UnFictional

Series produced by KCRW

Series image

UnFictional is a program of storytellers and documentaries that will suck you in and stick in your head like a memory.

UnFictional is a program of storytellers and documentaries that cover the ground between the sophisticated and the profane. Audiences will hear captivating stories of real life told by storytellers, writers and performers with a talent for tales that will suck you in. The program also features documentaries created by the most talented producers from around the country.

The program is hosted and curated by KCRW producer, Bob Carlson. He has an ear for finding and creating compelling radio stories that are funny, emotional, sincere and often dark. Listen for stories of hometowns and family secrets, tales of drugs, sex, and aliens (both extraterrestrial and earthbound.) The stories on UnFictional will stick in your head like a memory.

UnFictional is one part of the Independent Producer Project, an initiative to cultivate and support the work of independent radio producers and other writers and artists. The idea is to create a clearinghouse of creativity both online and on the air.

Thanks to the Annenberg Foundation, the Goldhirsh Foundation and the Roth Family Foundation for their support of the Independent Producer Project and UnFictional. Hide full description

UnFictional is a program of storytellers and documentaries that cover the ground between the sophisticated and the profane. Audiences will hear captivating stories of real life told by storytellers, writers and performers with a talent for tales that will suck you in. The program also features documentaries created by the most talented producers from around the country.

The program is hosted and curated by KCRW producer, Bob Carlson. He has an ear for finding and creating compelling radio stories that are funny, emotional, sincere and often dark. Listen for stories of hometowns and family secrets, tales of drugs, sex, and aliens (both extraterrestrial and earthbound.) The stories on UnFictional will stick in your head like a memory.

UnFictional is one part of the Independent Producer... Show full description


33 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Radio storyteller Joe Frank examines the very nature of reality...

Bought by KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KPTZ, Port Townsend, WA, KFCF FM, WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., and XRAY.fm


  • Added: Jul 02, 2013
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 5
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Some call him the Chicano Bigfoot; Little Julian Herrera was a star of the 50s East LA music scene, until one day he just disappeared. Is he still ...

Bought by KMUN and Prairie Public


  • Added: Jun 21, 2013
  • Length: 28:31
  • Purchases: 2
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Joe Frank returns with an improbable story that begins in Hollywood and inexplicably ends at Auschwitz.

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., KVNF, KSFR, KFCF FM, and PRX Remix


  • Added: May 17, 2013
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 5
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Joe Frank presents a sweeping philosophical inquiry into the nature of God, morality, love, human suffering and restaurant tipping.

Bought by Radio Catskill and KFCF FM


  • Added: May 17, 2013
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 2
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A new program created for UnFictional by radio storyteller Joe Frank.

Bought by KPTZ, Port Townsend, WA, Radio Catskill, and KFCF FM


  • Added: May 17, 2013
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 3
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Another new story from broadcasting legend Joe Frank.

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., KFCF FM, KPTZ, Port Townsend, WA, KVNF and more


  • Added: May 17, 2013
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 10
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A story from legendary radio storyteller, Joe Frank

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., PRX Remix, Radio Catskill, KFCF FM and more


  • Added: May 17, 2013
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 6
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In the 1970's, Minneapolis was Funky Town. One night, Joanna's mom met a disco guy with a body-sized freezer who took her on the worst date she eve...

Bought by XRAY.fm, KOSU, WFMU, and Louisville Public Media


  • Added: May 16, 2013
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 4
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Imagine having all the power and moral authority of the Catholic Church focused on one person… you.

Bought by XRAY.fm, KOSU, Louisville Public Media, Aspen Public Radio, and PRX Remix


  • Added: May 02, 2013
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 5
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Two stories about people looking for love using modern day strategies.

Bought by Louisville Public Media, Aspen Public Radio, KOSU, and KUOW


  • Added: Feb 22, 2013
  • Length: 28:31
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Richard Nixon, Sonny West, Jerry Schilling and Elvis Presley, Credit: Photo courtesy of Jerry Schilling
The story of Elvis Presley's visit to the Nixon White House in 1970, told by a man who was there, Elvis' confidante Jerry Schilling.

Bought by PRX Remix, XRAY.fm, KMUZ, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Feb 21, 2013
  • Length: 16:15
  • Purchases: 4
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Learning to navigate through the dark. Much like a radio listener, a blind person has to rely a lot on their sense of hearing. But once you learn t...

Bought by KMUN, Louisville Public Media, KOSU, PRX Remix, and Aspen Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 19, 2012
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 5
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Stories of the unwanted: a teenager, unwanted by those closest to him, visits his troubled past. Plus, the people who take your burdensome possessi...

Bought by Louisville Public Media, KUOW, KOSU, and Aspen Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 19, 2012
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 4
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A young boy escapes to a foreign country by himself, on foot, with no money or passport. When he grows up, he sets himself on fire, and lives to te...

Bought by XRAY.fm, Louisville Public Media, KOSU, and Aspen Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 16, 2012
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 4
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On this episode... two stories about crime hitting close to home. A man's evil plan takes an ironic turn and a Brooklyn dad hits the streets and la...

Bought by XRAY.fm, Louisville Public Media, KOSU, and Aspen Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 16, 2012
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 4
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What does an ancient African deity have to do with a Reese's cup? Meet Elegba, trickster spirit of chaos.

Bought by KMUN, XRAY.fm, Louisville Public Media, KOSU, and Aspen Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 16, 2012
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 5
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Memories of the death house, from a man who sat with 95 condemned men on their last day on earth.

Bought by Marfa Public Radio, KMUZ, Louisville Public Media, Aspen Public Radio, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Nov 02, 2012
  • Length: 25:02
  • Purchases: 5
From: KCRW
Series: UnFictional
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On a summer night in the early 1990s a small group of friends gather for a dinner party in Los Angeles. Just for fun, someone suggests having a séa...

Bought by KISU, WRFA-LP, WMPG, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., WPSU and more


  • Added: Sep 12, 2012
  • Length: 19:06
  • Purchases: 17
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Dock Ellis is one of the most memorable characters to ever play baseball. He challenged the baseball establishment, but always had impeccable stye.

Bought by RadioFreePalmer, KMUN, KMXT, Louisville Public Media, KOSU and more


  • Added: Aug 04, 2012
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 7
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Two stories about healers and teachers who do not have the best interests of their students in mind.

Bought by XRAY.fm, KOSU, Aspen Public Radio, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Aug 04, 2012
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 4