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
Short Program: 
Only Archive
The far-flung musical friendship of Zieti, a daughter’s tribute to artist Amalie Rothschild, and ‘World of Warcraft’ designer Greg Street

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August 17 & 18, 2012, on The Signal: 

An unlikely musical friendship blossomed thirteen years ago between two Americans and two West Africans in the Ivory Coast.  Together, they formed the band Zieti.  Since then, political turmoil has kept the old friends half a world apart.  But thanks to modern technology, they’ve made a new album nonetheless.  The American half of Zieti joins us with the new tunes, and the stories behind them.

We talk with Amalie R. Rothschild. She’s published a book about the life and legacy of her mother, artist Amalie Rothschild. 

Plus:  The online game, “World of Warcraft,” is inhabited by more than ten million dedicated gamers worldwide.  We meet the master of that alternate universe, Blizzard Entertainment system designer Greg Street.

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The Filbert Street Community Garden, ‘Riots & Rebirth’, and violinist Chelsey Green

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August 10 & 11, 2012, on The Signal:  

South Baltimore’s Filbert Street Community Garden was a trash-strewn lot when Jason Reed showed up there two years ago.  With the help of Curtis Bay Elementary Middle School students, he’s transformed the area into a flourishing green space, and we’ll drop in on Jason and the kids as they cultivate their harvest. 

A talk with the editors of “68: Riots and Rebirth in an American City,” a book about the riots in Baltimore following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Plus:  R & B meets classical strings when musician Chelsey Green trades the symphony circuit for the club scene

 

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Arty Hill’s ‘Another Lost Highway,’ Pierce’s Park, and Robert A Douglas’ ‘Fertile Concrete’

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August 3 & 4, 2012, on The Signal:  

We drop in at a Fells Point country music bar to hear the twang of honky tonk musician Arty Hill, whose new album, “Another Lost Highway,” brings a little Nashville flavor to Charm City.

We pay a visit to Pierce’s Park, a new public green space and memorial garden located on the Baltimore waterfront. 

Plus:  At age 23, Robert A Douglas has published “Fertile Concrete,” a memoir about his young life in Baltimore, and we talk with him about his path from drug dealer to gospel preacher.

 

 

 

This week (08.03.12 & 08.04.12) on The Signal: Music and conversation with honky tonk songwriter Arty Hill; a visit to Pierce’s Park; and Robert A Dougles on his memoir of survival and redemption, “Fertile Concrete”

 

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Ugandan musician Kinobe, the ‘pedestrian’ poetry of Jennifer Wallace, and novelist Clarence Brown’s “Needs”

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July 27th & 28th, 2012, on The Signal:  

Ugandan multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Kinobe has toured the world, but he comes from a country where there’s no word for ‘music’.  We’ll talk with Kinobe about the beauty of that paradox, and we’ll hear the ancient sounds of his traditional instruments.

We stroll around Bolton Hill with poet Jennifer Wallace, whose book, “It Can Be Solved by Walking,’ explores the balance between nature, man, and the built environment, and celebrates the simple pleasure of walking.

Plus:  A visit with writer (and recovering heroin addict) Clarence Brown, whose crime novel, “Needs,” pits a drug-addicted Baltimore detective against an elusive killer.

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Poetry on The Chester River, Arthur Magida’s “The Nazi Seance,” and open-air guitarist Robert McCoy

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July 20th & 21st, 2012, on The Signal:  

The Chester River is an important part of life for poet Meredith Davies Hadaway.  It’s also the inspiration for her poetry, and this week the Eastern-Shore writer takes us out onto the waters that have meant so much to her.

Arthur Magida talks about his book, THE NAZI SÉANCE: THE STRANGE STORY OF THE JEWISH PSYCHIC IN HITLER’S CIRCLE.  It’s the tale of a celebrated clairvoyant who let his ambition blind him to the realities of life in 1930’s Berlin.  

Plus:  Guitarist Robert McCoy plays solo, but he’s got the whole city of Baltimore as his back-up band.  We’ll visit Robert at his favorite musical venue, outdoors under the trees at Wyman Park Dell, and we’ll hear his contribution to the soundtrack of Charm City.

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Landscape as Laboratory, Ghetto Medic, and Benn Ray’s Book Picks

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July 13th & 14th, 2012, on The Signal:  

We visit “Landscape as Laboratory,” the latest round of outdoor works inspired by Evergreen House, the 19th century Italianate mansion that was once home to Baltimore’s Garrett family.

Bill Hennick spent thirty years as a Baltimore firefighter and paramedic, and every day when he came home, he told his adventures to his daughter, Rachel Hennick.  Now, she’s written a memoir about her dad called “Ghetto Medic,” and we’ll talk with Rachel and the hero of her book – her dad.

Plus:  Benn Ray of Atomic Books stops by with a few summer reading suggestions, from fictional tales of the not-too-distant future, to non-fiction meditations on baseball during the 1970s.

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South of the Border, Ken Rudin at the Stoop, and Bob Keal of Small Sur

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July 6th & 7th, 2012, on The Signal:  

The roadside tourist trap “South of the Border” has been voted the ‘tackiest place in the mid-Atlantic,’ but for historian Nicole King, it was love at first sight.  Professor King has researched “South of the Border” with a critical eye, and she joins us with some profound cultural observations about a profoundly silly place 

NPR Political Junkie Ken Rudin confesses his own political failings in front of a live audience at WYPR’s 10th anniversary Stoop Storytelling celebration.

Plus: Big emotions captured in sparse melodies – music and conversation with Bob Keal of the Baltimore indie band, Small Sur.

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National Pinball Museum, The Atomic Weight of Secrets, and Isaac Rehert's 'Renaissance'

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June 29th & 30th, 2012, on The Signal:  

David Silverman has a collection of almost 900 pinball machines, and in January 2012 he opened the doors to the National Pinball Museum in downtown Charm City.  We listen back to a visit with David, when he set aside his last-minute preparations to give us a crash course in pinball history.

Eden Unger Bowditch talks about her book, “The Atomic Weight of Secrets,” a Young-Adult mystery about the real-life magic of scientific invention.

Plus:  A lot of great writers have been late bloomers.  Charles Bukowski wrote his first novel at age 49.  Frank McCourt published his first book at 66.  But Baltimore’s Isaac Rehert has got them all beat.  He published his first book of poetry - at age 90 -  and he joins us to share some pieces from his aptly titled collection, “Renaissance.”

 

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Gil Sandler, The Thelonius Monk Story, Marion Winik on Bruce Springsteen, and lost-&-found audio of George Carlin

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June 22nd & 23rd, 2012, on The Signal: Master storyteller Gilbert Sandler joins us to share memories of a lifetime spent in Charm City and to talk about his new book, Glimpses of Jewish Baltimore. Sphere: The Thelonious Monk Story is a play that tries to make sense of a jazz legend’s unconventional genius, and we’ll visit with the folks who bring the story to life. Move over, Bruce Springsteen! You may still be The Boss, but New Jersey native Marion Winik has some tales of her own about growing up on the Jersey Shore. Plus: Baltimore’s Jeff Dugan was a college kid in 1979 when he got backstage at a George Carlin show with a cassette recorder. His interview with Carlin has been collecting dust in a shoe box, until now.

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POSTCARDS FROM THE STOOP

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June 15th & 16th, 2012, on The Signal:

This special coproduction of The Signal and The Stoop Storytelling Series, taped live during two nights at Center Stage, features true tales of travel.  Guest storytellers dish about surprise destinations, tandem bike treks, airport customs ordeals, and international fiascos.  The Stoop Players take the stage to perform old-time radio comedy sketches about the perils of family road trips and the world unto itself that is the discount bus to New York City.  And The Egg Babies Orchestra rounds out the show with some original travel music for the occasion.  

You can enjoy both original live shows in their entirety at www.stoopstorytelling.com.

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Contact Aaron Henkin or Lisa Morgan
thesignal@wypr.org

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