I think I belong to a simpler time. Or at least an older one. I love to make my own bread and hang the laundry out to dry because they are things that teach me to slow down, to breathe, and to appreciate time and life and the people I share them with. Also, I love to listen to Radio. I don't just mean that I put the radio on in the car to keep me entertained while I drive (though that's becoming rapidly out of date as well). I love to sit down with my laundry and really listen to the radio. And I'm here to tell you that all the best radio happens at night.
Let me take you back to 9th grade, when one of my favorite memories is of falling asleep in the top bunk with my alarm-clock-radio tuned to Casey Kasem's Top 40 Countdown. Fast forward to just before I got married, when I lived in our first apartment by myself for a few weeks, after our good-nights but before I could fall asleep I'd listen to short stories and plays on the radio. Then after marriage but before kids, we'd stay up and listen together. Even now, especially in the heat of summer's canning season, when I'm always up late because I didn't plan on the jam taking so long to set up, there's nothing like a cool breeze coming in the kitchen window and old-time swing music playing on the radio.
And so! For your listening enjoyment, here are links to some of my favorite late-night radio programs. And thanks to the beauty of the internet, you don't even have to stay up late to listen to them!
L.A. Theatre Works' Radio Theatre Series
To the Best of Our Knowledge ... a sort of "radio magazine." Lots of good stuff here.
Selected Shorts ... short stories from all genres, read to you like it's bedtime. And for me, it is!
American Routes ... is a presentation and discussion of quintessentially American music: blues, jazz, rockabilly, zydeco, gospel; with interviews, documentaries, and of course the music itself.
And of course, one of my all-time, long-time, I'll-cry-the-day-it-goes-away favorites, This American Life.
Let me take you back to 9th grade, when one of my favorite memories is of falling asleep in the top bunk with my alarm-clock-radio tuned to Casey Kasem's Top 40 Countdown. Fast forward to just before I got married, when I lived in our first apartment by myself for a few weeks, after our good-nights but before I could fall asleep I'd listen to short stories and plays on the radio. Then after marriage but before kids, we'd stay up and listen together. Even now, especially in the heat of summer's canning season, when I'm always up late because I didn't plan on the jam taking so long to set up, there's nothing like a cool breeze coming in the kitchen window and old-time swing music playing on the radio.
And so! For your listening enjoyment, here are links to some of my favorite late-night radio programs. And thanks to the beauty of the internet, you don't even have to stay up late to listen to them!
L.A. Theatre Works' Radio Theatre Series
To the Best of Our Knowledge ... a sort of "radio magazine." Lots of good stuff here.
Selected Shorts ... short stories from all genres, read to you like it's bedtime. And for me, it is!
American Routes ... is a presentation and discussion of quintessentially American music: blues, jazz, rockabilly, zydeco, gospel; with interviews, documentaries, and of course the music itself.
And of course, one of my all-time, long-time, I'll-cry-the-day-it-goes-away favorites, This American Life.
What are some of your favorite radio memories?
Happy listening!
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Boy does hhat bring back memories! When my husband and I were dating, we always looked forward to Sunday night's old radio shows. I can't remember the station, but they would play the old action stories, from the 40's-ish. I had a rough home life, so it was also a good distraction from the week ahead, but even after we got married we looked forward to hearing them after visiting family on Sundays. Now, with kids, we try not to be out that late ;0) but I still enjoy them whenever I get to.
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