Radio Drama Revival

Line producer Matthew Boudreau takes over while David Rheinstrom is away in France. This week's story is A Dread Light Shine in the Serpent's Sky, a collaborative audio fiction piece created for 11th Hour Productions by the folks at Audioblivious Productiobs, Jim Robbie and the Wanderers and Koach Studios.11th Hour Audio - http://www.11thhouraudio.comAudioblivious Productions - https://www.audioblivious.com/Jim Robbie and the Wanderers - http://jimrobbieandthewanderers.com/Koach Studios - http://thefallaudiodrama.wixsite.com/koachstudios

Professor Neil Verma joins me to discuss his essay series, “The Case for Audio Drama”. He’s a professor of Sound Studies at Northwestern University, and a longtime scholar of audio drama. We discuss the history of the form, and areas of his particular interest: radio drama from the 30s through the 50s. But we don’t just talk about old stuff! Professor Verma is as excited as I am about the audio fiction being produced today.Join us as we connect the styles and conventions of the vibrant old stuff to the vibrant new stuff!Prof. Verma’s writing:Arts of Amnesia: The Case for Audio Drama, Part One:http://ro.uow.edu.au/rdr/vol3/iss1/5/Arts of Amnesia: The Case for Audio Drama, Part Two:http://ro.uow.edu.au/rdr/vol3/iss1/6/https://www.amazon.com/Theater-Mind-Imagination-Aesthetics-American/dp/0226853519/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496896536&sr=8-1&keywords=neil+verma

As a note, Alexander Charles Adams now uses they/them pronouns. This week, Alexander Charles Adams of SMASH/CUT joins me to discuss their piece, “Hi, I’m Mattie (HIM)”. Matthew Cavan is an actor and drag queen in Belfast, Northern Ireland; they came out about their HIV-positive status in 2010, and has since faced a torrent of criticism, shaming, and even death threats. The piece we’re playing today, “Hi, I’m Mattie”, is a verbatim piece -- that is, the script is taken word-for-word from interactions that Mattie had on the gay dating app Grindr, where they disclose their HIV-positive status up-front.Afterwards, Alexander (the producer of the piece) joins me to talk about the origins of SMASH/CUT, and many other things besides!Check out their new kickstarter, here:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adamsintheatre/847488277?token=3b1a1021Take the Wondery Survey here:http://www.wondery.com/surveyIf you feel moved to donate to HIV/AIDS-related causes, check out the GMHC: http://www.gmhc.org/

Ahh, ancient Greece. Hot nymphs, raging orgies, much wine, song, and occasional transformations into a goat. All well and good, right?Well things are more wacky than ever in the sizzling and scandalous interpretation of the myth of Orpheus done by Roger Gregg, The Stuff of Myth.This great production won a Gold Ogle in 2007 and has gotten rave reviews as a stage play. Now hear what the buzz is all about in Parts 3-4 of The Stuff of Myth.

NOTE: This interview took place before Daniel Mallory Ortberg came out as a man, so you'll hear me call him by his previous name and use female pronouns.Here are the rest of the show notes as they ran in May 2017:We conclude our two-part conversation series around The Handmaid's Tale, which you can find in an Audio Drama form over at Secrets, Crimes, and Audiotape. This week, I had the great pleasure of talking to Mallory Ortberg, a writer, culture critic, and advice columnist. She's Dear Prudence over at Slate, and she used to run a magnificent site called The Toast.In this episode, we discuss: The Handmaid's Tale and White Feminism How to avoid becoming an Internal Expat* Fending off the Republic of Gileadand much, much more!

Ahh, ancient Greece. Hot nymphs, raging orgies, much wine, song, and occasional transformations into a goat. All well and good, right?Well things are more wacky than ever in the sizzling and scandalous interpretation of the myth of Orpheus done by Roger Gregg, The Stuff of Myth.This great production won a Gold Ogle in 2007 and has gotten rave reviews as a stage play. Now hear what the buzz is all about in Parts 1-2 of The Stuff of Myth.

Podcaster, culture critic, and ne'er-do-well Margaret Willison (of Appointment Television and NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour) joins me to talk about THE HANDMAID'S TALE -- specifically, the 2000 production by John Dryden that ran recently on Secrets, Crimes, and Audiotape (our sibling show on the Wondery Network).Join me and Margaret as we alternate between quality goofs and serious discussion.Margaret's newsletter, TWO BOSSY DAMES: tinyletter.com/twobossydamesMargaret's podcast, APPOINTMENT TELEVISION: atvpodcast.comA Handmaid's Guide to Cambridge, by Margaret's pal Rachel: rachelbythebooks.com/blog/2016/2/28/the-handmaids-guide-to-cambridgeSecrets, Crimes, and Audiotape: http://wondery.com/wondery/shows/secretscrimes/

Today RDR from the Vault launches a series of episodes highlighting Roger Gregg, playwright master of Dublin, Ireland.Roger pioneered his own audio sound, a wacky blend of Captain Beefheart sonic assault and an intimate, fine theatre sensibility. He produced for RTE - that’s the public radio of Ireland- for the better part of a decade and since parting ways with them has continued on mostly on stage but ocacsionally gracing us with an audio piece. What we’ll hear today is one of the latter types, from the post-RTE era of Roger’s work, done during his work as a theatre instructor at the Gaiety school of Acting in Ireland.This is “Heart of Morphine”Morgan O’Brien hangs in limbo between life and death, and finds the afterlife a much wilder place than he imagined. Confused, frustrated, and alone, he is forced to confront the reality of his actions made while alive. But is there still time to go back and change things?

This week, things are going to get spooky at Radio Drama Revival as we delve into the world of horror audio fiction. David talks to Marc Sollinger and Dan Powell, the evil minds behind Archive 81 and The Deep Vault. They discuss the horror fiction that makes them tick, how to construct audio fiction that’ll make your skin crawl, and what it’s like to collaborate with one of your closest friends. We’ll also take a listen to the first episode of their show Archive 81, which is about a young man with a new job, recordings from an uncanny apartment building, and the dangers of listening.

Re-play of the 2012 BBC Series "The Mumbai Chuzzlewits," adapted by Ayeesha Menon from the Charles Dickens novel "Martin Chuzzlewits," and transposed to Modern India. Produced by John Dryden of Goldhawk Productions.Convinced his relatives are after his money, miserly old recluse Martin Chuzzlewit (Roshan Seth), adopts orphan girl, Mary (Nimrat Kaur), to be his carer. As she will inherit nothing upon his death, he believes she will do her utmost to keep him in good health. But when his grandson Mickey (Zafar Karachiwala) falls in love with her, Martin's plans are thrown into disarray. Disinheriting him, Martin triggers a complex web of deceit, betrayal and manipulation as the extended family and hangers-on close in, in pursuit of his fortune.Mickey returns to India determined to show his grandfather he is a changed man and to marry Mary, the love of his life. But, in his absence, things have changed; the old man now appears to be under the control of the scheming Pinto who will not let Mickey near him. And Tho

My Wondery Network pal Lindsay Graham joins me to talk about his political thriller series, TERMS, in which a terrifying demagogue captures the U.S. Presidency. The outgoing president does everything in his power to stop him, by pulling out some astonishingly dirty tricks. There's something in it for folks of every political persuasion.It's a fabulous show, and not to be missed! We play the first two episodes of TERMS, and then Lindsay and I sit down to talk about the show's origins, his theory of politics, and Nazi-punching.Meanwhile, our producer Eli is starting up a crowdfunding campaign for season 2 of his magnificent series, ALBA SALIX, ROYAL PHYSICIAN. You can find out more by going to http://albasalix.com/season2This episode of Radio Drama Revival is brought to you by Bose! Check out their fancy listening devices at http://bose.com/podcast

Re-play of the 2012 BBC Series "The Mumbai Chuzzlewits," adapted by Ayeesha Menon from the Charles Dickens novel "Martin Chuzzlewits," and transposed to Modern India. Produced by John Dryden of Goldhawk Productions.Convinced his relatives are after his money, miserly old recluse Martin Chuzzlewit (Roshan Seth), adopts orphan girl, Mary (Nimrat Kaur), to be his carer. As she will inherit nothing upon his death, he believes she will do her utmost to keep him in good health. But when his grandson Mickey (Zafar Karachiwala) falls in love with her, Martin's plans are thrown into disarray. Disinheriting him, Martin triggers a complex web of deceit, betrayal and manipulation as the extended family and hangers-on close in, in pursuit of his fortune.Disinherited by his grandfather, Mickey Chuzzlewit escapes India and tries to make his fortune in Dubai. In his absence, the scheming Pinto and murderous Joseph join forces in an attempt to get hold of the old man's fortune. And while Thomas's feelings grow for Mickey's fi

Children's author, jazz bassist, and entertainment impresario Chris Tarry joins me for a talk about his production, THE UNEXPLAINABLE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARS PATEL. We play the first episode of the show -- a kind of thriller-adventure for middle schoolers -- and talk about his musical history, telling stories that represent all kinds of kids, and the importance of getting into Good Trouble.

Re-play of the 2012 BBC Series "The Mumbai Chuzzlewits," adapted by Ayeesha Menon from the Charles Dickens novel "Martin Chuzzlewits," and transposed to Modern India. Produced by John Dryden of Goldhawk Productions.Convinced his relatives are after his money, miserly old recluse Martin Chuzzlewit (Roshan Seth), adopts orphan girl, Mary (Nimrat Kaur), to be his carer. As she will inherit nothing upon his death, he believes she will do her utmost to keep him in good health. But when his grandson Mickey (Zafar Karachiwala) falls in love with her, Martin's plans are thrown into disarray. Disinheriting him, Martin triggers a complex web of deceit, betrayal and manipulation as the extended family and hangers-on close in, in pursuit of his fortune.Told from the point of view of orphan Thomas (Karan Pandit), an observer into the world of the Chuzzlewits, this is a fast-paced drama full of intrigue, romance, suspense and murder...

Join me as we dive into the world of The Penumbra, an anthology series that updates classic genre stories with some well-deserved representation. We play their revised Part I of Juno Steel and the Murderous Mask, and chat about genre fiction, the philosophy of science fiction, and Problematic Faves.

By special permission from Tom Lopez (AKA Meatball Fulton) we have another edition of RDR in the Vault!While exploring a cave in Belize, Jack Flanders hears a voice calling his name. Deep within, he discovers a woman who appears to have risen up out of the cave floor. Her entire body is covered in tiny calcite crystals. Jack wonders, “Is she a Mayan goddess of the Underworld?” But then he wakes up.Jack keeps having these dreams, being lost in a cave until finally in the jungles of Belize, he finds the cave he’s been dreaming about. And within, he discovers something even more extraordinary, the skulls of two crystal maidens. The words they whisper to him not only affect his future, but also the lives of those who hear his story.PART 3 of 3. If you like this show, check out the ZBS streaming website, ZBSmedia.com

Multimedia artist Richard Penner joins me for a chat about his surreal, experimental microfiction show, The Infinite Now, a program that features a mysterious entity known only as The TIMESCANNER.Richard and I talk about the origins of the show, the nature of time, love, and the beautiful poison of chemical pigments.If you head over to theinfinitenow.org, you can catch an EXCLUSIVE interview I did with the TIMESCANNER himself. It's pretty friggin' sweet.

By special permission from Tom Lopez (AKA Meatball Fulton) we have another edition of RDR in the Vault!While exploring a cave in Belize, Jack Flanders hears a voice calling his name. Deep within, he discovers a woman who appears to have risen up out of the cave floor. Her entire body is covered in tiny calcite crystals. Jack wonders, “Is she a Mayan goddess of the Underworld?” But then he wakes up.Jack keeps having these dreams, being lost in a cave until finally in the jungles of Belize, he finds the cave he’s been dreaming about. And within, he discovers something even more extraordinary, the skulls of two crystal maidens. The words they whisper to him not only affect his future, but also the lives of those who hear his story.PART 2 of 3. If you like this show, check out the ZBS streaming website, ZBSmedia.com

I had the opportunity to talk to Ann Heppermann, the founder of the Sarah Awards, and a co-host of the marvelous audio art podcast SERENDIPITY.We talk about the origin of the awards, her fictitious self on the podcast, and her history working with audio tape. Enjoy!

By special permission from Tom Lopez (AKA Meatball Fulton) we have another edition of RDR in the Vault!While exploring a cave in Belize, Jack Flanders hears a voice calling his name. Deep within, he discovers a woman who appears to have risen up out of the cave floor. Her entire body is covered in tiny calcite crystals. Jack wonders, “Is she a Mayan goddess of the Underworld?” But then he wakes up.Jack keeps having these dreams, being lost in a cave until finally in the jungles of Belize, he finds the cave he’s been dreaming about. And within, he discovers something even more extraordinary, the skulls of two crystal maidens. The words they whisper to him not only affect his future, but also the lives of those who hear his story.PART 1 of 3. If you like this show, check out the ZBS streaming website, ZBSmedia.com