freelance Audio production and consulting work:
2023-present: Lead producer and editor of Wild Interest, an audio magazine podcast hosted by and created for kids. The show aims to be interesting and educational but also fun, and it’s focused on encouraging curiosity and wonder about the world in a format that cultivates comfort, safety, and connection.
2021-present: Programming Coordinator for Radio Free Montclair. Working with a team of volunteers, I’m helping to create an online, freeform community radio station for the residents of Montclair, New Jersey and the surrounding area. I coordinate the acquisition of broadcast content, help assemble the programming schedule, built and maintain the station website, and assist with technical logistics.
2023: Solicited dozens of audio testimonials from worldwide members of the Association of Independents in Radio, cleanup up the recordings, captioned them, and packaged them into a half hour video slideshow that was displayed to attendees of the organization’s 35th anniversary party in New York City.
2021-2022: I edited and mixed three seasons of “The People’s People,” a podcast series from Spectrum News featuring in-depth interviews with elected officials to understand who they are and what makes them tick. The first season focused on the state of Maine, while subsequent seasons turned to Hawaii and St. Louis, Missouri.
2021: Producer and host of the Hidden Montclair tour, a 30 minute, self-guided audio walking tour of the built environment of downtown Montclair, New Jersey. Produced for Montclair Design Week 2021 using binaural microphones. Listen on Soundcloud or download it here.
2020-2022: Lead producer and co-host of Shelter, a podcast series looking at housing insecurity in the midst of Covid-19 and the role academic and religious institutions can play in partnering with the community to seek solutions. Working with an assistant producer and a team of collaborators, I trained ten novice, community-based reporters to gather field tape, and I assembled six episodes focused around the question: “In an age of pandemic, what does it mean to shelter in place when you have no shelter?” The show was made in partnership with Rutgers University’s Center for Cultural Analysis, the Rutgers Department of History, the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and coLAB Arts.
2020: Co-host and producer of “Please Explain,” a 5 episode, daily, livestreamed video talk show as part of Montclair Design Week, where residents of Montclair, NJ and the surrounding area asked questions they’ve always wondered about their community, and we brought on knowledgeable guests to help provide answers. Watch the complete series here.
2020: Worked with talent to record, edit, and produce a bilingual telephone hold recording for Cooling System Caribe, a radiator manufacturing and repair company based in Aibonito, Puerto Rico
2018-2019: Reporter and Oral Historian for the 37 Voices Project. Working with a team of five other journalists and several community groups including Free Press, coLAB Arts, and the United Way of Northern NJ, I recorded oral history interviews with residents of New Jersey’s Essex and Middlesex Counties to capture a snapshot of the 37% of households in the state that earn less than the basic cost of living and have trouble affording things like housing, child care, food, healthcare, and transportation. The interviews were then transcribed and archived on a website, turned into podcasts and a dramatic performance, and used by researchers at Rutgers who are studying issues of inequality. We also wrote in-depth articles examining some of the topics that were raised in our conversations. Read more background about the project here.
2013-2014: Contract editor for the Oklahoma Tornado Project, a year-long series produced by public radio station KGOU in Central Oklahoma, focusing on the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes that hit the state in May, 2013.
2009: Consultant for the [murmur] audio project in Orange, NJ, where I taught high school students in an after-school program to record oral history stories from fellow Orange residents and business owners. The stories were then posted on a telephone voicemail system, and signs were placed around town, giving people a phone number they could call while standing at given locations to "hear about here." Listen in the player on the right.
2000 - present: Miscellaneous reporting, field recording, and production services for various clients including NPR, BBC World Service, Marketplace, This American Life, Radiolab, Freakonomics, The World, The New York Times / The Daily podcast, Studio 360, Latino USA, Transmitter Media, Pineapple Street Media, WYPR, Pushkin Enterprises, Somethin’ Else, Pop-up Magazine, Weekend America, Sirius OutQ, Prison Radio, National Native News, AARP, Kyndryl, Blanchard House, Loftus Media, Intelligence Squared US, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Snap Judgment, American Public Media, Interesting People Reading Poetry, New America / Better Life Lab, CNN Radio, Repeat Customer podcast, Better Life Lab, The Environment Report, New Unique Broadcasting Company, World Vision Report, Distillations, Radio Netherlands, Radio for Peace International, Free Speech Radio News, Pacifica Radio.
February, 2008: Gathered profiles of Oklahoma voters for The New York Times website for "Voices from the Polls," an interactive feature for Super Tuesday
Lectures and presentations:
August, 2023: “Driving to Mongolia and Other Audio Adventures From Around the World.” Two hour extended slideshow, presentation, and Q&A with the audience at Cafe Globen, a travelers’ cafe in Copenhagen, Denmark
May, 2023: “Far From Home: Audio Adventures From Around the World.” Slideshow and presentation at the South Orange, NJ Public Library where I spoke, played audio clips from my podcast, spoke about my reporting experiences, and showed photos and videos from my travels.
photo courtesy of Derek Palmer / Emerson College
May, 2019: Expression: Live! speech to members of the Emerson College Alumni Association in Boston, MA about my podcast and road trip to Mongolia as part of the 2016 Mongol Rally - LINK (begins at 37:30)
March, 2017: Guest panelist at National Broadcasting Society-AERho (National Electronic Media Association) NY-NJ Convention. Topic - "Mobile Media: Stories on the Go," East Rutherford, NJ
April, 2016: Guest panelist at Rutgers University Department of Journalism discussion on "Cleaning up New Jersey's Toxic Legacy," New Brunswick, NJ
March, 2016: Featured speaker at Missouri School of Journalism / Reynolds Journalism Institute's Collaboration Culture Symposium, discussing my collaborative reporting on New Jersey's recovery from Superstorm Sandy / Video of my talk here
June, 2015: Featured speaker at ivoh's Restorative Narrative Summit in Haines Falls, NY
June, 2014: Presenter at "Stories You Can't Tell on the Radio," UnionDocs Center for Documentary Arts, Brooklyn, NY
April, 2014: Panelist at Innovating the Local News Ecosystem conference at Montclair State University
January, 2009: Presenter of "An Evening of Memorable Audio" at Untitled [ArtSpace], Oklahoma City, OK
October, 2006: Co-moderator of Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Debate on OETA / Oklahoma Public Television
July, 2006: Moderator of Oklahoma Gubernatorial Debate at the University of Oklahoma
June, 2006: Moderator of Oklahoma Democratic Lieutenant Governor Candidates Debate, Oklahoma City, OK
GEAR:
Marantz PMD 661, Zoom F3, Zoom F2, Tascam DR-40, and Zoom H1 digital flash recorders
Rode NTG-2 and AT835b shotgun microphones
PSC Windboss zeppelin microphone windscreen housing
K-Tek KE110CCR 9' boom pole
AKG D230 ENG omnidirectional microphone
CAD Trion 7000 ribbon mic / Grace Design M101 preamp
Sound Professionals MS-TFB-2 in-ear binaural mics
Samson Qmic and thomann t.bone MB75 Beta cardioid mics
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 digital audio interfaces
JK Audio Broadcast Host digital telephone hybrid
Soundcraft EPM 6 mixing console
Bose studio monitors
Auralex Acoustics sound tiles
Sony MDR-7506 and MDR-V6 headphones
Hindenburg Pro 2 audio editing software
Panasonic Toughbook model FZ-55