Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting

On Breaking Walls Episode 63, we head to Mana Contemporary Studios in Jersey City, New Jersey for a chat with groundbreaking artist Shantell Martin. Shantell produces large scale murals and installations designed to invoke high vibrations from the audience, and get them asking more questions about life.

If you haven’t seen Shantell’s creations and are now hearing this, I’d suggest you definitely go check to ShantellMartin.net. Seeing her work will absolutely give you larger context for who she is and why she approaches life the way she does.

Highlights

• Why Shantell was a morbid kid

The importance of working on your weaknesses

Why artists should treat themselves like business people

How to get the confidence to put yourself out there

How creating on the fly and trusting in one’s self gets us to be more open

Are you you?

The importance of patience and understanding we’re on a journey

The importance of cataloging our art as we create it

What’s next for Shantell

Shantell’s Links

Social Media - @Shantell_Martin

Portfolio - ShantellMartin.net

Online Store - FoundTheFound.com

Mana Contemporary Links

Social Media - @manacontemporary

URL - ManaContemporary.com

WallBreakers Links

Social Media - @TheWallBreakers

URL - http://thewallbreakers.com

Online Store - http://jamesthewallbreaker.com/shop/

In episode 62 of Breaking Walls we profile Lucille Ball's life and career in honor of her upcoming 106th birthday.

From chorus girl, to 1940s movie starlet, to radio comedian, to television star, to studio executive, to mother, to ambassador for women, we'll cover Lucy's career from her own mouth with tons of interviews and other multimedia clips.

You'll hear what she was most proud of, what she feared, what she did when getting fired from her first job, her views on marriage, fading beauty, pornography, being typecast, and many other things.

WallBreakers Links

Unity T-shirt line - jamesthewallbreaker.com/shop/

To subscribe on itunes search for Breaking Walls

To subscribe on soundcloud follow @TheWallBreakers

In Breaking Walls Episode 61, we head to Governor's Island to explore the participatory art project Writing On It All, and speak with artistic director Alexandra Chasin.

Highlights

• An abridged history of Governor's Island

• Audio from “Here,” by Ana-Maurine Lara and LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs at the day of this event

• Where Alexandra's inspiration for Writing on It All Comes From

• Why it's so important to break free from these societal fears

• Why the history of Governor's Island is so important in conjunction with this project

• Why it's important to think of writing as a site-specific art

• What's next for Writing on it All at Governor's Island and in General

Links

Web - http://writingonitall.com

Social Media - @writingonitall

WallBreakers Links

Unity T-shirt line - http://jamesthewallbreaker.com/shop/

To subscribe on itunes search for Breaking Walls

To subscribe on soundcloud follow @TheWallBreakers

On episode 60 of Breaking Walls, we present a look at the history of audio in America on the fourth of July in honor of the 241st anniversary of America's Independence Day.

We’ll laugh, we’ll cry, we’ll get angry, and perhaps, we’ll all be able to answer what it means to be an American.

Highlights:

• Norman Corwin Presents: Home for the Fourth, which originally aired on July 4, 1944.

• A little-known tale about how the American Revolution began from 1948

• Jean Sheppard tells Fourth of July fireworks stories from the Limelight in Greenwich Village, New York in 1964.

• Bill Stern tells a tale about three founding fathers who all died on the Fourth of July from 1947

• The historical significance of the Liberty Bells' inscription, as told in 1954

• Why love is the only way to truly have independence and revolution

• Where we can go from here in America

To subscribe on itunes search for Breaking Walls

To subscribe on soundcloud follow @TheWallBreakers

On Breaking Walls Episode 59, we go inside the New York City-based Maggie Flanigan acting studio for an in-depth conversation with studio head and teacher Charlie Sandlan, and an exclusive listen in on Charlie and studio founder Maggie Flanigan teaching the Meisner technique to students.

Highlights:

• Why having humble confidence is so important

• The importance of going all the way when becoming a character

• What is the Meisner teaching method?

• The history of the studio

• The importance of mentorship

• Is an artist's life a full life?

• Why running from the truth has an expiration date

Links:

MF Studio site - http://www.maggieflaniganstudio.com

MF Studio Address -

153 W 27th St #803,

New York, NY 10001

MF Studio Phone Number & Email -

(917) 789-1599

info@maggieflanigan studio.com

The WallBreakers

www.TheWallBreakers.com

To subscribe on itunes search for Breaking Walls

To subscribe on soundcloud follow @TheWallBreakers

On Breaking Walls EP58, we continue our Radio Chronicles series with a look at old-time radio plays that took place on, or around, the New York City Subway system.

The main story throughout is from the CBS Radio Workshop's August 3rd, 1956 episode, Subways Are For Sleeping, which comes from a short story of the same name that written by Edmund G. Love, and published by Harper's Magazine in their March 1956 issue - https://harpers.org/archive/1956/03/subways-are-for-sleeping/

Highlights:

• Who was Henry Shelby and how did he survive as a homeless man in New York in the 1950s

• June Havoc stars in a tale of murder and intrigue on #Suspense in 1947

• Dinah Shore sings for the troops overseas.

• A short profile on the Perry Mason show

• A stabbing in #timessquare on #Broadway is My Beat

• A subway #ghost!

June Havoc on the Dinah Shore show in 1979 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwuaH0FOMVo

To subscribe on itunes search for Breaking Walls

To subscribe on soundcloud follow @TheWallBreakers

On Breaking Walls Episode 57, we examine the unique connection between radio during its golden age, and Coney Island during the last of its heyday between the 1930s and 1960s.

Many of the original radio performers were vaudeville performers before radio began. In New York, while some found work on Broadway, others found their start at Coney Island. Similarly, during the American radio drama’s dying days in the late 1950s, actors and actresses that would go on to achieve great fame in TV and movies honed their skills on radio. We’ll examine some of those careers and listen to sound bites from the Golden Age of radio that took place at Coney Island.

Highlights:

What famous Star Trek actor got his start on radio in a play that took place around the carnivals?

What famous 20th century comedian once lent his voice to a role as a piano tuner and money stumble upon(er)?

What would bring a Broadway cop to Coney Island on a summer day?

What pick pocketer murdered many during a Coney Island nocturne?

What do Alan Ladd, Cecil B. DeMille, an Elephant hotel, and a lion named Black Prince have in common?

Where does Coney Island and the American radio drama go from here?

Who was Michael Norton and why is there a Norton's Point in Sea Gate?

To subscribe on itunes search for Breaking Walls

To subscribe on soundcloud follow @TheWallBreakers

On Breaking Walls episode 56, we go behind the scenes at The American Museum of Natural History’s new #Mummies Exhibit. You'll hear from museum President Ellen V. Futter, Senior vice-president and Paleontology Curator Michael Novacek, and Curator and Mummies Co-creator David Hurst Thomas on how this exhibit came to be, and why it's so revolutionary. We'll also journey back in time to ancient Egypt and Peru, using the theater of the mind!

For more information on the exhibit and how to get tickets, go to - http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mummies

Subscribe to Breaking Walls on itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/breaking-walls/id924086880?mt=2

Follow on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thewallbreakers

To check out our City Unity t-shirt line, please go to JamesTheWallBreaker.com/Shop.

In episode 55 of Breaking Walls, join myself and author David Shields for brunch at the famous #Jewish restaurant Russ and Daughters in the #LowerEastSide. David and I last spoke in November of 2015 shortly after the #Paris bombings and after the release of his previous novel #War is #Beautiful (Episodes 29-30 of BW).

This conversation at Russ & Daughters centers around David’s views on life, #President #DonaldTrump, #HillaryClinton, BernieSanders, and the recent election cycle, David’s experiences working with #JamesFranco and #KeeganMichaelKey, as well as David’s personal sense of Judaism, and his childhood.

I’d been wanting to speak with David all throughout the 2016 election cycle, and this chat came at a perfect time thanks to the release of his latest novel, Other People: Takes and Mistakes, and his latest film, I Think You Are Totally Wrong: A Quarrel (which was directed by James Franco).

In I Think You Are Totally Wrong: A Quarrel, David spent an isolated weekend with a friend and former student named Caleb. Caleb and David are two intelligent human beings who just seem to have the exact opposite points of view on most things. This film is about what happens when you put two opposite people together and force them to openly discuss their points of view on life.

Other People: Takes and Mistakes is an accounting of childhood, a reveal of memories long passed, a look at relationships, and a well-collected book of life advice.

By the end of our chat, David and I came to the realization that no matter what we all do on this earth, we are each other.

Purchase links:

Other People: Takes and Mistakes

https://www.amazon.com/Other-People-Mistakes-David-Shields/dp/0385351992

I Think You Are Totally Wrong: A Quarrel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXCaY1rNouM

War Is Beautiful

https://www.amazon.com/War-Beautiful-Pictorial-Glamour-Conflict/dp/1576877590

Black Planet

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Planet-Facing-During-Season/dp/0803293542/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492014027&sr=1-2&keywords=black+planet

Subscribe to Breaking Walls on itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/breaking-walls/id924086880?mt=2

Follow on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thewallbreakers

To check out our City Unity t-shirt line, please go to JamesTheWallBreaker.com/Shop.

In Breaking Walls Episode 54, we go exploring at Industry City! https://industrycity.com The former Bush Terminal in on 3rd avenue in Sunset Park has been transformed into an office and community space with both retail and great food on the grounds. It's an incredible, growing hub of innovation and entrepreneurialism.

I sit down with Cristal Rivera, Chief of Staff and Director of Community Engagement at Industry City, Miguel Pacheco, Director of Web Design and Tech at Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, and Darryle Hawes, architect turned maker who uses the tremendous Innovation Lab at Industry City. It's a chance for a behind the scenes look at what's happening at this Hub.

Highlights

• What was the Bush Terminal and how did it support the local community?

• Cristal Rivera: Origins in New Jersey; Passion for the City and social Structure; Insights into Industry City’s present and future

• Miguel Pacheco: Growing up in Sunset Park; How he connected with Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow; Why he teaches; What Makes industry City so special.

• Darryle Hawes: How an architect found himself 3D printing; What’s so important about Brooklyn; Where he wants to take the skills he’s learned at Industry City

If you’d like to go to Industry City, the hub is currently open Mon-Friday. Industry City’s main address is 220 36th Street. The Innovation Lab’s Address is 87 35th st. The closest Subway stop is the 36th Street BMT stop. the R, N, and D train go there.

As Darryle mentioned, check out Modo at MODO.com

Subscribe on itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/breaking-walls/id924086880?mt=2

Follow on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thewallbreakers

To check out our City Unity t-shirt line, please go to JamesTheWallBreaker.com/Shop.