R.I.P. Ben Manilla, radio producer who worked in both commercial and public radio

A veteran of the ground-breaking Long Island rocker WLIR-FM who moved to San Francisco and produced the House of Blues radio shows, Manilla had a wall full of awards at his home in Marin. Read my obit for Current.

R.I.P. Larry Bensky, correspondent and anchor for KPFA and Pacifica

“He was the signature voice of KPFA,” one longtime colleague said of Bensky, who was a fixture at the Berkeley station for more than 40 years. Read this appreciation in Current.

Cheryl Devall takes the helm of KRVS

At NPR member station KRVS in Lafayette, Louisiana cajun and zydeco music pulse over the airwaves. NPR News vet Cheryl Devall is the general manager. Read about her mission in Current.

R.I.P. Ruth Seymour

Read an obituary in Current for Ruth Seymour, the manager of KCRW in Santa Monica. She had a major impact on public radio and the station has had an equally profound influence on popular music.

Evolution of Portable Audio Recorders

Read a story about the evolution portable audio recorders in Current.

Aileen Alfandary

Read a story about Aileen Alfandary, who worked for close to 50 years in the news department at Pacifica Radio’s Berkeley station, KPFA.

On the Set With TV Chef Sara Moulton

Read about the great TV chef Sara Moulton and the two women who make her show possible. Radio version of this story is here.

Andy Statman’s New Bluegrass Collaborators

Read about the new collaboration between mandolin virtuoso Andy Statman and two young bluegrass musicians from West Virginia. Listen to a radio version of the story. Radio version of this story is here.

Firesign Theater Vet Returns to the Radio

Read a story about Phil Proctor, one of the two surviving members of Firesign Theater, returning to Pacifica’s KPFK in Los Angeles to do a live radio show 66 years after “the Beatles of Comedy” debuted on the station.

R.I.P. Larry Josephson

Read about the radio career of Larry Josephson, a prolific public radio producer who hosted a groundbreaking free-form radio show, made documentaries and played a pivotal role in establishing the independent producer community.

Documentary on Steve Post

Read about a new film that purports to be a documentary about the late public radio personality Steve Post. One of Post’s colleagues at both WBAI and WNYC said that “if you go to see this film, unless you were a listener or a close friend, you will likely want your money back.”

Judaica Artist Exits NYC

Read about David Klass, a sculptor who has lived and worked in a 4,200-square-foot loft in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. The 81-year-old artist has been making Jewish liturgical art for 46 years.

British 3D Sound Pioneer

Read about the late Michael Gerzon, a musical and mathematical genius whose breakthroughs are used every day in computing and audio production.

Classic Cars Electrified

Read about the companies that electrify Porsches, VW Beetles, and other sought-after rides, and the collectors who pay big bucks for the conversions.

Office Hours

Read about Office Hours, a decentralized support group where anyone can ask technical questions about producing audio, video, and online media. It’s taken off amid the rise of Zoom and remote work.

Blind Tech Consultant

Read about Julian Vargas, who has been legally blind from birth. His old cell phone led him to a new career in training other blind people how to use technology. Vargas has a web site.

Maine Aquiculture Start-Up

Read about a Maine oyster farm that uses Raspberry Pi’s to monitor it’s custom-made oyster processing vessel and it oyster hatchery.

Dick DeBartolo

Read about the gadget hound who has written for Mad magazine and keeps a museum of classic gizmos in his home.

Exoskeleton for Skiing, Combat and Arthritis

Read about an exoskeleton called Elevate at pcmag.com. It looks like a high-tech knee brace, offloads about 30 percent of your body weight, significantly reducing the load on your quadricep muscles and knee joints.

Amazon Echo & the Blind

The Amazon Echo has proved to be a godsend for blind people. I visited the Seeing Eye Institute in New Jersey, where dormitory rooms are equipped with Amazon’s smart speakers. Read the story at pcmag.com.

Minnesota Community Radio Stations

Community radio stations in Minnesota have strengthened their arts and culture coverage through a unique state program that subsidizes their programming. Read about AMPERS in Current newspaper.

Charlie Morrow

Musician, composer and former jingle writer Charlie Morrow has created a 3D sound system that has been implemented in both commercial and educational settings. Read my story at pcmag.com.

Neal Conan is Back on the Air

Pictured in front of his macadamia nut trees in Hawaii, Conan is working with former NPR colleagues to produce a weekly one-hour deep dive into Truth, Politics and Power. Read a piece in Current newspaper. (registration required)

 Gulliver's Gate

Gulliver's Gate is a miniature world fabricated by model makers around the globe. Read a story on PCmag.com about the technology behind this Lilliputian world.

Radio Unnameable Archive Acquired

Columbia University has acquired the 10,000 hour audio archive of Bob Fass' Radio Unnameable, a treasure trove of 1960's counterculture. Read the story in Current newspaper.

Sean Cole’s Wedding Sideline

This American Life producer Sean Cole is a poet and an Internet-ordained clergyman who has married 19 couples who have at least one member with a public radio connection. Interesting sideline...

 The Digital Jesuit

Robert Ballecer is a Catholic priest with serious IT chops. He is seen and heard on TWIT, the tech-focused podcasting network headquartered in Petaluma, CA. Father Robert, as he is known, is profiled in this story for the National Catholic Reporter.

Legendary Radio Drama Producer Tom Lopez

Read a story in Current newspaper about Tom Lopez's long strange trip of a radio career.

The Collector of Bedford Street

Read an obituary for the late Larry Selman, a.k.a. The Collector of Bedford Street.

The Young Lords

Read a story in Current newspaper about members of the Puerto Rican activist group The Young Lords who established careers in the media.

Feet in 2 Worlds

Read a story about Feet in 2 Worlds, an organization run by John Rudolph (above) that works to increase diversity in public radio. This story was published in Current in September 2015.

Leo Laporte

This story about the TWIT podcast network appeared in the New York Times.

The Lampshade

Read a story in The Forward about a lampshade apparently made from human skin that surfaced in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The lampshade was given to the Brooklyn writer Mark Jacobson. Audio player for a Q&A with Jacobson is on the podcast page.

Romeo & Juliet in Yiddish

Read about the feature film Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish, which replaces the Capulets and Montagues with Satmars and Lubavitchers.

Yoonseo Kang

Read a story in the Toronto Star about a Canadian teenager who got $100,000 not to go to college. Ten years later The Star published my follow-up story about Kang’s start-up, which is working on a humanoid robot.

Bob Fass & Radio Unnameable

Read a story in Current about the free-form radio pioneer Bob Fass. That's Abbie Hoffman to the left of the microphone in the WBAI control room.

Slot-Together Crib

This story on a slot-together crib made by the great Adam Seim was published in MAKE Magazine.

The Weberman Family

Read a story about the wacky Weberman clan.

Margot Adler Obituary

Read an appreciation of the late Margot Adler.

DIY Coffin Making

You can make your own coffin. Read all about it.

Citizen Kafka

Read a story in the New York Times about the late Citizen Kafka and his radio program The Secret Museum of the Air.

Jacki Lyden

Read a story about fashion podcast producer Jacki Lyden.

The Dogs Stay in the Picture

Read a story about Brooklyn artist Simon Dinnerstein, who was commissioned to do a drawing of a wealthy Californian and his dogs. But the commission was terminated before the work was completed.

Alex Chadwick Bounces Back

Read about veteran radio journalist Alex Chadwick.

Danny Schechter

That's Little Steven on the left standing next to Danny Schechter. My appreciation of Schechter was published in The Forward.

The Memory Palace

Read a story about podcast producer Nate DiMeo.