Playlist: Spring
Compiled By: PRX Editors
A potpourri: Pieces about birds, frogs, baseball, prom, and more.
Below are picks chosen by PRX editorial staff. You can see more pieces about springtime by using our search.
Be sure to check out our Passover, Poetry Month, and Earth Day Editors' Picks playlists as well.
Half-Hour (24:00-30:00)
Beat Pedaler
From vanessa lowe | 30:01
Beat Pedaler is an in-depth exploration of rapper, inventor and educator Paul Freedman’s passion for bike culture.
- Playing
- Beat Pedaler
- From
- vanessa lowe
He goes by the name Fossil Fool. But Paul Freedman is nobody’s fool. He’s a rapper, an inventor and an educator. And he’s on a mission to spread the word -- about biking that is. He does this in a number of ways – the most visible involves embodying his alter ego, “Fossil Fool, the Bike Rapper”. Fossil Fool rides around on El Arbor, a 15 foot Tree that is also a bicycle, as he performs original rap music about bike culture. Beat Pedaler is an in-depth exploration of Freedman’s passion for bike culture, and his motivation for calling it from the mountaintops. Freedman envisions a world where “bikes are cool and cars are lame”, where everyone has discovered that shedding the protection of cars allows them to become more connected to their local communities. Getting people out of their cars has another benefit for a nation dependent on petroleum. Fossil Fool believes that creating community by celebrating bike culture will fuel a shift in attitudes and behaviors that just might save the planet.
Birdathon
From Long Haul Productions | 28:59
Long Haul Productions follows two teams as they compete in the Southwest Michigan Birdathon. Birdathons are much like walkathons, but instead of racking up miles for charities, people pledge donations based on the number of birds a team sees or hears.
- Playing
- Birdathon
- From
- Long Haul Productions
Every spring since 1989, bird lovers in Berrien County, Michigan, (directly across the lake from Chicago,) have taken part in the annual Southwest Michigan Team Birdathon. Birdathons are much like walkathons, but instead of racking up miles for charities, people pledge donations based on the number of birds a team sees or hears. The proceeds are, for this particular event, donated to nature or conservation groups Participants in the southwest Michigan birdathon can start at midnight and go all out until 7 p.m., tracking down as many species as possible within Berrien County. And because the event is held at the height of spring migration near the shores of Lake Michigan, a major corridor for migrating birds, there are literally hundreds of different species teams can tally on their official checklists. Producers Elizabeth Meister and Dan Collison followed two of the 24 teams who took part in last spring's event. One team was made up veteran birders who won the previous year's Birdathon. The other included younger, less experienced members.
Encounters Wood Frogs
From Encounters: Radio Experiences in the North | Part of the Encounters series | 29:00
Listen to a rare sound in the Arctic when you follow host Richard Nelson to a wood frog song locale. You'll meet a creature that has the ability to completely freeze in the winter — it's lungs, heart the whole shebang — and then defrost in the spring in time to chirp off a mating call.
Listen to a rare sound in the Arctic when you follow host Richard Nelson to a wood frog song locale. You'll meet a creature that has the ability to completely freeze in the winter - it's lungs, heart the whole shabang- and then defrost in the spring in time to chirp off a mating call.
Segments (9:00-23:59)
Trekking to the North Pole
From Greenpeace Podcast | Part of the Greenpeace Podcast Segments series | 11:02
In the spring of 2013 four people went on a trek to the North Pole with a message.
- Playing
- Trekking to the North Pole
- From
- Greenpeace Podcast
In the spring of 2013 four people went on a trek to the North Pole with a message.
Spring Cleaning
From Distillations | Part of the Distillations series | 11:55
This week learn about the cleaning power of vinegar, what to do if you have hard water, and why green dry cleaning is catching on. Chemical Agent: Acetic Acid.
- Playing
- Spring Cleaning
- From
- Distillations
It is officially spring — time to open the windows, let the fresh air in, and sweep those winter blues away! In this episode we learn about acetic acid and its cleaning power — a natural and fairly cheap option to clean your house. Then find out how hard water can make cleaning more difficult, and what you can do about it. And finally, producer Rene Gutel explores the new trend in green dry cleaning. Chemical Agent: Acetic Acid.
Cutaways (5:00-8:59)
Gems 1515 Bluegrass and Spring
From Philip Nusbaum | Part of the Gems of Bluegrass series | 05:28
In bluegrass songs, Fall symbolizes the end of a cycle. It’s because of the music’s rural background. Farmers harvest in fall. When dies the cycle start up again? Not winter. (In bluegrass songs, winter can be cold, it can be beautiful, but it represents a holding pattern. The cycle resets in spring. When farmers plant, everything else starts up too.
- Playing
- Gems 1515 Bluegrass and Spring
- From
- Philip Nusbaum
Gems of Bluegrass are 5 - 8 minutes drop-in modules that look at bluegrass / old time history, aesthetics and culture, conceived broadly. Each Gem consists of multiple song clips with commentary over music beds. For an insightful weekly 1-hour bluegrass show that includes Gems of Bluegrass, see the Bluegrass Review, available from PRX. Contact Phil Nusbaum at pnusbaum@bitstream.net to download the show from www.bluegrassreview.com.
Mom Prom
From Homefront Chronicles | Part of the Homefront Chronicles series | 05:28
Myla Rugge realized shortly after becoming a mother for the first time that something was missing for her and her friends. She took matters into her own hands and created one of the first events of its kind in the US: Mom Prom.
- Playing
- Mom Prom
- From
- Homefront Chronicles
Myla Rugge realized shortly after becoming a mother for the first time that something was missing for she and her friends. She took matters into her own hands and created one of the first events of its kind in the US. A prom just for moms.
Storyville: "Finding It In The Sun"
From WWNO | Part of the Storyville series | 05:31
This piece by Eric Millman is about moving to New Orleans from California hoping to join a baseball community, and drowning in the unavoidable Saints/NFL culture. In time, however, Eric finds a team.
- Playing
- Storyville: "Finding It In The Sun"
- From
- WWNO
Storyville is a new collaboration between of the University of New Orleans and WWNO. These are true stories about New Orleans written by the students in the University’s Creative Writing Workshop — our next generation of writers. The stories are as diverse, original and colorful as the city itself.
The Spring Warblers of southern Illinois
From Kevin Boucher | 06:19
In this piece you will explore the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois during the spring warbler migration.
- Playing
- The Spring Warblers of southern Illinois
- From
- Kevin Boucher
The Shawnee National Forest is located on the Mississippi Flyway and every year, beginning around mid-April, warblers and other similar birds - collectively known as neo-tropical migrants - fly up from their wintering grounds in central and south America to gorge in the insect-rich forests and fields of southern Illinois and raise a family. This piece features a wonderful warbler sound-walk with a member of the local Audubon Society.
The Potato Ball Caper
From Long Haul Productions | 07:46
On August 31, 1987, one of baseball's most peculiar plays took place in the minor leagues in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was a variation of the age-old hidden ball trick, except it involved a hidden potato. In this story, we hear from the man responsible for the play and two people who witnessed it.
- Playing
- The Potato Ball Caper
- From
- Long Haul Productions
On August 31, 1987, one of baseball's most peculiar plays took place in the minor leagues in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was a variation of the age-old hidden ball trick, except it involved a hidden potato. In this story, from producer Dan Collison, we hear from the man responsible for the play and two people who witnessed it. The Potato Ball Caper was orignially broadcast in 2002.
Drop-Ins (2:00-4:59)
Spring Skiing
From Hearing Voices | Part of the Scott Carrier stories series | 03:58
A day of spring skiing in the Wasatch Range.
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- Spring Skiing
- From
- Hearing Voices
When most people are headed to the beach, our producer heads for the ski slopes near his home in Utah. Carrier explains that the combination of freezing and thawing in the late spring gives the mountain snow pack a special quality that makes for a unique skiing experience.
Prom Proposals Like You Wouldn't Believe
From Syracuse University Broadcast Journalism | 02:16
The phenomenon of "promposals" is sweeping the nation. High schoolers everywhere are going to serious lengths to pop the question for prom.
The phenomenon of "promposals" is sweeping the nation. High schoolers everywhere are going to serious lengths to pop the question for prom.
Spring Peepers
From Ed Herrmann | Part of the Wake Up and Hear the Roses series | 02:20
frogs sing near Lake Michigan
- Playing
- Spring Peepers
- From
- Ed Herrmann
A natural sundscape featuring spring peepers, recorded near Leelanau, Michigan. The smallest frogs in Michigan are also the loudest
Lovable Losers
From Rich Halten | 02:58
Exploring the often painful depths of loyalty for millions of Cubs fans coast-to-coast.
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- Lovable Losers
- From
- Rich Halten
After a full century of futility since their last World Series (in 1908), Chicago Cub fans keep coming back for more. More disappointment and tears, that is. So here's a salute to Chicago's Lovable Losers -- to the team that won't quit and the faithful who won't let them. Even after a loss -- when these comments were recorded -- they're a study in diehard loyalty. Produced by invitation of the Third Coast Festival for a series on things that are unique to the Windy City.
Interstitials (Under 2:00)
What Would Scarlet Do?
From Ellen Birkett Morris | 01:59
An old prom dress sparks memories of a departed stepmother and her different take on the world.
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- What Would Scarlet Do?
- From
- Ellen Birkett Morris
We all have a quirky relative who looks at the world in thier own special way. This piece would be perfect for prom season or in combination with other pieces that celebrate the spirit of people who are lost to Alzheimer's disease.