The Big Shed Podcast

(Produced by Jennifer Deer) We're taking our own medicine this week, and damn it tastes good. For your listening pleasure, Jen re-cut this piece, which she originally produced a few years ago. "Hello" is a fun excursion into the in-between space of a phone conversation. enjoy!

(Produced by Jennifer Deer) You've waited for it, and here it is ... another Budget Buddies!!! Don't worry, we didn't sort out all of our financial or personal issues since the last episode. This week, Shea questions Jen's medical practices. Jen question's Shea's sanitation. And change, change, change ... change of fools--what the hell is that noise in the background? By the way, the grand total was over $50, and my apartment is now spotless thanks to some guitar lessons 4 house cleaning bartering. Happy schadenfreude ... er, listening.Note: Check out Allyn's new shed [pictured here]! Pretty sweet.

(Produced by Nikki Brown and Kavanah Ramsier) Can a cup of tea a day keep the doctor away? North Carolina native Annie Melvin continues the tradition of keeping her medicine chest in the garden. Kavanah Ramsier and Nikki Brown produced this piece as part of the Summer 2006 Audio Institute at the Center for Documentary Studies in Durham, North Carolina. Another shameless plug for CDS! But they do good stuff, and we are really captivated by this piece. Shea was down for the Audio Institute as well, and the same weekend Nikki and Kavanah were getting to know Annie Melvin, we were having our first ever old-time jam on my porch with our friend and accordion player, Ann Marie. Please note: June is National Accordion Awareness Month, so we here at Big Shed are doing our part! (Ann Marie will be playing for you in today's feed). The porch jam was mostly a total car crash, but we had a big time! (See photo).

(Produced by Todd Tinkham) When a severe thunderstorm chases two independent filmmakers off of a North Carolina beach, the director decides to interview the cinematographer while waiting out the storm.

Beginning with a simple question - ÃïïWhatÃïïs the most amazing thing youÃïïve ever experienced?Ãïï - Elephantoms takes the listener on a true wildlife adventure, from the rainy coast of North Carolina to the parched deserts of Namibia Ãïï in search of wild, South African elephants.

We met Todd during a podcasting presentation at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies, during one of their Summer Audio Institutes. We recorded the audio that surrounds it the next night. Many thanks to CDS front porch revellers Nikki, both Bens, Jamie, Rachel, Jon and Carol for lending your debauchery to this podcast. I'm as sorry as you are relieved that I could only use this much of the tape from that evening.

My Odeo Channel (odeo/90bf571e1ad73cb9)

(Producer Laura Kwerel) Less a band than an experiment in sound, The Books, create an emotional collage of music, found sound, and documentary. Much of their work is stitched together from recordings that seem strangely familiar--old television shows, home movies, outdoor sounds-- making their songs feel like a nostalgic trip through our own memories.

This year the band, composed of Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong, finally came out of the studio for a national tour. Their first stop was at Bostonâs Musuem of Fine Arts, where I talked to them before the show.

(Producer: Jennifer Deer) That's right, it's round four of Big Shed's financial soap opera. In this exciting edition, Shea gets a bait and switch on his capers and pasta, and Jenn adds a new line item in her budget ... "crazy people." Happy Tax Day!!!! Note: Perhaps you think you've discovered the source of our financial struggles--an inability to count. Sadly, it's not that simple. We didn't forget episode 3 of budget buddies, we just finished this one first.

(Produced by Amara Hark-Weber) Playing for X is the story about an unexpected birthday gift from an old friend. It tells how the friendship has changed over time, and why this specific gift is important. We heard this piece at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies tenth annual Documentary Happening. Hopefully, we'll feature a few more pieces from that weekend, including a bbq cellphone adventure (yikes!).

(Producers: Jennifer Deer + Shea Shackelford) Here's round two in our personal documentary soap opera. What bills to pay ... what foods to eat (or not eat) when shopping on a budget ... and other important questions facing two freelancers hoping to de-emphasize the "free" part of that title. As before, we suggest that you listen to this one while you're planting bulbs for the spring or darning your socks--like an overheard conversation on a train, where the ocassional bizarre turn of conversation grabs your attention. What's up with the negros frijoles in the photo? I can't bear to tell you.

(Producers: Vige Millington + Andrew Starner) One afternoon, we talked about Skyâs experiences growing up as a child in Istanbul, Turkey, a landscape that exists now only in his memories. This is one of the stories he told us, and the song he sings (with a translation) is his sonâs current favorite. Sky and his wife run The Wellness Cafà on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DCâa health store that also sells amazing soups (hence the photo). Note: Andrew and Vige produced this piece as a project for the DC Listening Lounge, a radio-loving salon in Washington.

(Producer: Jennifer Deer) Here's a new idea in our efforts to keep you knee deep in fresh content ... and echoing Jen's closing words in this piece, for god's sake please send us more material or we'll run more than these. I'm kidding. This is a fun new idea from Jen to bring you some of our personal budgeting hysteria. This was not staged. How scary is that?! This is one to put on while you're folding the clothes, like an overheard conversation on a train, where the ocassional bizarre turn of conversation grabs your attention. So, what the hell does the Heinz stash can above have to do with anything? Why would we put a link to this nearly pornographic short film? If you make it to the end of this piece, you just might find out. Note: No bills were payed during the making of this piece.