PRX - Pieces for Format: First-Person Essay

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Mutual Support: We do it Together
From: Making Contact
Series: Making Contact
Caption: Al Sasser
We hear about systems of mutual support; where peers coping with similar struggles like HIV, mental health issues and surviving prison step into th...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and WRIR


  • Added: Nov 12, 2015
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
LIVE LAW 13: Nun on Death Row
From: LIVE LAW
Piece image
“As a 32-year-old younger Catholic nun, I’ve been to countless funerals of our aging sisters. However, nothing could have prepared me for the death...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2015
  • Length: 09:31
LIVE LAW 11: Love Persists
From: LIVE LAW
Piece image
“When I was incarcerated, I had no intention of falling in love. I wasn’t looking for it...Then one day our hands touched.”

  • Added: Sep 29, 2015
  • Length: 08:56
LIVE LAW 10: Prison Break
From: LIVE LAW
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“After 22 years [of working in criminal justice], I didn’t think there was anybody that could tell me anything more about how broken the criminal s...

  • Added: Sep 15, 2015
  • Length: 13:10
LIVE LAW 9: Family Watch
From: LIVE LAW
Piece image
Some people police their yards. Some people police their streets. And some people get together to police their neighborhoods. If you've ever been p...

  • Added: Sep 01, 2015
  • Length: 10:04
LIVE LAW 7: Skatepark
From: LIVE LAW
Piece image
“I crawled through the underbrush, then I popped out into a beautiful, green clearing in the middle of the city. And in the center of it, about 20 ...

  • Added: Aug 18, 2015
  • Length: 12:00
LIVE LAW 6: Just Lie
From: LIVE LAW
Piece image
“He told me she had stolen about 40 thousand dollars from people. Then he told me I should lawyer up."

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Jul 21, 2015
  • Length: 12:32
  • Purchases: 1
LIVE LAW 5: One Confederate Flag
From: LIVE LAW
Piece image
In the summer of 1970, when she was 21, Patrice Gaines spent several weeks in jail facing charges for possession of heroin. She was a drug abuser s...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Jul 07, 2015
  • Length: 11:48
  • Purchases: 1
Amina on Ramadan: Being Muslim in America
From: Katy Sewall
Series: Amina on Ramadan (2015)
Caption: Amina Al-Sadi, Credit: personal photo
Amina Al-Sadi is a 25-year-old American Muslim currently observing the holy month of Ramadan. Amina explains why its a tough time to be Muslim in A...

Bought by KREV-LP, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, PRX Remix, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jun 30, 2015
  • Length: 05:30
  • Purchases: 4
Bodily Safety: Ta-Nehisi Coates on Police Shootings
From: Making Contact
Series: Making Contact
Caption: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates' friend from Howard University was shot and killed by police in Virginia back in 2000. Written in the form of a letter to his own ...

Bought by XRAY.fm and WRIR


  • Added: Jun 23, 2015
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
LIVE LAW 4: Soundtrack to History
From: LIVE LAW
Piece image
"She called us on the phone and said, 'You will not be allowed to return to the Y.'"

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Jun 23, 2015
  • Length: 08:32
  • Purchases: 1
LIVE LAW 3: Opinel No. 5
From: LIVE LAW
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If you like Tim McGraw, you probably know Jason White’s music—he’s a songwriter and singer in Nashville with a pretty impressive track record. What...

Bought by American Voices and PRX Remix


  • Added: Jun 09, 2015
  • Length: 15:28
  • Purchases: 2
Schools Serving Students Dinner
From: Open Orchard Productions
Series: The Harvest by Open Orchard Productions
Piece image
Los Angeles County's poverty line is almost at 20%, and the majority of these households have children. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LA...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass. and WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 01, 2015
  • Length: 03:45
  • Purchases: 2
LIVE LAW 2: Demonstration
From: LIVE LAW
Piece image
"It was the summer. And it was hot."

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: May 26, 2015
  • Length: 08:48
  • Purchases: 1
LIVE LAW 1: Stupid Motions
From: LIVE LAW
Piece image
Calvin Duncan spent over 28 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. In prison, he taught himself the law. He became a jailhouse lawyer and he...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: May 25, 2015
  • Length: 17:08
  • Purchases: 1
Love or Fear: Which Motivates Us More?
From: Good Radio Shows, Inc.
Series: Peace Talks Radio: Weekly Half Hour Episodes
Piece image
Competing essayists Jennifer Nelson and Jason Steck debate the question "Love or Fear: Which Motivates Us More?" at the 2014 "Great American Think ...

Bought by KGNU Community Radio, Radio Baha'i, WLGI, and KUNM


  • Added: Apr 17, 2015
  • Length: 29:01
  • Purchases: 3
Some Thoughts On Mercy: An Essay on Race and Redemption, written and read by Ross Gay
From: Chris Moore-Backman
Series: Bringing Down the New Jim Crow
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In this provocative radio essay, a commonplace encounter with racial profiling opens the door to the vast and painful reality of racism in the Unit...

Bought by KGNU Community Radio and WYAP


  • Added: Feb 04, 2015
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
Reflections on Education Equity from Dr. Diane Torres-Velasquez
From: Generation Justice Admin
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Responding to our pieces with Dr. Jeff Menzise and Dr. Augustine Romero, Professor Torres-Velasquez of the Latino Education Taskforce integrates th...

  • Added: Dec 06, 2014
  • Length: 06:58
I Stayed Even Though He Beat Me - Nailah Stevenson's Story
From: WBEZ
Series: Vocalo Presents
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Nailah Stevenson talks candidly about why she stayed in an abusive relationship. And when she realized it was time to go.

  • Added: Oct 16, 2014
  • Length: 08:04
96 Acres: Carlos describes Cook County Jail from the Inside
From: WBEZ
Series: Vocalo Presents
Piece image
Interview with Carlos Sanchez, former County Jail Inmate. Interview conducted by Jackie Serrato for 96 Acres. Audio produced by Vocalo's Ayana Cont...

  • Added: Oct 16, 2014
  • Length: 20:35
Water for Gold
From: Tom & Debra Weistar
Caption: Miner 49er, Credit: Tom Weistar
In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada lies the San Juan Ridge. On the Ridge, tucked away amongst towering pines, flanked by two forks of the Yuba R...

  • Added: Oct 03, 2014
  • Length: 28:25
The Working Poor I: Natasha and Robin
From: WCPN
Series: The Working Poor
Caption: Natasha Wynn high-fives her daughter, Robin., Credit: Brian Bull, WCPN.
A single mom working a fast-food job aims high.

Bought by KUER, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and WTJU


  • Added: Jul 02, 2014
  • Length: 04:13
  • Purchases: 4
The Working Poor II: Brushawn
From: WCPN
Series: The Working Poor
Caption: Brushawn Fletcher at Green City Growers., Credit: Brian Bull, WCPN.
An ex-felon and former car salesman works two jobs to rebuild his life and hopefully some day reunite with his daughter.

Bought by KUER, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jul 02, 2014
  • Length: 04:03
  • Purchases: 3
The Working Poor III: Bridget
From: WCPN
Series: The Working Poor
Caption: Bridget Gibbons and her belongings., Credit: Brian Bull, WCPN.
When you think of someone who's part of America's "working poor", you may picture a high school or college dropout. It's generally assumed that th...

Bought by KUER, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and WTJU


  • Added: Jul 02, 2014
  • Length: 04:10
  • Purchases: 4
The Working Poor IV: Marilyn
From: WCPN
Series: The Working Poor
Caption: Marilyn Lombardo in her backyard., Credit: Brian Bull, WCPN.
For many senior citizens, the "Golden Years" are meant to be lived comfortably. One retires, takes things easy, maybe catches up with kids and gra...

Bought by KUER, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jul 02, 2014
  • Length: 04:10
  • Purchases: 3