Playlist: Awwwdio
Compiled By: PRX Editors
Times are tough. This is just cute stuff.
Picked by your PRX editorial team.
Two Little Girls Explain The Worst Haircut Ever
From Jeff Cohen | 02:57
My five year old cut off my three year old's hair. A few weeks later, I decided to interview them and get their explanations. Here's what they told me.
Happy to say that this little radio story has taken another life. In the summer of 2014, it will be a children's book released by HarperCollins Children's Books. Take a look!
Faisdodo's Stomach
From David Weinberg | Part of the Random Tape series | :41
I was sitting in bed reading one night when I heard the strangest sound...
- Playing
- Faisdodo's Stomach
- From
- David Weinberg
I was sitting in bed reading one night when I heard the strangest sound...
Auditorium
From David Green | 02:49
A third grader recalls an unusual problem he had during an assembly when he was in first grade. He had a magnet stuck in his nose.
- Playing
- Auditorium
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- David Green
Chris recalls the complications which ensue when a seven-year-old's curiosity and impulsiveness combine with an inclination to follow the rules. Ultimately, a bit of first grade ingenuity solves the problem.
This story was originally part of a site-specific audio tour of our school written and recorded by third graders. The stories recount school memories ranging from kindergarten to third grade which reference specific locations, landmarks and objects on campus.
While these pieces were originally created to be listened to on-site, they can be enjoyed on their own as well. We also recommend that you listen using headphones.
Kindergarten v. First Grade
From Jesse Rhodes | 06:27
Will a kindergartner and a first grader find the same thing funny?
A school librarian in San Francisco teamed up with his Kindergartners to write a children's book. Now it's time to test it out... on the first graders.
- Playing
- Kindergarten v. First Grade
- From
- Jesse Rhodes
There was a man who stopped eating. Not because of his health or weight or spirituality. He was saving his appetite. A large feast was one week away. Why am I telling you this? Well, a couple years ago, I was a librarian at a K-8 school here in San Francisco. The week of Halloween arrived, and my kids and I, running on a sugar rush, decided that instead of our usual reading a book on the carpet, we’d make up our own story. And that’s where he came from. The man who stopped eating. We called him Mr. Porksmith. And what happens next is devastating. He eats and he eats and he eats, including the underwear he’s wearing, until he’s so full he’s ready to pop. You can guess what happens next. The explosion is heard from miles around, and food rains down for hours. Morose, I know. But they loved it. We decided that it was the funniest story ever told. So I went home and wrote it down. And then it occurred to me: what if they thought it was hilarious only because they were, you know, in kindergarten? I decided we needed to broaden our audience, so I called in the upper-brass. I called in the 1st graders.
The Return of the Childhood Crush
From JP Davidson | 28:08
The funny and touching love story of Konstantine and Salina. They met in 1st grade, and parted ways in 8th grade - just another childhood crush. But nearly a decade later, feelings had lingered - and with a little help from Facebook - they were able to parlay that crush into a grownup relationship.
- Playing
- The Return of the Childhood Crush
- From
- JP Davidson
The funny and touching love story of Konstantine and Salina. They met in 1st grade, and parted ways in 8th grade - just another childhood crush. But nearly a decade later, feelings had lingered - and with a little help from Facebook - they were able to parlay that crush into a grownup relationship.
Eat Cake
From The Truth | 10:35
Can coconut cake + random phone calls = love? Find out, when these two Valentine's Day traditions collide.
Elizabeth and Brian are strangers. It's Valentine's Day. They're lonely, as usual. But things will be different this year, when one random call from the phone book and a slice of coconut cake collide. This fictional romantic comedy was originally produced for Weekend America's final broadcast in January 2009.
Original music composed and performed by the producer specifically for this piece.
Cat Bath
From Dmae Lo Roberts | 03:23
Ever try to give your cat a bath?
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- Cat Bath
- From
- Dmae Lo Roberts
Dmae records a friend giving two cats a bath during flea season some years ago. When it aired on NPR in the late 80s, cats across America cried out in sympathy....all set to the tune of "Talk to the Animals" from Dr. Doolittle.
This piece is a how "not" to instruction on the unpopular art of bathing cats. No animals were harmed in the making of this piece. But it is still cringe-worthy....
I Don't Know
From Andy Mills | 04:11
A child's Christmas thoughts spring into song.
- Playing
- I Don't Know
- From
- Andy Mills
This piece was produced by Andy Mills in collaboration with the musicians Matt and Jacob Boll, Corey and Cobey Bienert and Enoch Kim.
We were looking for new ways to play with sound and story.
The album that we released can be downloaded for free here:
The Kindness of Strangers
From Kirsty McQuire | 06:15
One woman's philanthropic mission comes full circle.
- Playing
- The Kindness of Strangers
- From
- Kirsty McQuire
Bernadette has left sweets in phone boxes, books on trains, £5 notes on buses. She has given away balloons, cakes, flowers and lottery tickets, written letters to a soldier returned from Afghanistan and offered her socks to the homeless. She practiced ‘targeted’ rather than ‘random’ acts of kindness but she says she ‘expected nothing in return.’ 
During the leap year of 2012, Bernadette Russell embarked on a mission to complete 366 Days of Kindness. Her efforts were prompted by the riots that spread through her adopted home town of London and across English towns and cities, between 6th and 10th August 2011.
Bernadette is now turning her 366 philanthropic experiences into a stage play, in collaboration with Jacksons Lane Theatre in London and with support from Birmingham Rep and Forkbeard Fantasy.