WPRB News and Culture

WPRB News and Culture takes a look into the artistic experiences and projects happening right here in New Jersey. Ellie Diamond learns about the Trenton Circus Squad, a nonprofit whose afterschool workshops teach kids and tweens the ropes of the circus – literally.  Sophie Leheny and Mira Ho-Chen visit the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, and explore one of its longest and strangest collections. Clara McWeeny speaks to Reginald Dwayne Betts: the MacArthur Genius Grant-winning poet, performer, and legal scholar behind Felon: An American Washi Tale, a play about his own experience in the prison system. And Alan Plotz and Pat Grate learn about the work of the Arts Council of Princeton in bringing the joys of music and the arts into the suburban world. 

Hosted and produced by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded and produced by Ellie Diamond, Sophie Leheny, Mira Ho-Chen, Clara McWeeny, Alan Plotz, and Pat Grate.

All music used under Creative Commons license. Theme music: “Take Me Higher,” by Jahzzar. Other music: "Hello Bob (Instrumental)" by Jukesfk, "Warm Guitar Song" by Seth_Makes_Sounds.

News and Culture tackles stories of domestic effort and labor – and explores the ways these oft-pigeonholed talents and works are evolving in our changing world. Adam Sanders heads to the garden, and learns about the seeds at the forefront of the new agricultural revolution. Mollika Jai Singh speaks to Lena Hoplamazian about her wild sewing and designing adventures, from tailoring clothes for her sibling to creating a condom dress. Alan Plotz explores ideas of domestic work around New Jersey at the Princeton Student Laundry Agency and reflects on the NJ Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. And we head to the rubbish bin with a story from our Archives – Oliver Whang learns about where our trash goes, and the aesthetic value of the junkyard.

Hosted and produced by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded and produced by Adam Sanders, Mollika Jai Singh, Alan Plotz, and Oliver Whang. 

Theme music: "Montanita," by Ratatat. Other music used all under Creative Commons license: "Distance" - Manu Cornet, "garden" – johnny-ripper, "Soothing" - GrotiRoti.

News and Culture starts our Spring season at the very end of some stories. Clara McWeeny and Anna Salvatore visit an estate sale. Natalia Maidique and Navani Rachumallu speak to Anthony Grafton, retiring professor of history at Princeton University. Tommy Goulding and Henry Moses talk about their favorite endings in novels. Mollika Jai Singh explores the lore around the endings of The Bachelor episodes. And Adam Sanders calls up a classmate to help him reimagine the cemetery not as a place of death and fear but as a place of memory.

Hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Clara McWeeny, Anna Salvatore, Natalia Maidique, Navani Rachumallu, Tommy Goulding, Henry Moses, Mollika Jai Singh, and Adam Sanders. 

Theme song: "Montanita," by Ratatat. Other music used all under Creative Commons license: "Untitled No. 1" - Matthew Mullane, "Distance" - Manu Cornet, "My Dear Commissar" - Heifervescent, "GoodMood" - Manuzik, "Periodic Comets" - Holizna.

News and Culture brings you four stories of persistence and resilience. Alan Plotz and Claire Kaneshiro learns about the intricacies of the American asylum system with Gabriel Samcam Vargas, a Princeton student and human rights advocate. Reina Coulibaly explores how fiber arts have woven the lives of Black women together for centuries. Mollika Jai Singh speaks about the importance of persistence in a marathon-length friendship. And Claire Kaneshiro and Alan Plotz learn more about living and surviving in the residential youth treatment centers commonly known as the "troubled teen industry."

Produced and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Alan Plotz, Claire Kaneshiro, Reina Coulibaly, Mollika Jai Singh, and Adam Sanders. 

Theme song: “Montanita” by Ratatat.

Included music all under Creative Commons license.

On the day after Thanksgiving, News and Culture takes a moment to meditate on gratitude, with three stories that stretch and test the bounds of our comfort with thankfulness. Mollika Jai Singh explores Princeton University's tradition of 'Annual Giving.' Izzy Jacobson looks back on the gratitude journal she keeps. And Natalia Maidique and Navani Rachumallu learn the complex relationship between 'gratitude cutlure' and psychotherapy from an expert. 

Produced and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Mollika Jai Singh, Izzy Jacobson, Natalia Maidique, Navani Rachumallu, and Adam Sanders.

Theme song: “Montanita” by Ratatat.

Included music all under Creative Commons license.

On 11/11, News and Culture thinks about moments in our day: commutes, routines, junction points, stories from years past and new stories alike. From the archives, Elizabeth Shwe interviews an EMT about a day in the life - saving lives. Henry Moses and Luke Carroll bring us a new story of people at a junction, literally, speaking to folks in the midst of their commutes during rush hour at the Princeton Junction NJ Transit station. We return to the archives to hear a story from Hope Perry, about the path books take in Princeton University's massive Firestone Library, from the circulation desk all the way home. And finally, Anna Hiltner speaks to a farmer at the junction between spirituality and agriculture. The key word? Biodynamics.

Produced and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Elizabeth Shwe, Henry Moses, Luke Carroll, Hope Perry, Anna Hiltner, Oliver Whang, and Adam Sanders.

Theme song: “Montanita” by Ratatat.

Included music all under Creative Commons license.

In our first-ever Halloween special, News and Culture tells spooky stories sure to give you a fright. Navani Rachamallu and Natalia Maidique tell a classic Gothic story, 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. Izzy Jacobson and Mira Ho-Chen crowdsource some ghostly tales. Charlie Nuermberger and Henry Moses speak to an expert on the mythical Jersey Devil of the Pine Barrens. Audrey Zhang digs into the Princeton University Archives to find evidence of ghosts on the historic campus. And Hannah Lee and Claire Kaneshiro explore a classic American Halloween tradition firsthand, venturing into a corn maze.

Produced and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Navani Rachamallu, Natalia Maidique, Izzy Jacobson, Mira Ho-Chen, Charlie Nuermberger, Henry Moses, Audrey Zhang, Hannah Lee, Claire Kaneshiro, and Adam Sanders.

Theme song: "Montanita" by Ratatat.

Included music all under Creative Commons license: "Happy Halloween" by The Vivisectors, "It's Not Hard to Get Lost" by Bryan Mathys.

News and Culture dedicates this Very Special Episode® to those in our community who strive to make it a better place for everyone involved – in the radically freeform way we know how. Ashley Olenkiewicz and Julian Hartman-Sigall explore the mechanics of a congressional campaign in Pennsylvania's competitive 1st District, just across the Delaware River from Princeton. Clara McWeeny and Izzy Jacobson speak to Naomi Hess, a 2022 Princeton graduate who has spent her life fighting for disability rights, at home, at school, and in Washington. Lia Opperman and Mira Ho-Chen talk with Udi Ofer, former director of the New Jersey ACLU and current Princeton visiting professor about strategies of organizing, the fight against mass incarceration, and the state of cannabis justice in this community. And Adam Sanders learns about the growing trend of "mutual aid" networks working to make stronger community support systems – including one in our own backyard. 

Produced and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Ashley Olenkiewicz, Julian Hartman-Sigall, Clara McWeeny, Izzy Jacobson, Lia Opperman, Mira Ho-Chen, and Adam Sanders.

Theme song: "Montanita" by Ratatat.

Included music all under Creative Commons license: "My Dear Commissar" by Heifervescent, "Welcome River" by the IMLC, and "Good Mood" by Manuzik. 

News and Culture continues its second Fall season by pointing the microphone not at a genesis or an ending, but rather at three stories in the middle of their journeys of transformation. Abani Ahmed and Daniel Yeo speak to the developers and planners seeking to revitalize Trenton, New Jersey's capital city. Natalia Maidique and Navani Rachamallu explore the comeback of vinyl record culture in recent years – from the perspectives of both the music team here at WPRB and the iconic Princeton Record Exchange. And Claire Kaneshiro learns about the experiences of those who identify as “born-again” Christians – and discovers a new perspective on self-transformation.

Directed and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Abani Ahmed, Daniel Yeo, Natalia Maidique, Navani Rachamallu, Claire Kaneshiro, and Adam Sanders. 

News and Culture returns for the Fall season with four stories on beginnings – starts informed by faith, technology, crisis, and community. 

Charlie Nuermberger and Henry Moses speak to art critic and writer Dean Kissick about the rise of AI-generated art, and what this new path could mean for artistry and creation in the digital age. Clara McWeeny and Izzy Jacobson explore how activism for reproductive rights has resurged since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and speak to those demonstrating for their bodily autonomy. Alan Plotz and Clara McWeeny learn more about the value of canvassing as a new election season begins – and the risks, benefits, and lessons of a campaign. And Adam Sanders speaks to religious leaders about the modern-day culture of cynicism we see all around us – and ask how we can change the narrative to find meaning and drive in our journey to improve the world.

** For more information about the AI image generation, visit https://discord.com/invite/midjourney. 

Reported, recorded, and produced by Charlie Nuermberger, Henry Moses, Clara McWeeny, Izzy Jacobson, Alan Plotz, and Adam Sanders. Directed and hosted by Adam Sanders.