Uptown Radio

Finalists in Columbia Journalism's School 2026 Radio Race

Transcript:

AUTOMATED SELF-CHECK-OUT MACHINE:

Thank you for shopping at Wegmans.

[COLD WIND]

TOMÁS:

El invierno es donde más se gana.

Winter is when you earn the most.

[DOORDASHER BIKE ZIPS THROUGH THE WINDY STREETS]

Ganamos por entrega.

We earn by delivery.

Estamos en contra del tiempo.

We are racing against time.

Mi nombre es Tomás. Soy de Guatemala. Trabajo de DoorDash de semanas y trabajo en

‘warehouse’ de lunes a viernes.

My name is Tomás. I'm from Guatemala. On the weekends, I’m a Doordasher. And from

Monday to Friday, I work in a warehouse.

¿Cómo lidiar con el cansancio? Ah, a mí me lidiana mucho el vino, pero Mi futuro es esto:

trabajar duro.

How do I cope with exhaustion? Uh. Well, wine helps me cope, but this is my future:

working hard.

Hay que andar con casco, las luces, y respetar las señales.

Wear a helmet, use lights, and respect the signs.

[SOUNDS OF TRAFFIC]

Si usted respeta eso, no pasa nada.

If you follow that, you’ll be safe.

[CAR BEEP]

Me la paso más en Manhattan. Mi área es bajo por la World Trade Center.

I work mostly in Manhattan. My area is near the World Trade Center.

Lo que más me gusta es que me distraigo bastante. En las calles. Entro en diferentes

restaurantes [y] supermercados.

My favorite part of this job is that I entertain myself a lot. I’m outside in the streets. I go

into many different restaurants and supermarkets.

[MONTAGE OF DELIVERIES]

[BIKECHAIN LOCKS]

Y lo malo es que los clientes no contestan, no abren la puerta, te toca llamar al servicio al

cliente. Entonces ahí perdemos mucho tiempo. Eso es lo malo.

And my least favorite part is when customers don't answer, or they don't open the door,

and you have to call the App’s customer service. That’s where a lot of time is wasted.

That's the bad part.

[APARTMENT BUZZ]

Muchos edificios así, viejos, toca subir, caminar seis [o] cinco pisos, [y] bajar.

Many buildings like this, old, you have to go up, walk six or five floors, and then come

down.

Entre más hacemos, más ganamos, pero hace como dos años, ya no dan tips. Raro que te den

$2, $3. Ya no. Ya nadie quiere dar tips.

The more we do, the more we earn. But, it's been about two years since they stopped

giving tips. Rarely do they give you $2 or $3. Nobody wants to tip anymore.

[FOOTSTEPS WALKING UP FLIGHTS OF STAIRS]

Hi.

[DOOR OPENS]

May I have your ID please?

[HEAVY BREATHING]

In the middle of breakfast, the ladies of the Community Park & Market henhouse wonder what it's like outside the coop, across the road, on the other side. Winner of the Judge's Award in Columbia Journalism's School 2026 Radio Race.

Finalist in Columbia Journalism's School 2026 Radio Race.

Translated from Swedish to English:

My baby has learned to babble.

It's so damn cute.

2-year-old: You’re supposed to bite like a crocodile!

We have breakfast.

And put on clothes.

I pack the diaper bag.

I'm headed to the gym.

My body is different now. Now that I've given birth to two children. I have to go to

mamafit-classes.

The trainer says our bodies start to deteriorate when we turn 30.

I'm about to turn forty.

The sky is clear blue and the sun is shining. Life really comes back in this city when

the sun shines in March.

Everything that is ugly becomes beautiful.

The tower cranes at Slussen gleam in the sunlight.

The Katarina Elevator looks small in comparison.

Almost everyone at the gym is retired.

And then there's us. The moms with our babies.

We who are trying to wake up those inner abdominal muscles

that apparently are still in there.

It's just the neural connections that are missing, says the trainer.

Outside the gym my dad is waiting, leaning against a tree.

We’re meeting up to choose a picture for my mother’s casket today. She died two

weeks ago.

My dad looks younger than he is. He is retired too, like the people at the gym.

My baby is not retired. She is brand new.

Then we buy milk.

And I forget to pay for the diapers.

Tomorrow is Wednesday.

Then it will be two weeks until my mother's funeral.

Travel to Little Guyana with Chris as he shops for his mom's favorite food from her home country, which she hasn't returned to in 30 years. A story about culture, food, and family. Created by husband-and-wife duo Chris Agbanyo and Kylie Miller.

TRANSCRIPT

CHRIS VO

If you take the A train all the way to the end and get off at the last stop, you'll end up in Little Guyana. Little Guyana is a very small neighborhood in Queens where the A train rumbles above your head, where you can find great food, great culture, and great people.

CHRIS

And then can I also get six pine tarts?

MOM

Uh-huh. And one butter bread.

CHRIS

One second, Mom.

CHRIS VO

My mom's Guyanese. She immigrated to the United States in the eighties and she's always been craving and wanting many Guyanese things. So I always go to Little Guyana before I go to visit my mom in Pennsylvania to get her everything she needs.

CHRIS

What, what else do you want, mama?

MOM

Um, Pholourie mix and, and split pea flour.

CHRIS

Okay. All right. I'll get that.

CHRIS VO

She has a really, really strong cultural identity in her cooking, in her accent, the way that she acts and, you know, laughs and yells.

STORE CLERK

What your mom is? Guyanese?

KYLIE

Yeah.

CHRIS

Yeah, she's Guyanese.

STORE CLERK

And what the father is?

CHRIS

Uh, my father is, uh, Togolese from West Africa.

STORE CLERK

Well, he, she made a handsome son.

CHRIS

Thank you.

CHRIS VO

Food is so important to both my parents' cultures. It's the connective tissue that brings people together.

CHRIS

Can I get, can I get one, uh, one chicken patty please?

STORE CLERK

At least he could get something for himself, mom.

CHRIS

The lady said at least I can get something for myself, not just for you.

STORE CLERK

Because he buy all for you.

CHRIS

Thank you so much.

CHRIS VO

I go to Little Guyana, you know, and it's over an hour from my house taking the J all the way to the end of the A to get there. And the reason why I do it is like she hasn't gone home. You know, I do it so she has a piece of home. You know, I come from a place where, you know, that $800 flight, you know, is too much. So if I can spend a hundred dollars at a Guyanese supermarket and call her on the phone and hear her voice, how she's excited to get what she's getting and saying, "thank you, son".

MOM

Thank you son.

CHRIS VO

and just being happy.

CHRIS

Alright, bye.

CHRIS VO

That's what I do it for.

MOM

Bye bye.

This piece was a finalist in Columbia Journalism's School 2026 Radio Race.

[Birds]

VO:

We’re in Grădinari, just outside Bucharest, in the courtyard of a ruined boyar mansion.

Around 1900, this place would fill with guests spending their summers here.

Marius:

The parties they hosted here in Grădinari always had elaborate menus.

These were exclusive gatherings.

It wasn’t easy to get on the guest list.

Parties here lasted a long time and were very lavish.

VO:

This is Marius Tudosiei. He bought the place and wants to give it a new life.

He loves the cuisine of southern Romania and says that, especially during spring, you should start at the market to find its flavors.

Marius:

You should always look for seasonal ingredients, because they’re the freshest and the most nutritious.

[Obor market ambiance]

Vendor (RO):

“Ten for you — I’ll give them for fifteen lei so you still have money for a coffee.

And you should know — sorrel is more expensive.”

Marius:

For example, in spring you’ll find sorrel.

Sorrel with rice is divine.

It surprises you — you don’t expect such depth of flavor from a simple leaf that grows wild in the fields.

Market seller:

I’m from the countryside, but I don’t know how to cook sorrel with rice.

You boil the rice, onion, and sorrel… right?

[Phone playing archival TV audio]

“This house of death…”

VO:

But this place has had another life.

It used to be a hospital-orphanage for abandoned children.

For a long time, their meals consisted mostly of porridge.

[Museum team rummaging]

Museum of Abandonment team:

“There are more objects here…

What you found in the archives comes back to life.”

VO:

Marius didn’t throw anything away from that chapter.

Instead, he invited the Museum of Abandonment to gather what remains —

and preserve the story.

Marius:

A toy… a ball… a doll’s head…

VO:

Soon, the mansion will fill again with old recipes, music, and life.

But it will also mark the memory of the children who lived — and suffered — here.

Uptown Radio Broadcast May 15, 2025 by Uptown Radio

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