Radiotopia Presents: We're Doing the Wiz

Actor Tony Shalhoub is well known for his role as one of the few openly mentally ill characters in television – an obsessive compulsive detective on the long-running show Monk . In this bonus episode of The Great God of Depression , Shalhoub sits down with co-producer Karen Brown to read passages from William Styron's work, and share his perspective on mental illness and creativity. If you haven’t...

In the final episode, after years of struggling with depression, William Styron keeps his bargain with his readers, and his wife works hard to keep his spirits up until the very end. Alice Flaherty emerges from her own years of madness to a happier life, albeit a less literary one. The Great God of Depression is a production of Showcase from PRX’s Radiotopia. It’s produced by Karen Brown and Pagan...

William Styron could never finish the war novel that was meant to be his masterpiece. Did that failure lead to his final depression? Or did depression stop him from writing? He and his doctor Alice Flaherty pore over the question together, trying to ward off his suicidal fears and a baffling paralysis, until his wife makes an unconventional and risky suggestion. The Great God of Depression is a pr...

After writing a revolutionary memoir, William Styron declares he has beaten depression, but he is wrong. A frightening repeat of madness and writer’s block brings on shame and desperate measures. He seeks help from brilliant neurologist Alice Flaherty, who has herself admitted to being “openly crazy.” Can she save him? The Great God of Depression is a production of Showcase from PRX’s Radiotopia....

On the heels of enormous literary success, author William Styron experiences a near-fatal depression and emerges as a defender of the mentally ill. Neurologist Alice Flaherty tries to balance a rare mental disorder with the birth of her healthy twins. The Great God of Depression is a production of Showcase from PRX’s Radiotopia. It’s produced by Karen Brown and Pagan Kennedy, with support from New...

After a personal tragedy, newly minted neurologist Alice Flaherty falls into a rabbit hole of mania, delusions and creative overload—and encounters a famous writer who revolutionized the conversation about mental illness. The Great God of Depression is a production of Showcase from PRX’s Radiotopia. It’s produced by Karen Brown and Pagan Kennedy, with support from New England Public Radio. Music a...

This summer, grab your earbuds and escape to Radiotopia! Take us along on your road trips, outdoor adventures and simple staycations. We’re launching a new Showcase from Radiotopia series, two new Radiotopia shows, plus new seasons and series from your already beloved Radiotopia podcasts. New shows will include ZigZag , in which two entrepreneurial women (Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant, formerly...

Al and Willie wrap up the season right where they started – with each other. After 30 years of friendship, their origin story is finally revealed. Errthang is produced and hosted by Al Letson, with co-host and music supervisor Willie Evans Jr., show systemizer Brie Burge and actor Jason Stephens. Check out season one here . S2 of Errthang is a production of Showcase , from PRX’s Radiotopia. Find o...

In this second half of Errthang ’s original radio drama: John Coffey doesn’t want to be Magical Negro anymore and the universe trembles in the aftershock of his decision. All John wants is a story all his own; a history deeper than him just saving white people. John sets out to find that story with the help of his fellow Magical Negroes and his creator, Stephen King. Errthang is produced and hoste...

In this episode, Errthang takes on radio drama: John Coffey waits to play his part in The Green Mile in the room of Magical Negroes. With him are other Magical Negroes: Mother Abigail, Bagger Vance, and God (with a Little g). When John learns the nature of his power, he doesn’t want to be magical anymore and refuses to go. But everyone has to play their part, or the universe might fall apart. John...

This episode features Kiese Laymon’s memoir about growing up as a young black man in the South. The piece is performed by a small group of young black men who Al mentored in their youth. Errthang is produced and hosted by Al Letson, with co-host and music supervisor Willie Evans Jr., show systemizer Brie Burge and actor Jason Stephens. Check out season one here . S2 of Errthang is a production of...

Al goes deep exploring the "good guy’s” relationship to the #MeToo movement, through a story about his old friend, Louis. After the story, Al sits down with feminist commentator Kimberly Foster of For Harriet , to talk about the story, Rape Culture, and how to move forward.  Errthang is produced and hosted by Al Letson, with co-host and music supervisor Willie Evans Jr., show systemizer Brie Burge...

Al and Willie tell stories about fatherhood. Al’s story is about being a black father to a white kid, while Willie recounts teaching his son how to handle a bully. Errthang is produced and hosted by Al Letson, with co-host and music supervisor Willie Evans Jr., show systemizer Brie Burge and actor Jason Stephens. Check out season one here . Season 2 of Errthang is a production of Showcase , from P...

Al recounts when he went to a protest to report the news, but became the news. Letson saved a right-wing protester from a vicious beating by Antifa. This episode is about why he did it, how it all happened, and how he felt afterwards. Errthang is produced and hosted by Al Letson, with co-host and music supervisor Willie Evans Jr., show systemizer Brie Burge and actor Jason Stephens. Check out seas...

Al Letson and Willie Evans Jr. are back with season two of Errthang! After a long hiatus, the dynamic duo returns to tell stories, and have a good time. This season Letson and Evans focus on stories and interviews about fatherhood, the political unrest in the country, and ruminations on love. It’s a wild, fun ride with a lot of heart and depth.  In episode one, Al tells the stories of three excruc...

Coming up next on Showcase: Errthang Errthang is just that: everything that’s percolating in journalist/storyteller Al Letson’s brain; stories told with a lot of heart, interviews with a lot of thought, music with a funky beat, and a good time with co-host Willie Evans Jr. Stay tuned for eight weekly episodes starting March 23. Find out more at radiotopia.fm/showcase . Learn about your ad choices:...

Secrets is a show about the secrets we all carry inside of us. What happens when you face those secrets? In the final episode of our series, Mohamed’s secret sister Maria finally agrees to meet. Mohamed brings his daughter Samira with him to the meeting at Maria’s house a few hours drive outside Stockholm. They finally meet and talk, and try to understand together why Maria became a secret for the...

Secrets is a show about the secrets we all carry inside of us. How do you know if you ever truly know someone?  Mohamed’s father abandoned Mohamed, his mother and his sisters and moved back to Morocco. There he started a third family. He told Mohamed’s mother nothing of this, and told the new family in Morocco that his family in Sweden had died. Mohamed’s father died of brain cancer in 1998, carry...

Secrets is a show about the secrets we all carry inside of us. How is it to be the one kept in the dark? When Mohamed’s mom was left alone with her six children, she worked herself to death and eventually collapsed at home with a heart attack. Mohamed was 12 years old. Now, 25 years later, there is no one to answer the questions he would like to ask: How much did she know about Maria, the secret s...

Secrets is a show about the secrets we all carry inside of us. What happens when you’re too ashamed to face the truth?  Mohamed’s parents both worked as cleaners, trying to earn enough money to feed six children. When Mohamed was just a year old, his father left his mother in Sweden and travelled back to Morocco, leaving her alone to raise their children. She continued to work day and night to mak...

Secrets is a show about the secrets we all carry inside of us. What happens when a secret becomes larger than life? When Mohamed’s mother was a young teenager in Morocco, she entered an arranged marriage with his father, Ben Assai. When Mohamed’s father eventually travelled to Sweden to start a new life for his family, he met another woman and with her conceived a secret daughter, Maria. In episod...

Secrets is a show about the secrets we all carry inside of us. When Mohamed El Abed found out that he had a secret sister, it was 25 years before he could start putting the pieces together. Across six episodes of Secrets , you’ll hear Mohamed’s story, and meet both people who live every day with a significant lie, and people affected by the lies of others. How is it to live with a secret that no o...

Greetings from Showcase , a podcast from PRX’s Radiotopia featuring original series of all stripes. Coming up first in the new year on Showcase: Secrets , by Swedish producers Mohamed El Abed, Martin Johnson and Åsa Secher, explores the secrets we keep in our lives, and the overwhelming complexities of being human. Stay tuned for six weekly episodes starting January 12. Find out more at radiotopia...

In The Polybius Conspiracy , producers Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto investigate the decades-old urban legend of Polybius, a mysterious arcade game from the '80s whose alleged existence in the Pacific Northwest is fueled by myth and an obsessive online fan base, and which may have factored in the abduction of two teenage boys. Told as a hybrid documentary/fictional story, the series is an artful me...

In The Polybius Conspiracy , producers Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto investigate the decades-old urban legend of Polybius, a mysterious arcade game from the '80s whose alleged existence in the Pacific Northwest is fueled by myth and an obsessive online fan base, and which may have factored in the abduction of two teenage boys. Told as a hybrid documentary/fictional story, the series is an artful me...