Radiotopia Presents: We're Doing the Wiz

Ong’s Hat is rumored to have once been the site of a gateway to another dimension. After meeting on a forum devoted to the urban legend, yoga instructor Sarah Larsen, and academic Charlie Brill, go on a road trip to the New Jersey Pine Barrens where a group of renegade Princeton professors had once conducted quantum physics and chaos theory experiments to discover a new theory for dimensional travel. When Sarah disappears, Charlie finds himself at the center of a mystery.

Corey Brill (The Walking Dead) stars in this docu-thriller for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds from the makers of The Polybius Conspiracy and Passenger List.

We were delighted to premiere Radiotopia Presents: My Mother Made Me at the 2022 Tribeca Festival. And today we’re sharing a recording of that premiere — a discussion with creator Jason Reynolds and audio trailblazer Jad Abumrad. Recorded live on June 18, 2022 at SVA Theatre in New York City.

Special thanks to Davy Gardner, Julie Shapiro, David Cotrone, Candace McManus, and Elena Giovinazzo for making this event possible.

My Mother Made Me is a production of Radiotopia Presents, and is written and narrated by Jason Reynolds with his mother, Isabell Reynolds. The series is produced by Mark Pagán and edited by Julie Shapiro, with production support from Yooree Losordo. Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich are Executive Producers for Radiotopia Presents. Cover art by Jason Griffin. Theme song by Christian Reynolds. Mixing, sound design and additional original music is by Ian Coss.

Radiotopia Presents debuts limited-run, artist-owned series, from new and original voices. For more information, visit Radiotopiapresents.fm.

Today, we share an episode from our friends at Snap Judgment — Rooty the Pig.

Rooty, a piglet, leaves her Victorian dollhouse on the farm and heads to the city of New Orleans to find a family. But when Hurricane Katrina hits, everything that is near and dear to her is threatened.

BIG thanks to Jim & Connie for sharing their story with us! Thanks as well to Jeffery Tam & Dr. Alison Barca.

Produced by Annie Nguyen, original score by Cheflee

Artwork by Teo Ducot

To wrap the series, my mother and I chat about humility, while hanging at one of our favorite places — the casino. We gamble, feast on a lunch of crab cakes, and dive into how she’s always wanted me to keep my feet on the ground, even after hitting the jackpot.  

My Mother Made Me is a production of Radiotopia Presents, and is written and narrated by Jason Reynolds with his mother, Isabell Reynolds. The series is produced by Mark Pagán and edited by Julie Shapiro, with production support from Yooree Losordo. Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich are Executive Producers for Radiotopia Presents. Special thanks to Aaron Holmes. Cover art by Jason Griffin. Theme song by Christian Reynolds. Mixing, sound design and additional original music is by Ian Coss. This episode was recorded at WAMU.

Radiotopia Presents debuts limited-run, artist-owned series, from new and original voices. For more information, visit Radiotopiapresents.fm.

Mom and I talk candidly about how she taught me to believe in a Higher Power, even though I didn’t like church so much. We get into her many spiritual practices, stroll around Costco (where all miracles happen) and I visit my older brother Allen, for a long overdue catch-up. 

My Mother Made Me is a production of Radiotopia Presents, and is written and narrated by Jason Reynolds, with his mother, Isabell Reynolds. The series is produced by Mark Pagán and edited by Julie Shapiro, with production support from Yooree Losordo. Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich are Executive Producers for Radiotopia Presents. Cover art by Jason Griffin. Theme song by Christian Reynolds. Mixing, sound design and additional original music is by Ian Coss. 

Radiotopia Presents debuts limited-run, artist-owned series, from new and original voices. Learn more and access transcripts at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

Happy 76th Birthday, Ma! In this episode, we celebrate her birthday with lunch at her favorite restaurant, where we talk about life, death, and how gratitude for each day doesn’t always mean we should skip the special ones, like birthdays — no matter how badly I want to skip my own. Every time. 

My Mother Made Me is a production of Radiotopia Presents, and is written and narrated by Jason Reynolds, with his mother, Isabell Reynolds. The series is produced by Mark Pagán and edited by Julie Shapiro, with production support from Yooree Losordo. Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich are Executive Producers for Radiotopia Presents. Cover art by Jason Griffin. Theme song by Christian Reynolds. Mixing, sound design and additional original music is by Ian Coss.

Radiotopia Presents debuts limited-run, artist-owned series, from new and original voices. Learn more and access transcripts at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

Hey, I’m Jason. But more importantly, meet my mother, Isabell. I’m not in the best mood for this introduction, because she raised me to be ambitious and selfless, which means she’s also raised me to be… overwhelmed. With life. But not to worry, my mother also knows exactly what to say to pull me out of a rut, which she does every Sunday, when I roll up to her house for our weekly visit.

My Mother Made Me is a production of Radiotopia Presents, and is written and narrated by Jason Reynolds with his mother, Isabell Reynolds. The series is produced by Mark Pagán and edited by Julie Shapiro, with production support from Yooree Losordo. Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich are Executive Producers for Radiotopia Presents. Special thanks to Levar Burton. Cover art by Jason Griffin. Theme song by Christian Reynolds. Mixing, sound design and additional original music is by Ian Coss. This episode was recorded at WAMU. 

Radiotopia Presents debuts limited-run, artist-owned series, from new and original voices. Learn more and access transcripts at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

Coming up next on Radiotopia Presents: My Mother Made Me.

My Mother Made Me is a series from Radiotopia Presents, where writer Jason Reynolds and his mother, Isabell, explore their shared history, how she raised him, and what they’re teaching each other. It’s a love letter to their connection, an homage to parent-child friendship, and a testament to how growth can be perpetual, despite age or circumstance. Across four episodes, Jason and Isabell go deep – into birth, death and spirituality… but they also keep it light: pushing a cart through Costco, birthday lunches, and hitting the casino together. That’s just how they do.

My Mother Made Me is a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices. It is written and narrated by Jason Reynolds with his mother, Isabell Reynolds. The series is produced by Mark Pagán and edited by Julie Shapiro, with production support from Yooree Losordo. Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich are Executive Producers for Radiotopia Presents. Special thanks to LeVar Burton. Cover art by Jason Griffin. Theme song by Christian Reynolds. Mixing, sound design and additional original music is by Ian Coss.

Learn more about My Mother Made Me at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.

Today, we’re sharing the first episode of a new series from Futuro Media and PRX. We Imagine…Us is a powerfully crafted dual set of podcasts designed to inspire and elevate innovative ideas and solutions for some of the most pressing problems facing our communities as they confront decades of racial inequality.

For the first time ever, Futuro Media is producing an original fiction podcast along with PRX, “We Imagine…Us: The Long Way Around,” starring Emmy-winner Karrueche Tran in her debut podcast performance. The compelling and audio-rich series takes us on a journey filled with twists and turns through the center of the country and explores themes of racial injustice, family and community healing and solidarity while telling the story of a father and daughter’s journey to build a new life for themselves.

This compelling audio drama holds up a mirror to the challenges of our contemporary world and was inspired by recent events and interviews with members of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Solidarity Council on Racial Equity (SCoRE) including John Legend, Ava DuVernay, Michelle Alexander, Heather McGhee and others. 

A companion factual podcast series, Re-Imagination Nation with Maria Hinojosa, features interviews with these thought-leaders about where we are and about how we can work together to create a more just and equitable world.

In episode one of We Imagine…Us, after serving three years for a white-collar crime, Albert "Bumpy" Watkins is released into a post-Covid America, where he has to navigate his new status as a formerly incarcerated person  and his new role as a single parent to teenager Mercy Watkins. 

Behind the Series is a short-run series about the shows previously featured on this very podcast: Radiotopia Presents. This week, we’re talking with the creative team behind our latest series, a hit dog will holler. Today's episode is full of spoilers  — so if you haven't heard the series yet, we suggest finishing all the episodes before listening to this conversation. 

a hit dog will holler tells the story of two Black women activists who find their lives connected in surprising ways. Today, we sit down with three of the leading members of the team, writer Inda Craig-Galván, producer Gisele Regatão, and sound designer Sandra Lopez-Monsalve to reflect on the show’s highlights and creative challenges; from adapting a play into a podcast, creating a major character out of abstract sound elements, and the decisions that go into telling fictional stories about the real world.

Recommended texts from the hit dog will holler team:

Behind the Series is hosted, written, and produced by Mark Pagán. Executive producers are Audrey Mardavich and Julie Shapiro and Yooree Losordo is our operations manager. Music from JD Samson, Blue Dot Sessions, and Christina Gaillard.

Behind the Series is a production of Radiotopia Presents, from PRX’s Radiotopia. Wanna learn more about your favorite shows, get audio recommendations, events updates, and podcast news? Sign up for the Radiotopia Citizen newsletter at radiotopia.fm/citizen.