Episode 8 begins with host Joe McHugh explaining how fate plays a role in deciding which stories are featured in each episode of The Telling Takes Us Home and ends with a lively recitation by an Irish poet of the classic poem The Wreck of the Hesperus by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In between are stories about learning a life lesson from a brother …

Episode 7 of the Telling Takes Us Home begins with a visit to Omaha, Nebraska, and a story told by a former organizer for the Meat Packers Union and a superior court judge providing a portrait of a tough grandfather and his conflict with organized labor in Chicago. These are followed by stories about how a prayer resulted in a miracle cure, an ill-…

Episode 6 of The Telling Takes Us Home begins with a story about a dentist called upon to perform surgery following the shoot-out at Wounded Knee in 1973. This is followed by stories about the early days of aviation, the Buck Rogers comic strip and subsequent popular radio show, author Lee Smith talking about her eccentric uncle who was a gifted mu…

Episode 5 begin with a story about a miraculous airplane accident. It is followed by memories of a storytelling grandmother, how a young girl found the courage to face to a mean neighbor to save her flock of pet turkeys, an Irish conman who decides to sell his circus and go into the Christian revival business, a recollection of how a mother receive…

Episode 4 brings us a stories about a wartime courtship close to the front lines, how a book and the manager of movie theaters in Utah got rid of a restriction based on racism, how a songwriter was inspired to write a song about a near-death experience, an Depression-era farmer with far too many chickens, memories of how a family reacted to a news …

This episode features stories about a young boy saved by his grandfather from a sinking boat, how a bunch of campers discovered a trio of secret lakes teeming with trout, a young mother winning a trunk full of books and a young girl finding a bookcase full of books, a practical joke played on a father working at a car dealership, the man who invent…

Episode 2 of The Telling Takes Us Home podcast series features stories about a fortune teller and the wife of a bronco rider, how fate protected a mother and child traveling from Russia to America, how a fire changed a man's racial attitudes, a hairdresser who served as a therapist, how a woman saved the family horse during the Civil War, how a WWI…

This first episode of our new podcast series celebrating family stories features stories about a prank pulled on a grandfather in Ireland, a husband's efforts to save his wife's life while interned in a camp for Japanese-Americans during WWII, an Italian-American woman marvels at photos in her granddaughter's college yearbook, men and women who pit…

This podcast continues my conversation with two remarkable and thoughtful musicians. It also explores how the principles of abstract geometry can inform both the composition and performance of violin music and how different cultures and musical traditions can enrich the experience of music and of life itself.…

Purnaprajna Bangere is both a brilliant mathematician and a highly-respected violinist trained in the classical violin music of southern India. David Balakrishnan is a violinist, composer, and member of the Turtle Island String Quartet who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2017, David spent several months as an artist-in-residence working wit…

Bashar Matti was born in Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War and endured the troubled times of the Kuwait-Iraq War and subsequent United States invasion of his country. Through it all he clung to his love of the violin and music and was eventually able to come to the United States where he studied violin with Kathryn Lucktenberg at the University of Oreg…

Amanda Forsyth is a cellist who was born in South Africa and grew up in Canada. Her father was a composer who inspired her to become a musician. She is married to the violinist Pinchas Zukerman and I interviewed her after a concert she performed with her husband and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra.…

Daniel Rouslin taught violin and music theater at Willamette University for many years. He was teaching there in 1988 when an early 18th century Italian violin was discovered hidden under the floor boards of Waller Hall, the oldest building on the campus of the oldest institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi River. How did violin get …

Grammy and MacArthur award winner Rhiannon Giddens grew up in North Carolina near the city of Greensboro, which is where I interviewed her in 2015 while she was performing at the National Folk Festival. A founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, she was trained as an opera singer before her passion for the banjo, fiddle, and folk songs took…

This is part two of my conversation with violinist John Sherba who is a member of the Kronos Quartet. In this podcast he talks about some of the quartet's innovative musical projects as well as talking about his own violins.By Rosin the Bow with Joe McHugh

John Sherba is a violinist and member of the legendary Kronos Quartet. I interviewed John several months after the Covid 19 pandemic changed everyone's life. Here he talks about his family and his own musical journey.By Rosin the Bow with Joe McHugh

Tony Ellis' first professional job as a musician was playing banjo for Bill Monroe, considered by many as the father of bluegrass music. Along with being a gifted banjo player and fiddler, Tony also composes some of the sweetest tunes this side of paradise. And if you need your fiddle adjusted or maybe you're in the market for a new instrument, sto…

This is part two of my conversation with violin maker Marco Imer Piccinotti who lives in the town of San Polo d'Enza in Northern Italy.By Rosin the Bow with Joe McHugh

Marco Imer Piccinotti is a highly-regarded violin maker living in the town of San Polo d'Enza in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Paula and I visited Marco at his home where I recorded this interview.By Rosin the Bow with Joe McHugh

This is part two of my fascinating interview with violinist and music educator Christian Howes.By Rosin the Bow with Joe McHugh

Christian Howes is a gifted violinist who grew up in Ohio playing classical music, soloing with the Columbus Symphony at the age of sixteen. But then his life was turned upside down when he was sentenced to served four years in prison. I traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, in 2016 to ask Christ to share his remarkable story with us. This is part…

I recorded this hour-long interview with violin maker Mark Keenan in 2017 when my wife Paula and I traveled to Ireland. Mark's studio is inside the historic Belmont industrial flour mill in Co. Offaly. Mark's grandfather was also a violin maker at the beginning of the twentieth century in Dublin.By Rosin the Bow with Joe McHugh

Here is part two on my conversation with old-time musician Jody Stecher that ranges from music theory, what's in tune and what's not in tune when playing different fiddle tunes for instance, to the intricacies of an old ballad about two sisters who fall in love with the same young man with the refrain, "Oh the Dreadful Wind and Rain." Jody also sha…

Jody Stecher is one of the most highly respected folk musicians in the world today. His knowledge of the genre is encyclopedic and his singing and skill on a variety of traditional string instruments is unrivaled. I interviewed Jody at his home in San Francisco in 2017. This is part one of that conversation.…

While attending the National Folk Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2015, I had the opportunity to interview fiddler Courtney Granger who was performing at the festival with the Pine Leaf Boys. Sadly, Courtney passed away recently and I wanted to share this interview with others. He was a talented musician and a lovely human being. He will…

This week we're joined by David Gutnik, writer and director of Materna, which won best actress and best cinematography at Tribeca and makes its online debut this week. We discussed filmmaking as a form of therapy, the hardest parts about making a feature debut, and his advice for upcoming directors. Links below: Check out the video version on our Y…

Writer and director Alexandra Pechman joins us to discuss how her career as a magazine writer led to her career as a filmmaker, her short film Thumb, which is premiering at Fantasia August 10th and 12th, and her latest short film Sleep, which won her a grant from the organization the Future of Film is Female. Links below: Checkout the video version…

Writer and director Ned Cooper joins us to discuss his recent short film Hammer: how he helped his lead actor go through an intense physical transformation, the ways in which his crew were pushed to their limits, and why he thinks it’s this film that finally made him a director. Links below: Check out the video version on our YouTube channel! Ned: …

Writer & director Quinn McHugh Fluet joins us to discuss his recent short film Singularity, how he combines world-building sci-fi with intimate human stories, and his work as the editor for this podcast. Links below: Checkout the video version on our YouTube channel! Quinn: Website Instagram Tungsten: Patreon YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Faceb…

Writer, director, and cinematographer Joe Russ joins us to discuss his biggest learning experiences as a filmmaker, his work as a DP on my latest short film Blueberries, and the impact he hopes to have as a producer at Tungsten. Links below: Check out the video version on our YouTube channel! Joe: Website Instagram Tungsten: Patreon YouTube Instagr…

Producer Raegan Levan joins us to discuss her philosophies on the role of producer, how she manages a wide array of content, and what she hopes to achieve as the first official producer at Tungsten. Links below: Check out the video version on our YouTube channel! Raegan: Website Instagram Tungsten: Patreon YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Facebook…

Raegan Levan and Joe Russ join us to discuss how Tungsten has changed since our first podcast episode, our goals and values as a company, and how we’d like to impact the future of the film industry. Links below: Check out the video version on our YouTube channel! Tungsten: Patreon YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Facebook West: Website Instagram R…

Production designer and painter Jenna Rae Tooley joins us to discuss how her experience as a fine artist influences her work on productions, the two feature films she’s working on as a production designer, and how she’s pursuing a career across multiple disciplines. Links below: Check out the video version on our YouTube channel! Jenna: Portfolio I…

Director Pong Tulyathan joins us to discuss his award winning music videos, his process when working with an artist, and finding his voice as a south East Asian filmmaker. Links below: Check out the video version on our YouTube channel! Pong's Website Tungsten: Patreon YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Facebook West: Instagram…

Writer & director Aidan Casey joins us to discuss his upcoming short film Junk: how his experience as a producer prepared him for the role of director, the film’s balance between a traditional and experimental structure, and how it felt to see it all come together after years of hard work. Today we launched a fundraising campaign to push Junk throu…

Clay Buckner is an old-time and Celtic fiddler living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For many years, Clay has been the fiddler for one of my favorite string bands, the Red Clay Ramblers. I recorded this interview at his home after which we spent a pleasant evening playing tunes together.By Rosin the Bow with Joe McHugh

Filmmaker Kevin Plachy joins us to discuss becoming a filmmaker during the rise of social media, if the entertainment industry should take YouTube seriously, and his journey from fan to collaborator at The Valleyfolk, a YouTube channel with over 250k subscribers. Links below: Check out the video version on our YouTube channel! Kevin YouTube Channel…

Writer and director Justin Robinson joins us to discuss his documentary, My Brother Jordan, and why the film took eight years to make, its non traditional distribution which led to 15 million views on YouTube, and why channeling grief is such an honest form of storytelling. Links below: Check out the video version on our YouTube channel! Justin: My…

Producer Thomas Verrette joins us to discuss his documentary Zero Gravity, the film’s inspiring message, and how his career led him to this moment. Links below: Zero Gravity Website Tungsten: Patreon YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Facebook West: Instagram Due to technical difficulties, there is not a video version of this episode.…

Filmmaker Jeremy Mohler joins us to discuss producing independent projects while working professionally, his advice for budding filmmakers, and what he’s learned as a 2nd AD on Law and Order: SVU. Links below: Check out the video version on our YouTube channel! We launched a Patreon! Jeremy Love Radio Tungsten: Patreon YouTube Instagram Twitter Web…

Cinematographer Alissa Rooney joins us to discuss her compelling body of work, how she approaches different styles of content, and her role as the DP for Frame.io’s Camera to Cloud product launch. Links below: Watch the video version of this episode! Alissa Website Instagram Tungsten: YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Facebook West: Instagram…

Independent filmmaker Sasha Garcia joins us to discuss her work as both a director and a 1st AD, how her background affects her storytelling, and the impact she hopes to have on the film industry. Links below: Watch this video version of this episode! Sasha Website Instagram Tungsten: YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Facebook West: Instagram…

Writer and director Nicole Barley joins us to discuss our collaboration on her upcoming short film Lighthouse Keeping, how we think the film industry should improve, and the tangible impact of women-led film sets. Links below: Nicole Instagram Lighthouse Keeping Roots Tungsten: YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Facebook West: Instagram…

Writer & Director Melissa Haizlip joins us to discuss Mr. Soul! Before Oprah – before Arsenio – there was Mr. SOUL! Ellis Haizlip ensured the Revolution would be televised with SOUL!, America's first “Black Tonight Show.” We discussed why the film took 10 years to make, its critical recognition, and why Melissa knew she was the perfect person to te…

Writer and director Kevin Brooks joins us to discuss his fellowship at the Sundance Institute, his award-winning filmography, and his dedication to filming projects in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Don't forget to check out the video version on our YouTube channel! Links below: Kevin: Instagram Tungsten: YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Face…

Editor Jayda Cardoza joins us to discuss her growth as an editor, the director editor relationship, and her new job working in the post production department at Marvel Studios. Links below: Jayda: Website Instagram Tungsten: YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Facebook West: InstagramBy Tungsten Originals

Writer, director, and CEO Jewel Hamrick joins us to discuss his philosophies about the entertainment industry, his thesis film Exposure, and why he decided to start his own production company, IV Vision. Links below: Jewel & IV Vision: Jewel's Instagram IV Vision Website Tungsten: YouTube Instagram Twitter Website Facebook West: Instagram…

Today we're joined by writer, director, and activist Lei White. We discussed his first industry job after graduating from film school, the equality he’s fighting for, and how to combat imposter syndrome. Links below: Lei A Crown of Feathers Instagram Tungsten: Instagram Twitter Website Facebook West: Instagram…

Michael Certalic is a violinist who lives in Bozeman, Montana, where he heads up the strings program at a local high school. In this podcast, he tells the story of a violin he asked a luthier to make that would contain elements of Montana, a state he dearly loves and that serves as the source of his inspiration as a musician and teacher.…

I interviewed James Kelly at the National Folklore Festival in 2015 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Mr. Kelly was born and grew up in Ireland and is now living in the United States. His father was the renowned fiddle and concertina player John Kelly. James talks about growing up in a musical family and how traditional Irish music moved from Ireland …