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Playlist: Becky Palmstrom's Portfolio

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Southern Sudanese in Kenya vote for a new country

From Becky Palmstrom | 05:18

As the newest country in the world celebrates, Becky Palmstrom travels to Kenya to hear the prayers and songs of the refugees waiting to return to their homeland.

Img_1202_small Come July, Southern Sudan is set to become the newest country in the world. The journey to independence has not been easy. After decades of war between north and south, a peace treaty finally gave South Sudan a chance to vote for independence. Becky Palmstrom went to Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya, where thousands of Southern Sudanese refugees have spent decades living in exile, waiting to return. There the referendum is literally an answer to their prayers. This piece brings you to this barren region of Kenya through the voices, the ambiance and the songs of these refugees.

Musings on a censored newspaper.

From Becky Palmstrom | 04:07

With the release of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in November 2010, Becky Palmstrom reflects on her time spent working for a censored newspaper in Myanmar (Burma).

She talks with Chris Davy who continues to work under censorship in Yangon (Rangoon). The piece examines how the Burmese junta obstructs the free press, how the release of the daughter of Burma’s independence hero was reported inside the country and how journalists working under censorship keep going, despite the challenges.

080907_17_small With the release of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in November 2010, Becky Palmstrom reflects on her time spent working for a censored newspaper in Myanmar (Burma). She talks with Chris Davy who continues to work under censorship in Yangon (Rangoon). The piece examines how the Burmese junta obstructs the free press, how the release of the daughter of Burma’s independence hero was reported inside the country and how journalists working under censorship keep going, despite the challenges.

Profile of a musician in a refugee camp in Kenya.

From Becky Palmstrom | 04:07

Scisa Rumenge is a Congolese musician living in Kakuma Refugee camp in the north of Kenya. He taught himself to play guitar in the camp and sings about his life in Congo and now in exile. The piece uses Rumenge's music and the ambiance of the camp at night to offer a glimpse into what life is like in a camp that has existed for almost two decades and holds 75,000 people from 13 different countries.

Refugees have always used music to tell their stories, from the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars to K'Naan who wrote this year's World Cup theme song, but this piece highlights a refugee crisis few people know about. It also profiles a talented and currently unknown musician.

Img_1743_small Scisa Rumenge is a Congolese musician living in Kakuma Refugee camp in the north of Kenya. He taught himself to play guitar in the camp and sings about his life in Congo and now in exile. The piece uses Rumenge's music and the ambiance of the camp at night to offer a glimpse into what life is like in a camp that has existed for almost two decades and holds 75,000 people from 13 different countries. Refugees have always used music to tell their stories, from the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars to K'Naan who wrote this year's World Cup theme song, but this piece highlights a refugee crisis few people know about. It also profiles a talented and currently unknown musician.

Digging up the West Coast's first fraternity

From Becky Palmstrom | 04:10

It turns out fraternities are not just popular in pop culture, but are as old as America itself. Dr Laurie Wilkie and Dr Grahaeme Hesp offer a historical perspective on why these organizations are so secretive. On campus at Berkeley, Becky Palmstrom visits the original chapter house of the first fraternity “west of the Mississippi”, Zeta Psi and gets a glimpse of their initiation ritual and what hazing in the 1870’s might have looked like.

You can visit what was once the Zeta Psi Chapter house at 2251 College Street, Berkeley. It’s now the anthropology department and is situated next to the Bolts School of Law.

Frat_2_small It turns out fraternities are not just popular in pop culture, but are as old as America itself. Dr Laurie Wilkie and Dr Grahaeme Hesp offer a historical perspective on why these organizations are so secretive. On campus at Berkeley, Becky Palmstrom visits the original chapter house of the first fraternity “west of the Mississippi”, Zeta Psi and gets a glimpse of their initiation ritual and what hazing in the 1870’s might have looked like. You can visit what was once the Zeta Psi Chapter house at 2251 College Street, Berkeley. It’s now the anthropology department and is situated next to the Bolts School of Law.

Talking with the dead: One on one with Ireland’s most famous psychic

From Becky Palmstrom | 05:10

Sandra O’Hara is a psychic channeller from Ireland. Becky Palmstrom gets more than she bargained for in a one-on-one interview. They discuss Sandra’s role in police investigations and what it’s like to talk with the dead.

Default-piece-image-0 Sandra O’Hara is a psychic channeller from Ireland. Becky Palmstrom gets more than she bargained for in a one-on-one interview. They discuss Sandra’s role in police investigations and what it’s like to talk with the dead.

A Day in the life of a Singing Telegram

From Becky Palmstrom | 04:16

Becky Palmstrom follows a day in a life of a singing telegram and asks – who uses singing telegrams in the 21st century? This segment profiles Grant Thompson from Bubaloons and Tunes – a business that offers 84 different singing telegram characters to customers across the East Bay. From wooing back a loved one; getting even with a boss who fired you or brightening up the day of a 97-year old in hospital – singing telegrams are fighting the recession here in Berkeley.

Default-piece-image-0 Becky Palmstrom follows a day in a life of a singing telegram and asks – who uses singing telegrams in the 21st century? This segment profiles Grant Thompson from Bubaloons and Tunes – a business that offers 84 different singing telegram characters to customers across the East Bay. From wooing back a loved one; getting even with a boss who fired you or brightening up the day of a 97-year old in hospital – singing telegrams are fighting the recession here in Berkeley.