Soundplay

Season 3: Episode 4 Sit back and drink some tea while Alissa takes you through stories about believing in yourself and overcoming obstacles. This episode features audio work by Salem State graduates Sam Flaherty and Alba Melendez.  

Season 3: Episode 3 Alissa shares her favorite baking recipes in between stories about finding your passion from the perspective of a costume designer and a drag queen. This episode features stories from Matthew Morrissey and Caiden Bistany. 

Season 3: Episode 2 Regan Doyle, Margaret Flaherty and Alba Melendez share interviews and stories all about religion. 

Season 3: Episode 1 Join Salem State Podcast Soundplay’s host Alissa Pray as she talks all about the different facets of education and learning, featuring original audio work done by Salem State students Anna Walsh and Xiouyu Liu and an interview with Salem State Student Chloe MacNeil.  

Season 2: Episode 7 In this episode, graduate students Sarah Eshelman and Kacper Kruszewski interview influential members of their communities. Sarah tells the story of a musician that found hope by organizing grassroots concerts during the pandemic, and Kacper speaks with the owner of a karate studio, who needed to find some innovative teaching methods at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic...

Season 2: Episode 6 Professor Larry Lewis and Conor MacGinnis continue their discussion, which leads them to talk about motivation in today’s society and life after university.  

Season 2: Episode 5 In this episode, Conor MacGinnis interviews Salem State Professor of Tai Chi, Larry Lewis. Together, they talk about Tai chi, meditation, religion, and life philosophies. 

Season 2: Episode 4 An undergraduate student tells a story about leaving toxic relationships and how her past experiences with romance have impacted her fundamental beliefs. Afterwards, Jenna interviews a one dollar bill and Matt learns about the complicated history of the American flag in their respective takes on “Everything is Alive.”  

Season 2: Episode 3 This episode features an audio story by undergraduate Josie Kinghorn, who weaves a twisted, modern version of the fairytale Cinderella, followed by an interview about her composing process. 

Season 2: Episode 2 Digital Writing students Molly, Michad, and Stepanie discuss the beliefs that have shaped their lives. Molly talks about the lessons she learned while playing softball, Michad relates his experiences with love and relationships to life’s unpredictability, and Stephanie’s story focuses on bullying and the importance of showing empathy.   

Season 2: Episode 1 Join Soundplay producer Conor MacGinnis as he takes you through an array of stories composed by Salem State’s own students and faculty. In this episode, undergraduate student Gina talks to an inanimate object in “Grandfather Clock,” a piece inspired by the podcast “Everything Is Alive,” and undergraduate Lucy Tew interviews a social media content creator and witch in “100% That...

Season 1: Episode 8 This episode features Prof. Tiffany Gayle Chenault's "28," a story about running and grief. You'll also hear undergraduate student Abby Crogan's interview with a chipped coffee cup (a concept borrowed from the podcast, "Everything is Alive"), Lana D'Addieco's uncovering of history via old radiators in Salem, and Cassandra Pearson's public history piece on Gore Vidal and William...

Season 1: Episode 7 This episode features audio work by Allison Cockett as well as an interview with her about her composing process. You'll also hear Matthew Swindell's "A Souvenir of Salem," created in Prof. Margo Shea's public history course, as well as audio work by Jennifer Moody.

Season 1: Episode 6 This episode includes feature stories by SSU undergraduate students, Dana Ventre, Allison Cockett, Osvaldo Moreno, and Tony Karaj. Dana explores the life of an accomplished young woman who faces challenges because of a stutter. Allison's story features a truly magical Salemite named Rose who has found her "witch niche." Osvaldo chronicles the success of a 21-year old Lesley Col...

Season 1: Episode 5 This episode includes feature stories by SSU undergraduate students, Jaleesa Molina, Aleya Beckford, and Abigail Hurley. Jaleesa tells the story of a man living a double life: he's a professional wrestler named CJ Cruz on the stage and Jason everywhere else. Aleya tells the story of a college students' unexpected interest and profession: wig-making. Abigail's story focuses on t...

Season 1: Episode 4 This episode includes three feature stories by SSU undergraduate students, Conor MacGinnis, Sarah Pangborn, and a student who wishes to remain anonymous. Both Conor and Sarah focus on musicians, one who has endless creativity and one who faces significant challenges during the COVID global pandemic. The other story focuses on an artist who paints enormous murals on city buildin...

Season 1: Episode 3 This episode features three stories by SSU undergraduate students, Abigail Hurley and two composers who wish to remain anonymous. The first story focuses on dating in a pandemic. The second story reflects on how the pandemic was initially perceived and how that perception has changed over time. Abigail's story is a montage of people's voices all responding to the same question:...

Season 1: Episode 2 This episode features audio pieces by Tony Karaj, Sarah Pangborn, Jennifer Moody, and a senior who wishes to remain anonymous. These students offer their personal understanding of current events as well as reflections of how they've experienced life in a global pandemic.

Season 1: Episode 1 This episode features the audio work of SSU undergraduate students Jaleesa Molena, Dylan Snyder, and Conor MacGinnis. Jaleesa composed a beautiful piece of spoken word poetry. Conor interviewed his mom, who is a doctor caring for people with Covid. Dylan reflects on how the pandemic has highlighted social class inequities. 

This episode is an audio tribute to Taylor Wholley, one of the best teachers on campus! Taylor teaches at the beloved SSU preschool, which will be sadly closing its doors this month. Thank you for all you do, Ms. Taylor, and we can't wait to hear about your next amazing adventures!

Magic, Choices, Community, Control. These are some of the topics students talk about in their projects that fall in the genre of the former NPR show, "This I Believe." The student composers are: Cassidy Keegan, Justin Nguyen, Marissa Blonigen, Tina Phan, and Emma Walsh, all students in Tanya Rodrigue's ENL 317 Digital Writing class.

This episode features three hilarious spin offs of "Everything Is Alive," a podcast featuring interviews with inanimate objects. This episode tells the story of an under-appreciated football stadium, a police car that's seen too much, and a lonely shovel. The student composers are: Alec Connell, Robbie Christensen, and Michael Jordan.

This episode features two "Salem According to Sound" episodes by Caitlin Donahue, Collin Blacksmith and Nicole Kotsovillis, and an audio documentary by Jeff Gately entitled "Somehow, Even More Alone." Trigger warning: Jeff's documentary is about suicide. 

This show features Jill Brown's documentary, "Christmas is Ruined." Jill's touching story describes the challenges and tragedies she has faced in her life such as addiction and losing her husband on Christmas even, and how she persisted despite them. The show features a bonus interview with Jill about her experience composing the documentary. (You'll need tissues ready for this one.) This show als...

This show features Matthew Eldar's audio documentary on the social phenomenon of culture jamming. The show also features two 90 second episodes by Jill Brown and Mikayla Porcaro of a faux podcast made up for an assignment called "Salem According to Sound," which is a direct rip-off from, "The World According to Sound.”