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Real Life Survival Guide Episode 1: Radio Is Changing

Bruce Barber

http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Bruce/2011%200619%20RLSG%202-1.mp3

The Real Life Survival Guide Radio Show returned to the airwaves this afternoon at 4:30 on WNPR. The first big difference from season 1 (November 2007 – June 2008): I have a cohost! 

His name is Duo Dickinson. He’s an architect, author, self proclaimed “swamp yankee” and committed family man. Duo is also much smarter than I am, and trust me when I tell you that this is high praise coming from me, the world’s greatest narcissist. He’s a natural performer, can turn a phrase with the best of them, and represents one of the great blessings of this endeavor.

I’ve known Du since we attended the same high school - The Park School of Buffalo - in the mid seventies. I  clearly remember him ringing “the gong” (think ‘NBC chimes’, not Chuck Barris) in the school lunchroom to announce meetings of Park’s literary magazine, Wild Oats. Interestingly enough, in addition to such romantic pursuits Duo was an accomplished football player capable of delivering as much pain as any of Park’s would be poets.

Duo went on to Cornell, studied architecture, and eventually followed his mentor to Madison Connecticut. I went to Hobart, joined a fraternity, got into radio (among other things), and ended up doing morning shows in Buffalo, and later, New Haven. We reconnected at a Habitat for Humanity event a few years back, and the rest, as they say, is history…

The “Tools of the Trade” Have Changed

When I first met with WNPR’s John Dankosky to talk about bringing the show back, he urged me to treat the process as an opportunity to experiment – and that’s exactly what we did. The pilot was created using only a small, handheld digital audio recorder – the Edirol R-09 – and edited on an iMac using Apple’s Soundtrack Pro. This provided us with a great deal of creative freedom.

And Away We Go!

The first episode was recorded on June 9th, among the chipmunks in my backyard in New Haven, with a conversation about this new iteration of the Guide. Duo’s suggestion was that we identify a “gang of provocateurs” to help us curate community requests for advice.

We invite you to join us, as we take you from the chipmunks to the barber shop and on to a bar. What are we talking about, you ask?

Have a listen!

Bruce

 

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.