Catching up… the spoken word edition

For more than a year now, I have been listed as a cultural affairs producer  for the podcast Things Not Seen: Conversations About Culture and Faith, created and hosted by the theologian Dr David Dault, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Sunday Evening Club (itself a piece of broadcasting history), not to mention closest friend and longtime creative collaborator.

The show grew out of, among other things, a massive case of writer’s block that David had while working on a book version of PhD research.  But it also spoke to a need, particularly in the US, to have discussions about religion in a calm tone that engaged with a number of current issues.  The show tries cover a broad spectrum of the ways in which religion and culture cross  in the current age.  So of course I said yes when David asked me if I wanted to get involved.  And promptly wondered if I actually had anything to say.

And so time passed…

In the meantime, the show developed amazingly.  David found speakers on a wide range of subjects, and our mutual friend Katy Scrogin has started producing a series of short “Religion Moments,” daily segments that explore events and cultures from all over the world.

In relaunching the show in Chicago this year after his relocation from Memphis, David asked producers to talk about the subject of writer’s block.  That, as it turns out, is a subject I have something to say about.

So now, finally, I have put my mouth where my money is (radio, that is) and my first contribution on the subject of writer’s block is in the episode of 24 October.  Typically, I approached the subject through the subject of radio history, taking in works from Berthold Brecht and ending with some thoughts from the latest (and wonderful) book by Kate Lacey, Listening Publics.

As it turned out, I really enjoyed doing this, and I am looking forward to my next efforts, which will take in, cooking, popular music, and a few other things that cross my path.