A year in radio: Some of the favorite stories from 2024

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JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

You principally hear our voices on this present, however behind us, subsequent to us, all the time having our backs is a large crew right here at ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

That is proper. And this time of yr, we flip the mic over to them to replicate on their favourite items of radio from the yr that was.

AVERY KEATLEY, BYLINE: Hello. I am Avery Keatley, and I am a producer on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAMB BLEATING)

KEATLEY: Aww (ph). Yeah.

I have been wanting to supply a bit about lambing season for some time. And so I discovered a farm out in Poolesville, Maryland.

AMANDA CATHER: Welcome.

KEATLEY: And we went out to speak to shepherd Amanda Cather about what it means to boost lambs.

CATHER: That is our tenth yr on this farm. So...

KEATLEY: After we first obtained to the farm, Amanda took us out to the pasture, and we noticed a ewe who seemed like she was perhaps about to present delivery. So we determined to hold round and go do our interview. And proper once we have been wrapping up our interview with Amanda, she obtained a textual content, and we discovered that the ewe that we had seen did have a lamb.

So we're heading out to the sector.

And we discovered that the sheep had had twins.

Twins. Hooray.

And I feel what I like most about this piece is that, although we dove into some actually heavy matters about life and dying and what it means to boost animals for meat, you possibly can hear a lot pleasure coming via Amanda's voice on the finish of the piece.

CATHER: He is so fairly.

(SOUNDBITE OF PIG SNORTING)

CATHER: He is proper right here.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAMB BLEATING)

CATHER: Yeah. He is proper right here.

JONAKI MEHTA, BYLINE: My title's Jonaki Mehta. I am a producer for ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. And for this story, we traveled to Taiwan. We did a collection of tales about what it means to be Taiwanese. And one of many tales we obtained to report on was about two comedians. One in all them's from Taiwan and began her comedy profession in China, and the opposite is from China and began her comedy profession in Taiwan.

JAMIE WANG: My title is Jamie. I am from China. Thanks for the awkward silence.

MEHTA: We met them on this comedy membership referred to as Two Three Comedy, the place they first met and did their first set collectively. As one other comedy set was happening, we obtained to sit down down with them on this dimly lit room proper throughout from the bar the place they first met.

J WANG: I feel comedy is a really highly effective factor 'trigger it isn't like a debate. You are like, one, two, three. That is the logic. Due to this fact, I am proper. You are mistaken. I feel it is a very non-hostile, very pleasant strategy to make individuals take heed to you.

VICKIE WANG: When somebody laughs with you, it is the closest factor you get to altering somebody's thoughts. It is a very proactive sort of empathy.

CHANG: Yeah.

V WANG: And it is a very joyful sort of empathy. Like, the world's on hearth. I feel that is the very best factor we will do - is to make jokes about it. I simply...

MEHTA: I like that they have been capable of get at these actually profound, form of critical consequential tensions that we frequently hear about within the information once we hear about Taiwan. However they have been capable of make individuals snort about it and to get at some actually, like, deep-seated stereotypes as effectively. And I did not anticipate to be taught a lot about Taiwanese and Chinese language tradition sitting in a comedy membership with a few comedians. So it was plenty of enjoyable.

(APPLAUSE)

MARC RIVERS, BYLINE: Hey. My title is Marc Rivers. I am a producer with ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I do plenty of the movie protection for the present. And earlier this yr, I heard a couple of movie competition having at Sing Sing State Penitentiary. The concept behind it was that these movies that have been all not directly or one other sort of, like, touched the prison justice system. These movies can be judged by incarcerated males at Sing Sing.

MICHAEL HOFFLER: I've by no means been part of, like, a movie competition. I've by no means actually seen it, did not actually assume, you already know, it was attainable for individuals to develop up how we develop up.

RIVERS: I did the piece as a result of it isn't simply concerning the naked requirements that an incarcerated individual nonetheless deserves to have, you already know, to sort of reside. It is also about, you already know, their ideas, their emotions. It is about placing their ideas and emotions to apply and feeling like they've some sort of which means.

LAWRENCE BARTLEY: Their phrases, their ideas have worth, and it has weight. And I am glad to have the ability to assist carry that to the world. They're human beings. They're human beings with hopes and desires and desires identical to everybody else.

RIVERS: I feel it is also about how artwork generally is a strategy to transport you past the bodily confines of the place an individual is. Possibly you bodily can not journey past the place you're, however artwork can can help you journey past your area.

(SOUNDBITE OF BOMB EXPLODING)

SEEMA JILANI: That feels very shut.

ERIKA RYAN, BYLINE: My title is E Caan. I am a producer on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Again in January, we talked to Dr. Seema Jilani, who's a pediatrician that went with the IRC to Gaza.

JILANI: There aren't any beds obtainable, so persons are actually simply on the bottom, searching for therapy. There's probably not room or area for us to breathe or assume.

RYAN: She recorded voice memos of her expertise whereas she was there...

JILANI: Six kids in my line of sight proper now within the nook that want medical consideration urgently.

RYAN: ...And captured a few of the, like, uncooked feelings of all the things she noticed and her reactions to a few of the circumstances within the emergency room, together with not having ache treatment or plenty of provides.

JILANI: I've all the time instructed myself, there's not a lot we will do in drugs, however we will deal with ache. And it is now not true anymore. So we can not even supply any consolation right here. There is no such thing as a dying with dignity if you're mendacity on the bottom of an emergency room in Gaza.

RYAN: I actually admire her work and her bravery and the truth that she thought to doc these moments that plenty of us won't ever get to see or hear about.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #1: We're courtside now, begin of the third quarter. Iowa began off with the ball.

GABRIEL SANCHEZ, BYLINE: Hello. That is Gabriel Sanchez. I'm a producer for ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. And earlier this yr, we thought, you already know, it might be nice to speak about Caitlin Clark probably breaking the all-time faculty girls's basketball scoring file. And in February, Caitlin Clark and the College of Iowa got here to the College of Maryland to play.

SALLY MCGOVERN: They have been $9 seats, and I feel we paid 250 a bit.

KAREN SOTAYS: We did not care.

MCGOVERN: And we obtained a steal.

(SOUNDBITE OF SCANNER CHIMING)

SANCHEZ: I had my hand over my mouth 'trigger I simply could not imagine how a lot cash everyone was dropping for scholar tickets which are lower than $10.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Chanting, inaudible).

SANCHEZ: There was music pumping. The gang was yelling. Whistles have been blowing.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #2: Oh, my God.

SANCHEZ: It was such as you went to a buffet, and it was all you possibly can eat, and also you ate for, like, the entire desk. And there was simply a lot to digest, to carry again and attempt to make for air. And it is now December 2024, and we're nonetheless speaking about Caitlin Clark - Caitlin Clark within the WNBA, Caitlin Clark, the athlete of the yr, in response to Time. We're going into 2025, and we're nonetheless speaking about it.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SUMMERS: That was only a small number of the crew right here at ALL THINGS CONSIDERED reflecting on their favourite radio of 2024. Thanks to the entire crew that brings you this program as we speak and on daily basis with our cohosts Ari Shapiro, Mary Louise Kelly and Scott Detrow.

CHANG: Our editors are Christopher Intagliata, Jeanette Woods, John Ketchum, Justine Kenin, Patrick Jarenwattananon, Sarah Handel and Tinbete Ermyas.

SUMMERS: Our producers are Alejandra Marquez Janse, Avery Keatley, Brianna Scott, Connor Donevan, Elena Burnett, Erika Ryan, Gabriel Sanchez, Gurjit Kaur, Halisia Hubbard.

CHANG: Jason Fuller, Jeff Pierre, Jonaki Mehta, Jonas Adams, Jordan-Marie Smith, Kai McNamee, Karen Zamora, Kat Lonsdorf, Kathryn Fink.

SUMMERS: Kira Wakeam, Lauren Hodges, Linah Mohammad, Mallory Yu, Manuela Lopez Restrepo, Marc Rivers, Matt Ozug, Megan Lim.

CHANG: Mia Venkat, Michael Levitt, Noah Caldwell, Tyler Bartlam and Vinnie Acovino. Our technical administrators are Ted Mebane and Neil Tevault. Our administrative assistant is Wendy Johnson. Our managers are Adam Raney, Ashley Brown, Courtney Dorning, Ollie Dearden and William Troop. Our government producer is Sami Yenigun.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE FLASHBULB'S "COMFORT INSIDE PLASTIC")

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