Conversations

One of my favorite parts of my work is talking with people. I love listening to their perspectives and hearing their stories. Sometimes these conversations are the basis for a written story, and other times the audio is the story itself.

As news director at BPR, I host conversations on-air on a weekly basis. Here is a sample of my recent work:

Downtown Asheville has less violent crime than several other city neighborhoods. A conversation with Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Joel Burgess about his extensive data reporting which showed the neighborhoods with the most attention from law enforcement were not necessarily the areas with the most crime—a counterpoint to the common rhetoric at the time.

Weekly News Round-Up. Every week, I recap the week in news with my colleague, Morning Edition Host Helen Chickering. Our quick rundown synthesizes the region’s most important headlines and allows listeners to catch up quickly on the news.

Earlier in my public radio career, both at NPR and WUNC, I had the opportunity to facilitate some fascinating conversations as a producer and editor. A few of my favorites include:

Nick Sullivan. In a light-hearted chat with host Audie Cornish, the Esquire fashion director explained the intriguing history of the hot trend of the season: red pants.

Elton John. The only interview where I had to keep my colleagues from flooding the studio. It turns out almost everyone is a Sir Elton fan.

Annette Nance-Holt and Candace Lightner. Two mothers who lost their children shared their unimaginable pain in a conversation with host Melissa Block.

Neal Conan and Ken Rudin. Every week at Talk of the Nation, I produced a political analysis segment. I learned a lot about politics but even more about radio.

Photo by Jonathan Farber/Unsplash.