Bauman on the radio

Between 2003 and 2006, I recorded a series of short essays (they call them "commentaries," each about two or three minutes long) for NPR's Weekend All Things Considered. Two of them were recorded at the studios of the mecca of public broadcasting, Minnesota Public Radio, one very early morning after a very late night of whiskey drinking, philosophizing, and pontificating with friend Joel Turnipseed and cousin Jon Slaght. One commentary, I believe, was recorded at NPR headquarters in Washington (it was a Saturday and my tour included meeting a friendly and relaxed Scott Simon who had just wrapped his broadcast, and a friendly but furiously typing Linda Wertheimer who was prepping for hers). Four or so were recorded at WHYY in Philadelphia, in the main studio where the great Marty Moss-Coane does her show. And one commentary, the second-to-last one, was recorded in reporter Joel Rose's apartment in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philly just moments before the final broadcast, a long and funny story (I wrote something about that -- a commentary about the commentary -- but have since lost it, need to track that down). All of my NPR/ATC commentaries were edited by Martha Wexler, most of them with assistance from Petra Mayer. 

If you've read this far and all of it sounds like the ravings of an unapologetic radio geek from earliest childhood who's had a few chances to live out his fantasies, well that's about right.

Click the links below for the original broadcast audio.

SOMEWHERE ELSE The flight out of Mogadishu, Somalia (October 11, 2003)

DEPLOYMENT First Sergeant Billy Joe Taggert, the 1098th Boat Company, and an order to deploy (December 7, 2003)

MAIL CALL The joy of getting any-soldier mail while in a war zone (March 7, 2004)

RULES OF THE ROAD How to survive on the road as a touring musician (April 24, 2004)

IT'S ONLY STAMINA Parenthood and decisions (August 8, 2004)

READING HEMINGWAY IN A WAR ZONE Reading "Garden of Eden" while on overnight radio duty in Kismaayo, Somalia. This commentary was later expanded into the essay "Not Fade Away" for the anthology "Bookmark Now" (October 16, 2004)

TRAVELING COMPANION Driving with 7-year-old Kristina to play the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA (March 12, 2005)

ON BECOMING A WRITER Doylestown, 1977; Larry & Gimone Hall; and on writers and parents (April 30, 2005)

RE-ENTRY The humiliations of a soldier's first civilian job interview. This commentary was later expanded and fictionalized for a similar scene in the novel "In Hoboken" (May 14, 2006)

Elsewhere on public radio...

FRESH AIR WITH TERRY GROSS (NPR, January 22, 2003) Approximately 40-minute conversation with Terry Gross covering The Ice Beneath You, soldiering, and being a modern folksinger. (Worth the wait is after the interview, during the critics/review section of the show, is an opinion piece on this new-fangled thing called "reality TV.")

RADIO TIMES WITH MARTY MOSS-COANE (WHYY, Philadelphia)  Twice a guest on Radio Times, looking for those links now. One from the release of The Ice Beneath You and one with Kevin Smokler on the release of Bookmark Now anthology. Feel free to send them if you find them first. Thanks.

IDIOT'S DELIGHT WITH VIN SCELSA (WFUV, New York City) Twice a guest of Vin, looking for those links now. First time was release of In Hoboken and talking about Don Brody and The Marys, Maxwells, Jack Hardy, and other groovy things. Can't remember why I went the second time, perhaps just for fun? Feel free to send them if you find them first. Thanks.