WPRB News and Culture
156 episodes - English - Latest episode: 23 days ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsWPRB News and Culture brings human stories about public affairs, the arts, and local news to the airwaves of New Jersey. Check us out at news.wprb.com!
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Episodes
Stuff
April 01, 2024 21:00 - 43 minutes - 40 MBWPRB News and Culture loves stuff. From little knick-knacks to things that arrive at your front door in big boxes, we are ready to explore it all. First, Helen Heuer speaks to members of her community about the things that they collect. Next, Stephanie Yen investigates the world of jewelry, its significance, and its creation. Finally, in a story from the archives, Oliver Whang follows Bill Freeman in his story on "junking." Hosted and produced by Natalie Hahn. Reported, recorded, and produc...
Secrets
February 26, 2024 22:00 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBWPRB News and Culture delves into some deep secrets. First, Navani Rachumallu and Alvaro Basso speak to an archivist at the Institute for Advanced Study about the role of secrecy in her work. Then, Stephanie Yen surveys some fast food chain workers about "secret menus." And finally, Sophie Leheny and Natalie Hahn read aloud some listener-submitted secrets; how fun! Hosted and produced by Natalie Hahn. Reported, recorded, and produced by Navani Rachamallu, Alvaro Basso, Stephanie Yen, Sophie...
Waiting
February 12, 2024 22:00 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBNews and Culture starts our Spring season with stories about anticipation. Helen Heuer visits local businesses in Princeton, New Jersey. Natalie Hahn speaks to a professional astrologer. And Adam Sanders gathers his two friends to visit the Princeton Airport as they explore the minds and worlds of the aerophile. Hosted by Natalie Hahn. Reported, recorded, and produced by Helen Heuer, Natalie Hahn, and Adam Sanders. All music used under Creative Commons license. Theme music: "Take Me Higher...
Cultivation
December 11, 2023 22:00 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBWPRB News and Culture shrugs off the December chill with three stories about the toils of growing and the fruits of summer soil. Natalia Maidique speaks to a beekeeper who forged her own path to master the hive. Adam Sanders learns about the power of seeds. And Anna Hiltner speaks to a farmer with spiritual insights into how best to let things grow. Hosted and produced by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Natalia Maidique, Anna Hiltner, and Adam Sanders. Theme music: "Tak...
Through the Grapevine
November 13, 2023 18:36 - 41 minutes - 38.6 MBNews and Culture embraces our inner love of gossip – with stories from the grapevine and about the very foundations of the whispering urge. Natalia Maidique and Navani Rachamallu speak to bartenders about the ways gossip shapes their job. Sophie Leheny and Synai Ferrell learn about the psychological and human roots of our snarkiest, most whispery impulses. And Clara McWeeny, Izzy Jacobson, and Helen Heuer dish some (anonymous) real-world gossip from listeners like you. Hosted and produced ...
Halloween People
October 30, 2023 17:31 - 32 minutes - 30 MBWPRB News and Culture puts on a scary mask and knocks on your door with three stories sweet enough to make your teeth hurt, thinking about the kind of people who make Halloween what it is. First up, Adam Sanders and Izzy Jacobson visit a Halloween superstore to understand the mechanics behind the costume-and-décor industrial complex. Then, in a story from our archives, Charlie Nuermberger and Henry Moses learn about the mythical Jersey Devil from an expert in the field. And finally, in anoth...
A Night at the Movies
October 16, 2023 17:39 - 32 minutes - 30 MBWPRB News and Culture pops some popcorn and buys a ticket to an episode at the movies. First up, Sophie Leheny and Navani Rachumallu speak to the folks at the Princeton Garden Theatre to understand their idea of the nonprofit-cinema renaissance. Then, Tommy Goulding breaks down the hubbub around the new Napoleon trailer, and why it has historians in such a tizzy. And finally, in a story from our archives, Adam Sanders investigates why doppelgängers figure so heavily in our horror-movie imagi...
Fashion
October 02, 2023 21:04 - 34 minutes - 32.1 MBNews and Culture tries to sound fashionable. Natalia Maidique and Navani Rachumallu explore the sounds, style, and usability of shoes. Adam Sanders speaks to Lisa Shepherd-Stewart, the proprietor of Cultured Expressions, an African fabric shop and studio in Rahway. And Clara McWeeny and Helen Heuer give you all the thrifting tips you never knew you needed. Hosted and produced by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Natalia Maidique, Navani Rachamallu, Clara McWeeny, Helen Heue...
The End of Summer
September 17, 2023 00:25 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBAs hot days cool into chilly autumn evenings, WPRB News and Culture returns to tell the tales of summer. Sophie Leheny and Natalie Hahn visit Asbury Park to learn about New Jersey's classic Shore boardwalks. Mollika Jai Singh explores what it means for parents to drop off their kids at summer camp. And in a story from our archive, Adam Sanders visits a kitschy summer town to see what makes it click. Hosted and produced by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Sophie Leheny, Nat...
Plans
April 08, 2023 17:44 - 32 minutes - 73.6 MBNews and Culture thinks long-term, with three stories about planning, organizing, and the travails in between. Sophie Leheny and Pat Grate visit a tarot card reader and learn the mechanics of learning about the future. Adam Sanders speaks to student labor organizers at Temple University about their plans for unionization. And in a story from our archives, Clara McWeeny and Izzy Jacobson find out what it's like to know your entire existence was totally unplanned. Hosted and produced by Adam...
Arts in Your Backyard
March 24, 2023 21:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBWPRB News and Culture takes a look into the artistic experiences and projects happening right here in New Jersey. Ellie Diamond learns about the Trenton Circus Squad, a nonprofit whose afterschool workshops teach kids and tweens the ropes of the circus – literally. Sophie Leheny and Mira Ho-Chen visit the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, and explore one of its longest and strangest collections. Clara McWeeny speaks to Reginald Dwayne Betts: the MacArthur Genius Grant-winning p...
Home Ec.
March 03, 2023 22:04 - 46 minutes - 43.3 MBNews and Culture tackles stories of domestic effort and labor – and explores the ways these oft-pigeonholed talents and works are evolving in our changing world. Adam Sanders heads to the garden, and learns about the seeds at the forefront of the new agricultural revolution. Mollika Jai Singh speaks to Lena Hoplamazian about her wild sewing and designing adventures, from tailoring clothes for her sibling to creating a condom dress. Alan Plotz explores ideas of domestic work around New Jersey...
Endings
February 17, 2023 22:46 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MBNews and Culture starts our Spring season at the very end of some stories. Clara McWeeny and Anna Salvatore visit an estate sale. Natalia Maidique and Navani Rachumallu speak to Anthony Grafton, retiring professor of history at Princeton University. Tommy Goulding and Henry Moses talk about their favorite endings in novels. Mollika Jai Singh explores the lore around the endings of The Bachelor episodes. And Adam Sanders calls up a classmate to help him reimagine the cemetery not as a place o...
Resilience
December 09, 2022 23:11 - 49 minutes - 46 MBNews and Culture brings you four stories of persistence and resilience. Alan Plotz and Claire Kaneshiro learns about the intricacies of the American asylum system with Gabriel Samcam Vargas, a Princeton student and human rights advocate. Reina Coulibaly explores how fiber arts have woven the lives of Black women together for centuries. Mollika Jai Singh speaks about the importance of persistence in a marathon-length friendship. And Claire Kaneshiro and Alan Plotz learn more about living and ...
Gratitude
November 25, 2022 22:00 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBOn the day after Thanksgiving, News and Culture takes a moment to meditate on gratitude, with three stories that stretch and test the bounds of our comfort with thankfulness. Mollika Jai Singh explores Princeton University's tradition of 'Annual Giving.' Izzy Jacobson looks back on the gratitude journal she keeps. And Natalia Maidique and Navani Rachumallu learn the complex relationship between 'gratitude cutlure' and psychotherapy from an expert. Produced and hosted by Adam Sanders. Repor...
Comings and Goings
November 11, 2022 22:00 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBOn 11/11, News and Culture thinks about moments in our day: commutes, routines, junction points, stories from years past and new stories alike. From the archives, Elizabeth Shwe interviews an EMT about a day in the life - saving lives. Henry Moses and Luke Carroll bring us a new story of people at a junction, literally, speaking to folks in the midst of their commutes during rush hour at the Princeton Junction NJ Transit station. We return to the archives to hear a story from Hope Perry, abo...
Spooky Stories
October 28, 2022 21:21 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBIn our first-ever Halloween special, News and Culture tells spooky stories sure to give you a fright. Navani Rachamallu and Natalia Maidique tell a classic Gothic story, 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. Izzy Jacobson and Mira Ho-Chen crowdsource some ghostly tales. Charlie Nuermberger and Henry Moses speak to an expert on the mythical Jersey Devil of the Pine Barrens. Audrey Zhang digs into the Princeton University Archives to find evidence of ghosts on the historic campus. And Hann...
Changemakers in our Community
October 14, 2022 21:00 - 54 minutes - 50.8 MBNews and Culture dedicates this Very Special Episode® to those in our community who strive to make it a better place for everyone involved – in the radically freeform way we know how. Ashley Olenkiewicz and Julian Hartman-Sigall explore the mechanics of a congressional campaign in Pennsylvania's competitive 1st District, just across the Delaware River from Princeton. Clara McWeeny and Izzy Jacobson speak to Naomi Hess, a 2022 Princeton graduate who has spent her life fighting for disability ...
Metamorphosis
September 30, 2022 21:00 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBNews and Culture continues its second Fall season by pointing the microphone not at a genesis or an ending, but rather at three stories in the middle of their journeys of transformation. Abani Ahmed and Daniel Yeo speak to the developers and planners seeking to revitalize Trenton, New Jersey's capital city. Natalia Maidique and Navani Rachamallu explore the comeback of vinyl record culture in recent years – from the perspectives of both the music team here at WPRB and the iconic Princeton Re...
Genesis
September 16, 2022 21:00 - 59 minutes - 55.5 MBNews and Culture returns for the Fall season with four stories on beginnings – starts informed by faith, technology, crisis, and community. Charlie Nuermberger and Henry Moses speak to art critic and writer Dean Kissick about the rise of AI-generated art, and what this new path could mean for artistry and creation in the digital age. Clara McWeeny and Izzy Jacobson explore how activism for reproductive rights has resurged since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and speak to those demonstrati...
Summer Dispatch #4
September 09, 2022 20:59 - 33 minutes - 31.3 MBIn our last Summer Dispatch, we celebrate the end of our radically-freeform summer by tying up some loose ends. Charlie Nuermberger finishes his exploration of an abandoned mansion in western Maryland, purportedly home to an infant poltergeist. Hannah Lee explores what makes a great summer read. And Tommy Goulding muses on melancholic wanderings in the streets of Nuremberg. This episode was directed and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Charlie Nuermberger, Hannah...
Summer Dispatch #3
July 26, 2022 21:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBIn the third summer dispatch, in the wake of a massive heat-wave, News and Culture reporters venture to the limits of possibility. Charlie Nuermberger explores the story of an infant ghost in an abandoned mansion in western Maryland. Henry Moses speaks to New Jersey writer Bud Smith, acclaimed author of the new novel "Teenager." Alan Plotz learns about the threat invasive species pose to our central New Jersey home. And Reina Coulibaly returns to News and Culture with the second part of her d...
Summer Dispatch #2
July 05, 2022 21:04 - 38 minutes - 35.7 MBIn our second Summer Dispatch, the day after Independence Day, we hear stories uniquely American in their separation from U.S. soil. Hannah Lee explores the experience of international students and their names in the United States. Alan Plotz learns about a project aiming to catalogue the oral histories of religious refugees. Tommy Goulding shares a day in his own life as an expatriate for a summer. Directed and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Hannah Lee, Alan Pl...
Summer Dispatch #1
June 21, 2022 21:00 - 35 minutes - 33.1 MBHappy Solstice! WPRB News and Culture starts off summer with the first of our "Summer Dispatches" specials, with stories from around the nation and the world. Reina explores an ashram in Northern California, Henry finds his way to a different New Jersey, and Adam tries to find a tourist spot that won't break the bank. This episode was directed and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Reina Coulibaly, Henry Moses, and Adam Sanders. Special thanks to Theo Wells-Spackma...
Shenanigans
April 09, 2022 19:28 - 31 minutes - 29.5 MBNews and Culture celebrates April Fool's Day... one week late. Reporters do pranks, learn about pranks, talk about cryptocurrency, and discover the secrets of a very special fox. Reported, recorded, and produced by Adam Sanders, Reina Coulibaly, Izzy Jacobson, Hannah Lee, Alan Plotz, Tommy Goulding, Henry Moses, and Anna Salvatore. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
Mistakes
March 25, 2022 20:41 - 42 minutes - 39.7 MBNews and Culture learns about mistakes, happy accidents, mishaps, and major errors. Reporters Izzy Jacobson and Clara McWeeny talk to a self-described "accident." Alan Plotz and Ashley Olenkiewicz do a deep dive into New Jersey's eviction law errors. Kat Ivkovic and Charlie Nuermberger discover the many mistake-makers around the Princeton, New Jersey area. And we all learn a little bit more about Nowruz - the Persian New Year celebration. This episode was directed and hosted by Adam Sanders...
Little Kids, Big Things (from the Archive)
March 11, 2022 22:00 - 52 minutes - 119 MBRebroadcast - December 16, 2019 This is an episode from the News and Culture archives. Oliver and Anna caught up with Professor Casey Lew-Williams, one of the directors of Princeton University's Baby Lab. Casey and his fellow researchers study development in children whose ages range from a couple months to 7 years old. We talked to Casey because his work gets right to the question we've been asking for a while. Do the things that are important to us when we're young remain important as w...
Twins
February 25, 2022 23:19 - 48 minutes - 45.1 MBNews and Culture talks about twins – in the broadest extent of the term. Reporters interview experts on astrology and biology to learn about spiritual and physical twin research, meet two students who share the same first and last name, learn about the cutting-edge research into doppelgänger horror, and gain a personal insight into the life of a family with twins. This episode was directed and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Isa Escamilla, Reina Coulibaly, Alan P...
Love Letters
February 13, 2022 02:43 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MBNews and Culture celebrates Valentine's Day with an episode devoted to professing your love. We hear from couples just starting to date and those who've already tied the knot, at ages different than you might expect. Reporters ask some guests to tell their loved ones *just* how much they care. An archivist lets us know the inside scoop on some historical love letters. And we read your confessions of love and care out loud for the whole world to see. This episode was directed and hosted by A...
The Return
February 06, 2022 01:30 - 37 minutes - 35 MBNews and Culture returns to the airwaves with a show about returns. What happens to your books when they go back to the library? How has a local grocery store managed to keep its workforce despite the "Great Resignation"? What's going on in the returns line at Target? And why have some people returned to using the typewriter? This episode was directed and hosted by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded, and produced by Hope Perry, Alan Plotz, Kat Ivkovic, Charlie Nuermberger, Adam Sanders, and ...
Sisyphus
March 09, 2020 00:23 - 1 minute - 1 MBBrittani Telfair wrote a poem about a day in her life. Here it is. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
The Dinky Conductor
March 09, 2020 00:22 - 4 minutes - 3.74 MBThere's a small train, appropriately called the Dinky, that takes people from the Princeton train station to Princeton Junction. Andy Latoni talks with the woman who collects those tickets that get people from P to PJ. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
The EMT
March 09, 2020 00:20 - 7 minutes - 10.9 MBElizabeth Shwe talks to a professional emergency medical technician (EMT). This is one heck of a day in the life. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
The Farmer
March 09, 2020 00:18 - 18 minutes - 25.7 MBAnna Hiltner talks to a local farmer about her day in the life. Here's a word to keep in mind while listening: biodynamics. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
A Day In The Life
March 02, 2020 00:46 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBYou're alive. I'm alive. But how do we live? We tried to answer this question. A day in the life. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
Worry Lines
December 07, 2019 13:22 - 7 minutes - 7.07 MBRemy's sister is in 7th grade. That's a seriously tough year. Here's how she's coping. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
When I Grow Up I Want To Be An Actor
December 07, 2019 13:19 - 7 minutes - 10.4 MBElizabeth talks to two kids who are getting ready for their big holiday performance of A Christmas Carol at the McCarter Theater in Princeton. They discuss acting and stuffed animals. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
The Rule of Law
December 07, 2019 13:17 - 8 minutes - 7.82 MBJulia has three brothers -- all older than her -- and growing up she relied on strangely formalized rules to survive. Here she is with a toy study of an improvised society. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
The Baby Lab
December 07, 2019 13:15 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBOliver Whang and Anna Hiltner caught up with Professor Casey Lew-Williams, one of the directors of Princeton University's Baby Lab. Casey and his fellow researchers study development in children whose ages range from a couple months to 7 years old. We talked to Casey because his work gets right to the question we've been asking for a while. Do the things that are important to us when we're young remain important as we get older? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/p...
Duct Tape
October 26, 2019 00:37 - 13 minutes - 18.7 MBRemy Reya talks to a man who makes art out of junk. Or maybe he just sees junk for what it really is. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
Junking
October 26, 2019 00:36 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MBOliver follows Bill Freeman as he takes apart broken things and sells the parts to the junkyard. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
Junk Prologue
October 26, 2019 00:34 - 4 minutes - 3.98 MBWhat exactly is junk? How should we treat it? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
Mrs. Yu
September 30, 2019 05:30 - 8 minutes - 7.64 MBLast year, Jimin Kang got an email from her Spanish professor with a somewhat strange question. Would she be open to conducting an oral history of a Korean woman she had never met before? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message
The Matchmaker
September 30, 2019 05:29 - 9 minutes - 8.35 MBAndy Latoni's great grandmother is almost 100 years old. And she's constantly trying to set her great-granddaughter up with potential suitors. The most recent was this past summer
Muy Lejos
September 30, 2019 05:28 - 5 minutes - 5.01 MBAnna Hiltner speaks to her grandma about being a grandma
Do You Think You're Old?
September 30, 2019 05:26 - 8 minutes - 8.19 MBSam Kagan talked to his four grandparents about what it's like to get old, be old, and feel old. Well, not feel old. Produced by Julia Ilhardt
Guardian Angels
September 21, 2019 17:49 - 7 minutes - 7.15 MBDo you know the voice that counts down the time you have left to cross the crosswalk? "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..." That's a real person. And at more than 40,000 crosswalks around the U.S. this guy's voice guides people across the road. Remy Reya brings us this story.
The Sound of Silence
September 20, 2019 23:57 - 6 minutes - 6.21 MBJulia Ilhardt describes the sounds -- and not sounds -- she heard while in a private Australian forest.
Everyday Noises
September 20, 2019 23:50 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBThis week we made an hour of radio about noises you hear every day.