or whether the mic is compatible with your recorder? What if you could hold it and operate it with one hand? Well, you can." This is a unique field recorder, albeit expensive and with a few other downsides--but, depending on your requirements, certainly a tool you should check out.

Olympus LS-10 Olympus LS-10

TOOLS Editor Jeff Towne has been living and working with another of the new little digital recorders and just added his review to our roster. Like all Jeff's reviews, it approaches the machine from the radio producer's perspective, complete with lots of photos, sound tests, and a comparision chart. The Olympus LS-10, depending on your needs, is pretty close to the mark... and it's cute, especially when it's wearing its little earmuff windscreens.

Sony PCM-D50 Sony PCM-D50

Transom is committed to testing new tools for public radio producers. To that end, our TOOLS editor Jeff Towne has reviewed a lot of the new small digital recorders. They're getting better. In fact, of the Sony PCM-D50, Jeff says, "Among all the small handheld flash recorders, the Sony D50 certainly is near the front of the pack. It does most things right, with only a few minor problems, and no tragic flaws." So, it's not quite perfect, but if you're in the market, you should check out this review.

...more tools »

Transom Excerpts
Tour the Transom

Listen to a 20 minute audio tour of Transom.org.
How It Works

Join this experiment in audio-and-the-internet. We're looking for new and different voices, for good ideas. Record your stories. Send them to us. Listen to other people's work and talk about it.

...more on how it works »

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