Playlist: Zak Rosen's Portfolio
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Work in Progress
From Zak Rosen | 17:50
How Detroiters are reimagining, redefining, and reconsidering what it means to work in the 21st century.
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- Work in Progress
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Work in Progress explores how, in Detroit, today, out of creativity, necessity and compassion, a new idea of Work is emerging.
Detroit is in the midst of an economic and cultural revolution, “as awesome as the transition from Hunting and Gathering to Agriculture 11,000 years ago and from Agriculture to Industry a few hundred years ago," says philosopher, Grace Lee Boggs, one of the voices in the documentary.
To illustrate this incremental, yet seismic cultural shift, the piece focuses on the story of one woman, a former autoworker, who after a traumatic accident, began to re-imagine her day-to-day existence, as well as that of Detroit's underclass.
We'll also hear from other Detroiters, who understand why they is in it's current state, and how a new kind of culture is emerging out of it.
Detroit's Floating Post Office
From Zak Rosen | 02:52
On the banks of the Detroit River, sits the J.W. Westcott. The ship is only 45 feet long. But believe it or not, it has its own zip code.
Since 1874, the J.W. Westcott Company has served the Great Lakes Waterways, delivering mail and freight to cargo ships on the Detroit River.
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- Detroit's Floating Post Office
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- Zak Rosen
On the banks of the Detroit River, sits the J.W. Westcott. The ship is only 45 feet long. But believe it or not, it has its own zip code.
Since 1874, the J.W. Westcott Company has served the Great Lakes Waterways, delivering mail and freight to cargo ships on the Detroit River.
On the Rise Bakery
From World Vision Report | Part of the Stories from the World Vision Report series | 07:11
Detroit’s image is pretty tarnished these days. Car factories are closed. Unemployment is through the roof -- as high as 50% according to some officials. So it might come as a surprise to hear that new businesses are actually opening in Detroit. They’re small ones -- like On the Rise Bakery. It’s trying to extend a hand to the city’s most down and out population. Zak Rosen has our story.
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- On the Rise Bakery
- From
- World Vision Report
If you air this piece, please include a back announce saying "This piece originally aired on the World Vision Report." or "This piece came to us from the World Vision Report."
Getting Full For Free: Dumpster Diving in the D
From Zak Rosen | 05:07
Detroiter Jean Wilson takes us to one of her favorite organic markets. Well, actually, to a dumpster behind the market .
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- Getting Full For Free: Dumpster Diving in the D
- From
- Zak Rosen
Detroiter Jean Wilson took WDET's Zak Rosen to one of her favorite organic markets the other night. Well, actually, she took him to dumpster behind the market to talk all about how she and a lot of other people are getting full for free in Metro Detroit. Jean Wilson has been diving for herself, friends, neighbors, and even her mother for more than five years. The 50-year old Wilson estimates she's spent $50 on food in the last five years!
Brooklyn, NY: Change Happens
From Al Letson | Part of the State of the Re:Union: Season One series | 53:53
Brooklyn is New York's most populous borough. Ever evolving, Brooklyn has been celebrated as everything from a bastion of industry to a refuge for immigrants from around the world. This episode of SOTRU charts Brooklyn's evolution, celebrates the diverse communities and explores both sides of the dilemma that high-rise condos and gentrification has brought.
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- Brooklyn, NY: Change Happens
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- Al Letson
State of the Re:Union
Brooklyn, NY: Change Happens
Host: Al Letson
Producer: Zak Rosen
DESCRIPTION: Brooklyn is New York's most populous borough. Ever evolving, Brooklyn has been celebrated as everything from a bastion of industry to a refuge for immigrants from around the world. This episode of SOTRU charts Brooklyn's evolution, celebrates the diverse communities and explores both sides of the dilemma that high-rise condos and gentrification has brought.
BILLBOARD (:59)
Incue: From PRX and WJCT...
Outcue: But first, this news.
NEWS HOLE: 1:00- 6:00
SEGMENT A (12:29)
Incue: From WJCT in Jacksonville, Florida...
Outcue: You're listening to State of the Re:Union.
A. ATLANTIC YARDS IS____: Atlantic Yards is the biggest development project in the history of Brooklyn. With 17 high-rise buildings for housing and commerce, and a new basketball arena, it would be the densest residential community in the country. The development, though not built yet, has already, and will continue to, profoundly alter the chemistry of the neighborhood in which it's being built.
SEGMENT B (18:59)
Incue: You're listening to State of the Re:Union
Outcue: PRX-dot-ORG
A. LEVY'S UNIQUE NEW YORK: How did Brooklyn become Brooklyn? We'll get a brief and whimsical history of the storied borough from New York's first family of tour guides, The Levys.
B. IT'S A SMALL WORLD: Brooklyn is one of the most culturally, and ethnically diverse areas in the world. We'll go from Russia, to Pakistan, to Ethiopia, as we drop in on three community gathering spots for three distinctly different cultures, all while staying in Brooklyn.
C. DEAR BROOKLYN: A teenager from Brooklyn, rhapsodizes her beloved borough.
D. SOUNDS OF SWEET SCIENCE: In the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, people of varying ages and backgrounds gather at Ardon's Sweet Science Boxing Gym to train. The gym is not just a training hub, but also an emotional support center, and home away from home for many of the members.
SEGMENT C (18:59)
Incue: You're listening to State of the Re:Union.
Outcue: ...to bring them back together. (music tail)
A. MEMORIAL MURALS: Often comprised of a simple portrait, along with a name, birth and death year, and sometimes a message, memorial murals began to sprout up all over NYC in the 90s. Today, it might be safe to say that there's at least one memorial mural in every neighborhood in the city. We'll explore the culture of memorial murals and the mourning, memories, death, life, friends, family and art that goes along with them.
B. BREAKING OF A MAN: Brooklyn born and bred rapper, singer, and songwriter, John Forte is re-inventing himself. After being granted a commutation by President George W. Bush after having served more than half of a 14 year drug possession sentence, Forte is getting ready to release his first new LP in almost a decade.
C. VOX POP: A montage of Brooklyn voices, speaking to the uniqueness of Brooklyn
PROGRAM OUT @ 59:00
Brooklyn, NY: Change Happens is available on PRX without charge to all public radio stations, and may be aired an unlimited number of times prior to January 31, 2017. The program may be streamed live on station websites but not archived. Excerpting is permitted for promotional purposes only.
State of the Re:Union is presented by WJCT and distributed by PRX. Major funding for the State of the Re:Union comes from CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida..
Thanks for your consideration of State of the Re:Union with Al Letson.
Fake City, Real Dreams
From Zak Rosen | 17:51
A fake city comes to life to prove that dialogue and ideas can transform a region.
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- Fake City, Real Dreams
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- Zak Rosen
Neil Greenberg is always thinking about cities. Specifically, the way in which transit has the ability to bring people together, or pull them apart. He works days as a route scheduler for a Metro Detroit bus system.
For the last 5 years, Neil has been creating his own metro region, one street name at a time. The map is drawn to scale and it's excruciatingly detailed. It takes up 17 huge poster boards that fit together like a big geographical puzzle. The maps focus a lot on transit. But Neil knows that that's just one of many layers to creating a viable and well-ran city. So he and I took his imagined world and brought into the real world we live in...Detroit. We talked to people in the city and suburbs working on other pressing issues like education, civic engagement, and jobs to fill project their vision for a better future onto the Neil's world. We also made some characters up. What follows is an audio rendering of a collective vision, of a city that could be real but isn't...at least not yet.
Manufacturing Melodies
From Zak Rosen | 06:22
A sound-rich profile of Frank Pahl, a Wyandotte, Michigan based musician and toy instrument builder.
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- Manufacturing Melodies
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- Zak Rosen
Frank Pahl grew up in a Wyandotte, MI. A town outside of Detroit, where most people work in a factory, making cars or something having to do with them. But Pahl defied his family's expectations of him, and has for the past 20-years tinkered with toys and tools for the sheer enjoyment of the process, rather than a pre-determined end result, and he's been able to etch a living out of his sound experiments. He's specifiaclly interested in the sound of youth and childhood, and has been collecting toy instrments for years and years.
A New (Old) Kind of Work
From Zak Rosen | 07:21
Rust belt cities like Detroit, Michigan are struggling. The tax base has been drying up for decades. Vacant homes litter once strong, middle-class neighborhoods. Young people are dropping out of school at astounding rates. In many ways the system is broken. But despite Detroit’s shortcomings, or maybe because of them, residents are bucking conventions and going about fixing the city without help from the powers that be. Independent producer Zak Rosen recently met an ornamental metal worker who is doing just that.
- Playing
- A New (Old) Kind of Work
- From
- Zak Rosen
Rust belt cities like Detroit, Michigan are struggling. The tax base has been drying up for decades. Vacant homes litter once strong, middle-class neighborhoods. Young people are dropping out of school at astounding rates. In many ways the system is broken. But despite Detroit’s shortcomings, or maybe because of them, residents are bucking conventions and going about fixing the city without help from the powers that be. Independent producer Zak Rosen recently met an ornamental metal worker who is doing just that.
Gloria's Glow
From Zak Rosen | 07:14
How one woman is re-imagining the possibilities of living, working, and building a sustainable Detroit
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- Gloria's Glow
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- Zak Rosen
Perhaps no city in America has been hit as hard, or for as long, as Detroit. We've been hearing about unemployment, vacant lots and poverty coming out of the motor city for decades. So it might come as a surprise to hear that Detroiters are creating new and innovative ways of living and working in their city.
After an accident at an auto plant, Gloria Lowe became one such visionary, reinventing the way she approaches work and her community. Lowe spoke to producer Zak Rosen.
Sacred Music from the Navel of the World
From Zak Rosen | 05:34
A Palestinian violin master, an Israeli woman singing Bedouin songs, two Brothers from Tehran improvising age old Sufi music. These are just a few of the many acts who appeared at the recent Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival.
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- Sacred Music from the Navel of the World
- From
- Zak Rosen
A Palestinian violin master, an Israeli woman singing Bedouin songs, two Brothers from Tehran improvising age old Sufi music. These are just a few of the many acts who appeared at the recent Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival.
Aha Moment: Underground Railroad
From Zak Rosen | 04:29
Therese Peterson started volunteering as an actor in the the Underground Railroad Reenactment tour in late 2005. She says that if she wasn't given the opportunity to play the part of the conductor, she might not be with us today. Therese takes us through the tour, and tells us how being a conductor changed her forever.
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- Aha Moment: Underground Railroad
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- Zak Rosen
The Underground Railroad was an informal but vast network of people who helped slaves escape from their holders in the 1800's. It's estimated that during its height…between 1810 and 1860…The Underground Railroad helped over 30-thousand people escape enslavement.
The First Congregational Church of Detroit was known for being a safe house for escaped slaves to sleep and eat along their journey. Today the church, which has since moved to midtown Detroit, plays host to the Underground Railroad Living Museum.
Volunteer actors lead tours Monday through Saturday in the church's basement. The walking tours from slavery to Freedom last about 40 minutes, but they represent a grueling and profoundly dangerous yearlong journey from Oak Alley Louisiana to the Canadian border, northeast of Detroit, Michigan. The tours are lead by conductors, which are in the case of this reenactment, escaped slaves as well.
Therese Peterson started volunteering as an actor in the Confrontational Church's tour in late 2005. She says that if she wasn't given the opportunity to play the part of the conductor…she might not be with us today. Therese takes us through the tour…and tells us how being a conductor changed her forever. reenactment
Dumped Tires Land on Doorsteps
From Zak Rosen | 04:14
Re-purposing dumped tires combats poverty, vacant lots, and environmental degredation
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- Dumped Tires Land on Doorsteps
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- Zak Rosen
When you get new tires on your car, you're charged a fee to "properly dispose" of the old tires. Too often, that does not happen. The tires end up being abandoned in vacant lots or thrown into a remote ditch. Zak Rosen reports one group is picking up those tires, making something useful and helping people:
Faygo Pop Turns 100
From Zak Rosen | 05:31
A Whimsical Tour of an Old School Pop (soft drink) Factory
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- Faygo Pop Turns 100
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- Zak Rosen
Detroit based Faygo Pop recently turned 100. Two brothers started the company back in 1907. They've grown significantly since then...but Coke and Pepsi still spend more in advertising than Faygo has in gross sales. Zak Rosen was given a tour of the Detroit pop giant's facilities.
Aha Moment: The Heidelberg Project
From Zak Rosen | 05:54
Jenenne Whitfield was a banker until she stumbled upon the Heidelberg Project
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- Aha Moment: The Heidelberg Project
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- Zak Rosen
With the fading American auto industry and its reputation for high crime, Detroit has become shorthand for urban decay. On two blocks of Heidelberg Street on Detroit?s east side, an artist and community organizer named Tyree Guytan decided to do something about it. He started transforming the street into his own crazy work of art. And his efforts made a big impression on Detroit resident Jenenne Whitfield.
Watching a Riot Through a Window
From Zak Rosen | 07:02
Life-long Detroiter remembers the 67' riot
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- Watching a Riot Through a Window
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- Zak Rosen
Mike Mcbride was 11-years old in 1967. He watched the Detroit riot unfold from the many windows of his family's attic aptartment for three days. His most vivid memory is that of a man who was shot and killed by local police officers for stealing a bottle of vodka from a liquor store. The essay was originally written for the Detroit Sunday Journal in 1997. What's hear is a sound-rich, audio rendering of the story, read by Mcbride.
Oakridge, OR: A Work in Progress
From Al Letson | Part of the State of the Re:Union: Season One series | 53:53
Back in the timber industry’s heyday, the small mill town of Oakridge, Oregon was thriving. Business was booming. Then in the early 1990s, the saws stopped. The mills shut down and their economies crumbled. State of the Re:Union surveys how a town that has lost its identity reinvents itself through recreation, community-building, and entrepreneurial spirit.
- Playing
- Oakridge, OR: A Work in Progress
- From
- Al Letson
State of the Re:Union
Oakridge, OR: A Work in Progress
Host: Al Letson
Producer: Zak Rosen
DESCRIPTION: Back in the timber industry’s heyday, the small mill town of Oakridge, Oregon was thriving. Business was booming. Then in the early 1990s, the saws stopped. The mills shut down and their economies crumbled. State of the Re:Union surveys how a town that has lost its identity reinvents itself through recreation, community-building, and entrepreneurial spirit.
BILLBOARD (:59)
Incue: From PRX and WJCT...
Outcue: But first, this news.
NEWS HOLE: 1:00- 6:00
SEGMENT A (12:29)
Incue: From WJCT in Jacksonville, Florida...
Outcue: at stateofthereunion-dot-com (music tail)
A. HOW DID WE GET HERE: Today, Oakridge, Oregon is so depressed that the Union Pacific Railroad refuses to stop here; nearly 60 percent of the population consists of Medicaid recipients or is classi?ed as working poor with no insurance. About one quarter of the town lives in single-width trailers. For more than a decade, Oakridge has been a company town without a company. How did this happen, and how are the people of Oakridge dealing?
SEGMENT B (18:59)
Incue: You're listening to
Outcue: PRX-dot-ORG
A. HUNG OUT TO DRY: In the fall of 2009, Oakridge’s only coin operated laundry mat went out of business, leaving a lot of residents with no place to do their wash. Some people were forced to take a 45-minute bus trip to the nearest Laundromat. Others simply wore their clothes until they got so grimy and smelly, they’d throw them out, and go buy more clothes at the local thrift shop. Then in December of last year, a reporter from an Oregon newspaper wrote a story about the situation, and a group of people banded together to figure out a solution.
B.ON THE HORIZON: Oakridge has been in a recession for the last 20+ years, and it continues today. However, mountain biking could be the reason for the town's salvation. Why mountain biking? How far along is that vision? We'll talk to Randy Dreiling and Ben Beamer, two local biking advocates, about the viability of mountain biking as Oakridge's next big thing.
C. DEAR OAKRIDGE #1: If you’ve heard our show before, you know that we often ask residents of the place we’re reporting from to pen a letter to the place they call home. This first Dear Oakridge letter comes to us from local artist, Sherri McDowell.?
SEGMENT C (18:59)
Incue: Welcome back to State of the Re:Union
Outcue: to bring them back together. (music tail)
A. UPTOWN, EVERYTHING'S WAITING FOR YOU: In the last few years, Oakridge has seen 9 new businesses open in its, "uptown" district. Brewers Union Local 180 is at the heart of revitilation effort, and aside from mountain biking, it’s what has really helped get things shaking. The Pub proprietors, and other energetic business-owners nearby, see Oakridge on the precipice of a renaissance, and to make that happen, they're thinking hard about how community building mixed with entrepreneurial spirit can bring hope to this once thriving timber town.
B. DEAR OAKRIDGE #2: Oakridge resident Jill Silvey reflects on the 34 years she's spent in her beloved hometown.
C. REFLECTION: Al's reflects on his to Oakridge with a poem.
D. VOX: A montage of local voices, speaking to the community spirit of Oakridge.
PROGRAM OUT @ 59:00
Oakridge, OR: A Work in Progress is available on PRX without charge to all public radio stations, and may be aired an unlimited number of times prior to January 31, 2017. The program may be streamed live on station websites but not archived. Excerpting is permitted for promotional purposes only.
State of the Re:Union is presented by WJCT and distributed by PRX. Major funding for the State of the Re:Union comes from CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
Thanks for your consideration of State of the Re:Union with Al Letson.
Milwaukee, WI: City of Vision
From Al Letson | Part of the State of the Re:Union: Season One series | 53:53
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, once referred to as "America's Machine Shop," has suffered a similar fate to other rust-belt cities. But despite the decline of some of its industries, passionate, hard-working citizens are changing this manufacturing mecca into a city of ideas. This episode of SOTRU explores the depth and viability of some of Milwaukee's most surprising community projects, and a people of unwavering resolve.
- Playing
- Milwaukee, WI: City of Vision
- From
- Al Letson
State of the Re:Union
Milwaukee, WI: City of Vision
Host: Al Letson
Producer: Zak Rosen
BILLBOARD (:59)
Incue: From PRX and WJCT
Outcue: But first, this news.
NEWS HOLE: 1:00- 6:00
SEGMENT A (12:29)
Incue: From WJCT in Jacksonville, Florida
Outcue: You're listening to State of the Re:Union.
A. FAMILY HOUSE: As a registered nurse, working within the traditional health care system, Cordelia Taylor was dissatisfied with the way in which she was able to work with patients towards rehabilitation. So she quit her job and moved back to central Milwaukee, to the house she once lived in, to open up a family-owned and operated assisted-living center for seniors. The "Family House" has since become a hub for neighborhood revitalization and cooperation. In providing hands-on, long-term elderly care, Family House has consequently placed itself at the hub of youth education and mentorship programs, community and economic development, improvement of the local area housing, and reduction of crime in the immediate area.
SEGMENT B (18:59)
Incue: I'm Al Letson and you're listening to
Outcue: You're listening to State of the Re:Union
A. SWEET GROWING POWER: Milwaukee is at the epicenter of the urban farming movement in the United States. Will Allen, the founder and CEO of Growing Power, says the movement has become a revolution. Under Allen's guidance and constant care, Growing Power has become a national model for the production, distribution, education, and experimentation of healthy, sustainable, food, in urban centers. In raising fruits, vegetable, chickens, goats, and now fish, Growing Power is tackling some of the most pressing issues of our time, including obesity, food security, food justice, sustainability, job creation, and community building. Many Milwaukee residents have been so inspired by Allen's project, that they have devoted their lives to other food related endeavors, including the transformation of a massive industrial building into a multi-tiered, year-round, producer of perch and tilapia.
B. WOODWORKIN' IT: It wasn't long ago that this town was a machine and manufacturing powerhouse. And even though a lot of blue collar, industrial jobs have left the city, the men who worked on the line haven't. At the West Allis Woodworkers Club members gather to craft their own kitchen cabinets, rocking chairs and cribs for their grandchildren.
C. VIVA LA POLKA: Art's Conertina Bar, on the outskirts of Milwaukee, was known to many locals as a diamond in the rough, a tribute to the past, and a dying breed, as one of the last places in Milwaukee to hear polka music. So when Art Altenburg was ready to retire, it appeared to be the end of the polka in Milwaukee. But then a young, Polish American who always dreamed of owning a bar, stepped in to buy the place. Andy Kochhanski could have done anything he wanted with the bar, but decided that keeping live polka at the venue was important. Today, in addition to live polka music, Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall hosts surf, rockabilly, and country bands as well. The old concertina crowd still shows up regularly, but with the new music selections, Kochanski is trying to attract a younger generation of music lovers, many of whom have probably never heard polka before.
SEGMENT C (18:59)
Incue: Welcome back to State of the Re:Union
Outcue: to bring them back together. (music tail)
A. SAFE STREETS: Restorative Justice "is an approach to justice where offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions and "to repair the harm they've done..." In the case of the Marquette Law School, Restorative Justice Initiative, the approach is multi-faceted and varied. For our story, we'll sit-in on a Community Support Circle, wherein formerly incarcerated members of the community, sit in a circle, along with members of the community, and local law enforcement, to hear first-hand what effects violent crimes have had on the public.
B. DEAR MILWAUKEE: Milwaukee business-owner, and former poet-laureate, Peggy Hong, takes us through the ups and downs of her beloved city.
C. LATE NIGHT SOCCER: An audio postcard of a multi-ethnic, late night, indoor soccer game.
D. VOX POP: A montage of Milwaukee voices, speaking to the community spirit of Milwaukee.
PROGRAM OUT @ 59:00
Milwaukee, WI: City of Vision is available on PRX without charge to all public radio stations, and may be aired an unlimited number of times prior to January 31, 2017. The program may be streamed live on station websites but not archived. Excerpting is permitted for promotional purposes only.
State of the Re:Union is presented by WJCT and distributed by PRX. Major funding for the State of the Re:Union comes from CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
Thanks for your consideration of State of the Re:Union with Al Letson.