The Signal

  • Friday 7-8pm
  • Saturday 1-2pm

The Signal, a weekly radio magazine produced by WYPR, is devoted to exploring Maryland's thriving artistic and cultural scene.

The Signal, hosted by veteran WYPR personality Andy Bienstock, promises to transport listeners to the region's cultural back roads: the studios, recital halls and basement workshops where art is conceived and brought to life.

The minds behind The Signal senior producers Aaron Henkin and Lisa Morgan, as well as Bienstock -- share an abiding love for the tradition of radio storytelling. Every program is crafted like a book of short stories, a radio quilt sewn together with thoughtful narrative transitions and embroidered with contemplative musical interludes.

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Program Days: 
Friday
Saturday
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Only Archive
5.17.13: Five Seeds Farm

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You know that 1930 Grant Wood painting, American Gothic – the one where the stern-looking farmer with a pitchfork is standing next to his sour-faced daughter?  It’s one of the most recognizable images in 20th century painting, and it’s ingrained a very particular representation of the American farmer in the popular imagination.  Truth is, not all farmers look like that.  Signal producer Aaron Henkin takes us to Five Seeds Farm where, for starters, everyone seems to be in a much better mood than their sullen “American Gothic” counterparts…

 

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5.17.13: Reservoir Hill

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In a city of more than 225 neighborhoods, Baltimore’s Reservoir Hill is known for its historical importance and its architectural significance. A new book, Kelly Dale Terrill’s Reservoir Hill, explores the history of the area through photographs, historical documents, and personal stories of neighborhood residents past and present. Producer Lisa Morgan shares the story.  

 

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5.17.13: Bach in Baltimore

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For twenty five years, The Bach Concert Series has been showcasing the works of JS Bach in monthly performances at Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.  Signal contributor Jeff Trueman has recently discovered the magic of the series, and he brings us this tale of appreciation.

 

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5.17.13: Immortal

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Nancy Heneson joins the program with “Immortal,” the story of a soul (temporarily) without a body.

 

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5.17.13: Five Seeds Farm, Reservoir Hill, Bach Concert Series, and Heneson’s “Immortal”

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We head out to the rolling hills of northern Baltimore County for a visit to Five Seeds Farm.  Founder Denzel Mitchell has cultivated an environmentally and financially sustainable farm and apiary, and along the way he’s taught his five kids some important lessons in self-reliance, entrepreneurship, and good food.

We stroll around Reservoir Hill, a Baltimore community known for its fascinating history and architectural significance in a city of over 225 neighborhoods. 

Contributor Jeff Trueman reports on an oasis of harmony amidst the cacophony of the city – Baltimore’s long-running Bach Concert Series.

And writer Nancy Heneson joins us with “Immortal,” the story of a soul (temporarily) without a body.

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5.10.13: Enter the Realm - Death Metal 101

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So, if we were to draw a Venn Diagram with ‘public radio listeners’ in one circle and ‘death metal fans’ in the other circle, we’re not quite sure what the overlap would be.  Maybe the results would surprise us.  But we do suspect a number of listeners out there may be entirely (and perhaps willfully) ignorant about the subject at large.  For you, producer Aaron Henkin presents a special segment called, Death Metal:  A primer for the discerning public radio listener...

LINKS:
JM Giordano's photo series, Killer Angels
Mary Spiro's metal blog, Metallomusikum
Part Death from Fort Washington, MD
Dominium from Richmond, VA

 

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5.10.13: Mary Sawyers Baker Prize Winners

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On May 2nd, the 2013 Mary Sawyers Baker Prizes were announced, and three Baltimore artists suddenly found themselves each 25 thousand dollars richer.  The William G Baker, Jr., Memorial Fund has been awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars to local artists over the past 5 years, and it all happens through an open-enrollment website:  www.bakerartistawards.org.  The site welcomes any eligible artists to log on, create a profile, and thus become a contender for future awards.  Producer Aaron Henkin introduces the city’s latest winners.

 

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5.10.13: The Tide King

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Jen Michalski’s sweeping new novel, The Tide King, takes readers from 19th Century Poland through World War II Europe and, from there, across the US.  It’s a tale infused with magical realism:  Stanley Polensky and Calvin Johnson are fellow American soldiers during the war. One will end up near death.  The other will save his life by feeding him a mystical herb.  The soldiers will part ways.  The war will end.  And years later, stateside, one will need to find the other to get answers to a desperate question.  Author Jenn Michalski reads a passage from the book, when the two soldiers are on the march in Italy.

 

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5.10.13: Death Metal 101, Baker Prize Winners, and Jen Michalski’s “The Tide King”

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The annual wall of noise known as Maryland Death Fest is right around the corner, and we present for the discerning public radio listener, “Death Metal 101:  A Primer”

We visit with three Baltimore artists who just found themselves 25 thousand dollars richer, thanks to the annual Mary Sawyers Baker Prize:  installation sculptor Jonathan Latiano, photographer Lynne Parks, and classical cellist Dariusz Skoraczewski

Jen Michalski joins us to read from her novel, “The Tide King,” a tale of magical realism that follows two American soldiers from the battlefields of Europe back home to the States where they’re forced deal with an unlikely problem:  immortality

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5.3.13: “Always Be Closing”

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Think your workplace is stressful?  It might be worth remembering that it could be much worse.  Fells Point Corner Theatre is about to open its production of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” David Mamet’s scalding American drama that pits an office full of foul-mouthed, cutthroat real estate salesmen against each other, and things go from tense to cataclysmic.  Producer Aaron Henkin dropped in at a rehearsal, and he brings us a preview.

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Contact Aaron Henkin or Lisa Morgan
thesignal@wypr.org

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