Soundings

Grace Wallis: History of el Camino Real

Course projects for Oralcomm 130

Water on Concrete: An LA River Story

If a river could talk, who’s story would it tell? Running 51 miles through one of the most urbanized landscapes in the world, the Los Angeles River is overflowing with a rich history, a complex present, and a contested future. Travel down its concrete banks with producer Cameron Tenner, as he uncovers a story of power, exploitation, and resilience.
Special thanks to Catherine Gudis, Robert García, Irma Muñoz, Steven Appleton, Johanna Hackett, and all those who spoke with and guided me along the way.
Music:​ Memory Wind by Podington Bear, Los Angeles New Years by Woody Guthrie

My Mexican Dream

I would have been born here, had my parents never left this town for the U.S. In my journey, I retrace my steps back to Malinaltenango, Mexico, the land my parents have always called home and a land I have never really known on my own. During my time here, I struggle with ideas of identity, belonging, family, and trauma. I re-open wounds that have long been sealed to make sense of my life in relation to my grandmothers. “It’s a part of my history that I never like to think about, because it makes me sad, or maybe guilty for being born when I was and where I was. Or maybe I don’t think about it because it makes me fear loneliness. Because what if they pain of loneliness is just as transferable as their love?”
Producer: ​Andrea Flores

The Stories They Don’t Tell: the Vietnam War at Home

Description: In Hue, Vietnam, bullet holes and bunkers are constant reminders of the stories no one mentions. In New York, a daughter tries to understand how the war in Vietnam has shaped her father’s life and hers. In both worlds, however, “History is politics” and silence is the rule. But what happens when we start asking about memory, not History?
Producer: Axelle Marcantetti

What I’m Grateful For -- Besher’s Story

Besher grew up in Syria till the war forced him, and his family, to flee. This non-narrated portrait follows his journey from Aleppo to California and finally to Stanford Medical School.
Produced as part of MED 232 Global Health course (2018)
Producer: Besher Ashouri
(and Jake warga)
Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/seier/1477997213

A Postcard from Mariana

Hurricane Maria revealed a dependency on the government but there was one community that used it as an opportunity to claim their independence. “There was no government here. And we couldn't wait for the government. We couldn't wait for anyone.” In this story I visit of the community of Mariana that has tried to separate themselves from the government.
Producer: Gabriela Nagle Alverio
Music: Puerto Rico from Pastel Beach by Englewood, Elementary wave by Erokia, Night Cave by Lee Rosevere.

The taste of war: The Koreans and U.S. combat ration

What does a war taste like? Tracing the history of U.S. military combat ration in Korea, the podcast tells the Koreans’ bittersweet encounters with America.
Producer: Won-Gi Jung
Music: “Submerging Blue-Black” by Podington Bear, in Fathomless-Ambient
“Memory Wind” by Podington Bear, in Fathomless-Ambient

Brains and Bronze: How Octavius Catto came back to life

Octavius Catto, a 19th century activist, stands in bronze as the first statue of a black man on Philadelphia public property. And he’s coming back to life in other ways--on a giant mural, and in the art and social justice scenes of the city. What would this statue of an activist from history say to the activists surrounding it now...why is he back, and what’s he trying to tell us?
Produced in memory of Willis “Nomo” Humphrey.
Producer: Melina Walling
Featuring: Melina Walling, Keir Johnston, Shakirah, Eddy, Kim McCleary, Branly Cadet, Dejay Duckett, Paul Farber
Music: sonder, johnny_ripper, epilogue; Everybody Wants Gold and a Mermaid, Tony Higgins, Ray-A Life Underwater; You Can Calmly Put This Thing Together (Piece by Piece), junior85, Upside Down, Left to Right; Flight, Nctrnm, EQUINOX

Seeing with Sound

If sound matters, why? I am not alone in fearing blindness, because we live in a world of visuals. Whether I am reading a book, following street signs, or hopping on a train, I can’t imagine navigating a world without my eyes. I tune out the cacophony of cars, squeaks, barks, and pedestrian crossings on a daily basis. In privileging sight, what am I missing in sound?
“When you close your eyes you begin to feel your body. You become aware of your non-visual abilities,” said Thomas Tajo, a blind echolocator. I speak with human echolocators, eye researchers, and music professors to discover just how much sound has to offer. Close your eyes. Tune in, and listen to what is revealed.
Producer: Chloe Barreau
Music:
Veni Creator Spiritus by John Dunstable (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dYAEpf-A-A)
Lost and Found by Podington Bear
Three Colors by Podington Bear

Respite: a journey into Foster Care

You’re six years old. Child protective services removed you from the only life you’ve ever known and placed you in state custody, into the foster care system.
Producer: ​​Rachel Vaughan
Music:​​
Junior85 - You can calmly put this thing together Lee Rosevere - And So Then
Podington Bear - Daydreamer