Radiotopia

RTP: Ad-Free

Society EN ↓ 158 episodes

In 2004, a racial controversy erupted at a small, mostly white performing arts high school in rural Massachusetts. There were protests. TV news crews. A tense all-school assembly. And then, an announcement: the school would stage an iconic American musical that no one saw coming. This is the story of that production. Coming June 2025. Radiotopia Presents premiers short multi-episode series in one podcast feed, unified by bold, inclusive storytelling pushing the boundaries of audio. Learn more at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm .

Author

Radiotopia

Category

Society

Podcast website

www.radiotopiapresents.fm

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2025

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Episodes

Escape to Radiotopia with Three New Shows 31.05.2018

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...

Errthang #8 – Songs in the Key of Our Lives 13.05.2018

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...

Errthang #7 – John Coffey Refuses to Save the World, Part Two 04.05.2018

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...

Errthang #6 – John Coffey Refuses to Save the World, Part One 27.04.2018

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...

Errthang #5 – How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America 20.04.2018

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...

Errthang #4 – The Good Guy Myth 13.04.2018

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...

Errthang #3 – No Ordinary Love 06.04.2018

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...

Errthang #2 – What the Hell is Wrong with Al? 30.03.2018

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...

Errthang #1 – 808s and Three Heartbreaks 23.03.2018

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...

Next on Showcase: Errthang 09.03.2018

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 .

Secrets 6 – A Life in Lies is a Life with Loose Ends 16.02.2018

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 5 – The Third Family 09.02.2018

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 4 – Who Was My Mom? 02.02.2018

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 3 – Broken Dreams 26.01.2018

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 2 – How to Create a Secret 19.01.2018

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 1 – Discover a Secret 12.01.2018

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...

Next on Showcase: Secrets 22.12.2017

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...

The Polybius Conspiracy #7 – The Final Level 17.11.2017

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...

The Polybius Conspiracy #6 – The Code 10.11.2017

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...

The Polybius Conspiracy #5 – The Seller 03.11.2017

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...

The Polybius Conspiracy #4 – The Rewind 27.10.2017

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...

The Polybius Conspiracy #3 – The Cassette 20.10.2017

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...

The Polybius Conspiracy #2 – The Missing 13.10.2017

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...

The Polybius Conspiracy #1 – The Player 06.10.2017

Introducing our new Showcase series! 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/fictio...

Next on Showcase: The Polybius Conspiracy 29.09.2017

Introducing our new Showcase series! 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/fictio...

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