A few quick ramblings with Election 2020 two days away.By Rob Hochschild

In the second part of a conversation with journalist and educator Linn Washington, an examination of the question of how the 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia relates to racial injustice today. Toward the end of this episode, Washington talks about the importance of ethics in journalism. Linn Washington has worked for news outlets from CNN to the P…

Just over 35 years ago, eleven people were killed and 61 homes destroyed in a West Philadelphia neighborhood after police dropped C-4 explosives on a building occupied by MOVE, a black liberation organization. Journalist Linn Washington was there on May 13, 1985, covering the mayhem for the Philadelphia Daily News. This is the first of a two-part c…

Although Ahmaud Arbery wasn't killed by police, the manner in which law enforcement officials have handled his case raises a number of questions about the role race may have played in his Feb. 23 death and the aftermath. The 25-year-old African American man was jogging in a coastal community in Georgia when three white men decided to attempt a citi…

These are challenging times for American universities and colleges. But dozens of them would not exist without the financial benefit of land "seized or stolen or otherwise leveraged from indigenous tribes into US hands through violence-backed treaties," says historian Bobby Lee. Earlier this year, Lee and Tristan Ahtone, an investigative journalist…

It was right in the middle of the 2019 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival when the staff of the Times-Picayune learned that their newsroom would be shutting down. At the time, Jennifer Larino was lead reporter at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, and within months of the layoffs, she had founded a community-based journalism nonprofit with New Orlean…

Born in El Paso, Texas, Julián Aguilar is now based there as immigration and border security reporter for the Texas Tribune, a nonprofit digital media organization established in 2009. He also covers elections, politics, and drug trade, among other issues. All of his work for the Tribune requires a nuanced understanding of policy and the way it aff…

According to the American Journalism Project, 2,100 U.S. communities have lost their newspapers since 2004. In this third year of the podcast—what we're dubbing the third season—episodes will focus greatly on the work of local journalists. After early shows traveling, virtually, to New Orleans and El Paso, Texas, I'll check in with reporters around…

He is a novelist, songwriter, bandleader, designer, web developer, and entrepreneur, among other things. It's likely that he's best known as a musician and the leader of the Boston-based band, Jim's Big Ego, but Jim Infantino's latest creation is his first novel, a work of science fiction that takes us about 80-90 years into the future. In The Wake…

Cognitive scientist and author Pooja K. Agarwal has spent a large portion of her career connecting education research and classroom teaching. For a long time, educators didn’t have access to relevant research, but Agarwal and Patrice Bain have co-authored a book—Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning—that’s bridging that gap. The book i…

The sixth book by Charles Giuliano, Counterculture in Boston: 1968–1980s, features new interviews with journalists, authors, radio hosts, producers, and other luminaries, such as George Wein, Jon Landau, Charles Laquidara, and Dexter Gordon. It’s an invaluable oral history of the work, culture, and arts that marked one of the most tumultous periods…

Rona Elliot has witnessed some of the biggest moments in rock history, including Bob Dylan plugging in at the Newport Folk Festival, the Beatles performing in 1966 at Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles, and everything that happened while she was working at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. As a network radio reporter beginning in the 1970s, and then in the…

In this brief episode, we join striking students and citizens and hard-working media organizations to spread awareness of the growing climate crisis. You'll hear the voice of 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and your host reads an excerpt of a New York Times column by Jamie Margolin (Zero Hour). Additional audio provided by #Podstrike.…

As a kid growing up in Massachusetts, Jordan Rich had dreamed of being an actor. But he was just as passionate about the "theater of the mind," as radio is often called, and went full bore into that industry once his voice dropped. He began his career as a weather reporter in the 70s, and thousands of interviews later, he continues to work in the f…

The host of the show asks for listener feedback, with some specific questions, provides some newsworthy updates on two past guests, and hints at upcoming episodes, one related to Woodstock, and one to the wide world of voice. Listener Feedback Questions Any favorite episodes of this podcast? Any that didn’t work for you? Any guests or subjects you’…

In 1978, Susan Rogers sent $1.75 in postage to the U.S. army and received a box full of electronics manuals, just because she asked. She began teaching herself audio technology from these manuals, and a few years later, found herself at a recording console, capturing the tracks that would become Prince's monumental Purple Rain album. Rogers's resou…

When Dr. Joia Mukherjee visited her father's hometown of Calcutta, India as a child in 1972, she observed for the first time how poverty and lack of healthcare wreaks havoc on quality of life. She went on to study medicine, volunteer in Africa, and ultimately—after becoming a doctor—join Partners in Health (PIH), a nonprofit that strives to improve…

After years of award-winning work as a journalist and investigative reporter for The Boston Globe and other publications, Marcella Bombardieri took a bold left turn in 2016 and joined the Center for American Progress (CAP) as a policy analyst. But after years of newswriting on the subject of higher education, Bombardieri made a smooth transition to…

Meet three of the musicians who accompanied Van Morrison on the stage and in the studio in 1968, when Morrison was working on the songs that would appear on his classic second solo album, Astral Weeks. Bassist Tom Kielbania, drummer Joey Bebo, and saxophonist/flutist John Payne spoke about their collaborations with Van Morrison at a panel and celeb…

Where many of us see advertisements as annoyances and interruptions, author and journalist Brian Coleman sees the arc of a place's history and the evolution of its artists, businesses, music scene, and social justice movements. In his fourth and newest book, Buy Me, Boston, Coleman curates and presents more than 400 print ads and flyers of 60s, 70s…

Liz Linder is a talented and prolific photographer, but she is also a storyteller, artist, entrepreneur, mentor, and deep thinker about the ways contemporary society and technology shape the work of creative people. She has taken portraits of many celebrated figures, including Lou Reed, Esperanza Spalding, and Quincy Jones; shot for corporate clien…

Your host, having just launched a music show on Boston's WUMB-FM, reflects back on a career of stumbles and steps on the way to finding a voice, literal and metaphorical, while working on the broadcast airwaves. It's a story that begins with a kid listening to baseball games while growing up near Philadelphia, before taking over a morning jazz show…

It takes a very specific skill package to be an accomplished sideman, with musicianship and congeniality at the top of the list. Duke Levine brings those qualities in spades, but his versatility, humility, and self-awareness also play critical roles in a career rich with high-profile tours and notable recording projects. Among the artists he's tour…

Podcasts providing travel advice can be a great help to first-time travelers. On a trip last week to New Orleans, I relied heavily on an episode of the Beyond Bourbon Street podcast, hosted by Mark Bologna. It was an incredibly helpful hour-long guide to planning a few days in New Orleans. And then, in discussing that podcast and my trip, I realize…

José Massó is host of the longest-running music show in Boston's radio market, on WBUR. As host of Con Salsa, Massó not only brings a range of Latin music and interviews to listeners all around the world, he works tirelessly to make his show—and his life—about addressing social issues. He's a fascinating and well-spoken person who has also worked a…

Everyone scoffs at New Year's Resolutions these days, but who doesn't think about the year ahead in early January? Your host reflects as such on this year's first episode, touching on some developments for the Media Narrative in 2019, including: Changes to the podcast relating to music theme and frequency and format of episodes, Creating video cont…

In this quick end-of-the-year solo show, your host runs down the year and expresses gratitude. You'll also hear some news about the podcast, some recommendations for other shows to listen to, and the big media question of 2019. Subscribe at themedianarrative.com.By Rob Hochschild

Journalist Chris Faraone began his career covering the hip-hop scene for local and national publications. By the time he joined the Boston Phoenix in 2008, he was spending most of his time covering political and civic news. Faraone went on to become editor of alternative weekly Dig Boston and found the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.…

Keyboardist, composer, vocalist, and educator Matt Jenson creates music intended to inform and inspire as much as it entertains. Embedded in everything he does—such as his scholarship and teaching of the work of reggae great Bob Marley—is a goal to address social injustice and connect people through music and activism. He recently took a short brea…

Hillary Wright’s skills as a nutrition expert go far beyond understanding the science of healthy diet and exercise. She also writes and communicates about complex ideas in easy-to-understand ways. Her two books provide critical information to people seeking guidance around conditions such as prediabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). She is …

Your host goes solo in an episode recorded about two days before the Midterms. It's a quick one, mostly to share several great stories, columns, and radio or podcast work by people who are focused on the ways that media and politics interact in America under Trump. Listen and visit the website for a list of links to that work, along with a suggesti…

Gretchen Rubin is a one-woman media empire. She has published several books, many of which have been New York Times bestsellers. Her award-winning podcast has been downloaded more than 40 million times. She’s also conquered several other new media spheres, ranging from her blog and buzzing, video-rich Facebook presence to a new online course. In ad…

Boston-based pianist and songwriter Rick Berlin recently published The Paragraphs, a revealing and funny memoir of a life's journey that included dropping acid at Yale in the 1960s and encounters with the likes of Meat Loaf, Frank Zappa, and Patti Smith. But rather than dwell on his brushes with fame, Berlin focuses his series of linked essays on s…

Mu-Chieh Yun and Iliana Panameño founded We, Ceremony in 2015, years after they met in Boston as elementary school students. As women of color who had experienced marginalization and prejudice, they wanted to create a digital storytelling platform that celebrates and empowers other women of color. Since launching, We Ceremony has featured dozens of…

Brooklyn-based theater director Hal Brooks has long had a focus on stewarding new plays. In this episode, Brooks talks about working with playwrights such as Don Delillo, involving audiences in the development of new plays, and Rachel Maddow's storytelling rabbinical qualities. Brooks has been artistic director of the Cape Cod Theatre Project since…

The songwriter, performer, and multifaceted artist Nona Hendryx refers to herself as a "grazer." She says this because her wide-ranging interests in music taste and technology are also characteristic of her approach to art and life in general. Hendryx's open-minded ethic comes through during this interview, as she talks about her work in music, edu…

In this solo podcast episode, your host, Rob Hochschild, talks about the Podcast Movement conference, his goals for podcasting, and a personal story that led directly to a career path of journalism, communications, and podcasting. There's also a number of podcast recommendations in the show—and additional ones listed below—for all of you who are hu…

Musician Carolyn Wilkins has had an impressive career as a jazz pianist and bandleader, but she was compelled to apply her creative talents in a new direction—writing—after her family griot died. She not only learned…

When historians talk about the importance of 1968 in U.S. history, Boston isn't necessarily the first city that they discuss. But thanks to a new book by Ryan H. Walsh, readers have a chance to learn about some of the ways the national tumult manifested in Massachusetts. Walsh's primary focus is on Van Morrison and how he spent several pivotal mont…

In the second part of a conversation with journalist/editor/podcaster Julio Ricardo Varela, he talks about covering the controversy around estimates of deaths relating to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico (1:00), challenges of being a journalist during the Trump era (15:00) media reports around the Junot Diaz sexual allegations (19:30); balancing hard…

Julio Ricardo Varela began his journalism career working alongside sportswriters like Bob Ryan, Leigh Montville, and Bud Collins but returned to the field years later as a news reporter and multi-media journalist. A Puerto Rico native, Varela was an early adopter of social media platforms and remembers that period as his version of J-school. After …

After meeting in 1960, Arlie and Adam Hochschild bonded around common ideals and activism, beginning a partnership that led to marriage, family, and, so far, a combined total of nearly 20 books. Their most recent—Arlie's Strangers in Their Own Land and Adam's Spain in Our Hearts—are must-reads for today's political watchers, focusing, respectively,…

Steve Morse has interviewed and written about some of the biggest names in music, including Bob Marley, Bono, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen. In this episode, the Boston Globe rock critic talks about the highlights of his decades-long career. During a conversation in his Cambridge, Massachusetts home, Morse talked about: Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones…

Journalist Beth Schwartzapfel has been covering the criminal justice system for more than a decade, with an emphasis on telling the human stories of prisoners that are often overlooked. She is an award-winning reporter and staff writer at the Marshall Project, and her work has also appeared in publications such as The American Prospect and the New …

In a conversation about her book, The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich discusses how writing about the case of a convicted pedophile and murderer compelled her to reexamine her assessments of the legal system and her memories of abuse in her family. During the 2017 interview, Marzano-Lesnevich talks about connecti…

When Radiotopia executive producer Julie Shapiro talks about podcasting, you leave with the impression that we should all look at listening as a sacred act. Shapiro has long been one of the world’s most innovative leaders in the art of audio storytel...By Rob Hochschild

Having studied engineering at an Ivy League school before becoming a major league baseball outfielder, Doug Glanville sometimes thought about angles, vectors, and ballistics between pitches. He’s taken the idea of the cerebral athlete to even greater levels, post-career, as a New York Times columnist and a sports commentator whose analysis touches …

Influenced as much by punk as folk music, England’s great singer/songwriter Billy Bragg has always placed politics and social activism at the center of his creative life. Bragg has a new book out about the history and impact of skiffle: Roots, Radicals, and Rockers. He paused during his book tour to talk about why he wrote the book (1:00); examples…

In this short introductory episode, you'll learn about the mission of The Media Narrative, a new interview podcast focusing on authors, artists, journalists and others who are shaping the public conversation. You'll also hear clips from a few upcoming episodes.By Rob Hochschild