This photograph is the reflection of large boat masts on the water around Martha’s Vineyard. When looking at it, photographer Marcia Smilack hears cello music. And when the picture is turned upside down, she hears violins.

A Different Sense of Things May 26, 2007

On the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Marcia Smilack is probably spending her weekend photographing reflections on the water. Marcia does that a lot — she tries to capture not just what she sees, but what she hears, smells and feels. Smilack has synesthesia, a neurological condition that affects the senses. It causes people to have some odd experiences: they might see the color blue when they see the letter A, or hear chimes when looking at a picture. Nabokov, Kandinsky, and Miles Davis are believed to have had synesthesia. Independent Producers Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler spend a weekend with Smilack, trying to sense what she senses.

You can see more of Smilack’s work here: http://www.marciasmilack.com/

Photo by Julián Cardona

We’re so excited! Hearing Voices won a Peabody for the “Crossing Borders” special, which featured our Third Coast Short Doc: “And I Walked…Stories from the Border.” The executive producer was the one and only Barrett Golding.

Here’s what the judges said: “The nighttime desert seems to have a voice of its own in this vivid audio chronicle of illegal immigrants from Mexico, what dangers their journeys can entail, and why they still take the risk.”

The piece features incredible work from Scott Carrier, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Quiet American.org and others. We posted it for you, in two parts.

“Crossing Borders” (Part 1)

“Crossing Borders” (Part 2)

From Mexico to US, a Tale of Two Countries in this (((Hearing
Voices))) Cinco de Mayo special. Your guide Marcos Martinez, of KUNM-
Albuquerque, plays some border radio: Poet Luis Alberto Urrea
delivers his “Hymn to Vatos Who Will Never Appear in a Poem” and
travels “The Devil’s Highway,” from his book about death in the
desert. In “Sasabe,” a Sonora, Mexico border town, Scott Carrier
talks to immigrants along their hazardous, illegal desert crossing,
and to the border patrol waiting for them in Sasabe, Arizona. “And I
walked…” (with Charles Bowden) is a border-crossing sound-portrait
by Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler, from the Third Coast Festival’s
ShortDocs series. Guillermo Gómez-Peña gives a “Citizenship Lesson,”
from his CD Borderless Radio, and imagines “Maquiladoras of the
Future,” fantasy border factories. And One-minute Vacation podcasts
(QuietAmerican.org) a Saint Jude’s festival in the highlands of
Michoacan recorded by Siamack Sioshansi, and evening mass at the
Church of Carmen Alta in Oaxaca City recorded by Bronwyn Ximm.

“And I Walked…” Stories from the Border
By Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler
Much of the Sonoran desert between Tucson and Mexico is a haunting
wasteland of discarded shoes, shirts and empty plastic water jugs.
People leave one place for another in search of a dream. Some lose.
They die from dehydration. “And I walked…” is a soundscape of how
the thirst for the American dream translates into a literal thirst
for the scores of illegal immigrants who risk their lives as they
cross the desert from Mexico into the United States in search of
better-paying jobs. (6:06)

Luc Sante, Christmas 1965. (Check out the New Christy Minstrels album at his feet!)

In our latest installment of Song and Memory, we hear from acclaimed non-fiction writer Luc Sante. He was born in post-war Belgium, but his parents soon emigrated to New Jersey. It was while living in the suburbs of the Garden State that Luc Sante first discovered folk music. At the time, folk was so big that it had its own television program, “Hootenanny.” The show made quite an impression on a boy from a strict Catholic family in post-war Europe.

Bobby Hansson is a photographer, filmmaker, blacksmith, and tin can artist. He’s created an orchestra of musical instruments from the tin cans, along with other dumpstered materials. Until now, they’ve never been played all together before.

This is Bobby Hansson with his friend Andrew Hayes holding the “sascatuner,” a musical instrument made out of a bicycle seat, two horns, plastic tubing and a trumpet mouthpiece.

This is where Bobby fires the coals for his blacksmithing work. He built the coal forge himself.

Bobby’s blacksmith shop. He built it himself out of old tires, recylced wood and bottles for the windows. To the right, you can see the speaker where he rigged up a record player to blast
opera music.

Bobby sitting in the kitchen table with his own rendition of American Gothic hanging above him.

Bobby Hansson playing “Big Gray Elephant” on an instrument he made out of a giant maple syrup can.

Bobby wrote a book about his craft in: The Fine Art of the Tin Can: Techniques and Inspirations.

James Palmer
“My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”

James Palmer grew up in small town in Michigan. For much of his early life, his family consisted only of himself and his mother. She was a college undergraduate, and because of her own youth the two of them struggled a bit. The struggle also made the pair quite close. One of James’ earliest memories is a popular lullaby his mother used to sing to him. Years later, after quite a bit more hardship, the memory of the song became even more significant, if also bittersweet.

Ruth Shaver
“Family of God” by Bill and Gloria Gaither

Ruth Shaver is a minister with the United Church of Christ. The song “Family of God” by the contemporary gospel singers Bill and Gloria Gaither, was the first song she sang with her father in church. She has sung it ever since, including her first time as the official pastor for the small church in Pennsylvania. She talks about her memories of the song as well as how it has shaped her personal ministry.

Hannah Marcus
“Where Did Our Love Go?” by the Supremes

Hannah Marcus grew up in Manhattan during the late sixties. She loved listening to her mother’s soul records, especially to “Where Did Our Love Go?” by the Supremes. She had an elaborate story about the beautiful women on the cover. Then one day, a baby sitter came told Hannah some information that changed how she thought about the Supremes and the world around her.

Chicago Matters: Re-forming Englewood
Original Airdate: October 4, 2006
Aired: WBEZ Chicago Public Radio

Initiatives, reforms, changes in philosophy—the Chicago school
district has been trying to bring better education to students for
decades now. Yet less than 10 percent of Englewood High School
students meet state standards and it’s been that way for years. Our
documentary looks at the history of education at Englewood Tech
Academy, and the reasons for its subsequent label by Chicago Public
Schools CEO Arne Duncan as a “culture of failure.”

The documentary follows the transfer of Englewood students to Hyde
Park, another low performing school, and the newest version of
educational reform: charter schools. By exploring Englewood Tech
Academy and its closure; the effect on Hyde Park; and the birth of
Chicago’s first all-boys charter school, Urban Prep, this documentary
explores the past, present and future of education in a neighborhood
with some of the city’s poorest test scores.

Jules Shear
“Something You Got” by Chris Kenner

Remember what it was like when you were young and you saw your teacher at the grocery store? It kind of blew your mind. Now imagine that you’re on a train and you see your principal, and your parents make you sing for her in a crowded train station. That happened to musician Jules Shear. He remembers the song “Something You Got” by Chris Kenner and how singing it to Mrs. Pardini changed his life.

Nina Katchadourian
“You’re Only Lonely” by J.D. Souther

Nina Kathcadourian spent many summers with her family in a small cottage off of the coast of Finland. She and had brother were often each other’s only companions. They often entertained themselves by coming up with elaborative stories about their Playmobile toys. The song “You’re Only Lonely” by J.D. Souther reminds Nina of the time when she and her brother were each other’s best friends.

Kelly Kinsey
“Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles

Kelly Kinsey says her family life was full of secrets when she was growing up. Her father was an alcoholic and her older brother suffered from delusions caused by schizophrenia. Kelly did not seek solace through her friends. Instead, she found comfort in the song “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles.

Mohammed Naseehu Ali
“Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu” by Alhaki K. Frimpong and his Cubano Fiesta

Mohammed Naseehu Ali is a native of Ghana. He is the son of the emir, or king, of the Muslims in that African nation. Unlike his brothers and cousins, Mohammed left Ghana to be educated in the United States. Instead of returning to tribal politics, he became a musician and writer. But he hasn’t left behind the memories of a song so important to his childhood in Ghana: “Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu” by Alhaki K. Frimpong and his Cubano Fiesta.

Out of Body Rodger
Original Airdate: May 5, 2006
Aired: NPR’s Radio Lab

I was there. But I, like, wasn’t there. I was floating. I was looking
at myself from outside of myself.

If it hasn’t happened to you, it’s likely happened to somebody you
know. And whether or not you believe it, about one in ten people
report having had one. “Out of body” experience, it’s a dirty word in
many circles. Which is perhaps why pilots call it “G-LOC”
(gravity-induced loss of consciousness, pronounced “G-lock” not
“glok”). Turns out this kind of experience (call it what you want)
occurs quite frequently among fighter pilots. Producers Ann Heppermann
and Kara Oehler bring us the story. We’ll hear from pilots Tim Sestak,
and Col. Dan Fulgham on what it’s like to lose yourself, unfortunately
for us skiddish passenger-types, while flying a plane. Finally we’ll
hear from Dr. James Whinnery, who simulates G-LOC by placing pilots in
giant centrifuges. His research monitors their brain activity as they
accelerate to speeds inducing this loss of consciousness. But Doc
Whinnery isn’t just a scientist, he’s a subject. And his research has
taken him to some surprising places.

Kathleen Napoli
“Harrigan” by George M. Cohan

Kathleen Napoli’s father was extremely proud of his Irish heritage. Every St. Patrick’s Day, he would gather men from around the neighborhood and have them sing Irish songs in the family’s Brooklyn tenement apartment. Kathleen remembers how much she loved watching the men perform as she sat on the family’s couch in the living room. Her mother, though, was less than happy. For Kathleen, the Irish-American tune, “Harrigan” by George M. Cohan brings it all back.

Julia Slavin
“Manhattan” by Rodgers and Hart

The house Julia Slavin grew up in a house filled with brothers, pets and a little bit of chaos. Often, her father’s piano playing was a part of the chaos. One song he played, “Manhattan” by Rodgers and Hart, serves as a backdrop to Julia’s childhood memory that brought together her brother’s hamsters and the family cat.