Hub & Spoke Presents

Welcome to the second installment of Sounds Like America , whereby Hub & Spoke is celebrating America’s 250th birthday by collecting independent audio from every state. This episode features work from: * Jennifer Swann (Los Angeles, CA) * Kasia Houlihan (Portland, Maine) * Wade Roush (Santa Fe, New Mexico) * Teri Barr (Madison, Wisconsin) * Zoe Kurland (Marfa, Texas) * Jordan Gass-Pooré (Spring Br...

The Lonely Palette , a flagship Hub & Spoke podcast, turned 10 in May. To mark the occasion, creator, host, and Hub & Spoke co-founder Tamar Avishai invited Julie Shapiro — creator of the Audio Flux podcast , radio visionary, and one of the newest members of Hub & Spoke — into a conversation about the industry, audio independence, and what it means to produce a show entirely on your own… and entir...

Stories of Sound is an audio series that delves into sound arts and audio storytelling, offering listeners a window into the creative processes, challenges, and inspirations of artists, authors and theorists who tell stories through sound. It is also the newest addition to the Hub & Spoke slate of curious, mind-expanding podcasts. We’re proud to present an episode of Stories of Sound ’s most recen...

PLACE: Out of the container of funk where everything was like this moving compost heap, being turned over and over by all the life within its busy layers. Out of the place where Maestra Estela and her family tune into the plant information highway with their thousands year old roots in the jungle. Out of the part of me that was feeling the boundaries between my body and where I was start to disapp...

PLACE: A tiny plane from Lima to Iquitos, a mototaxi down deep mud tracks to Aya Madre plant medicine retreat in Nauta, within the The Amazon jungle. Here there is white sand, a blood red river, giant winged trees and shallow roots. There are rampant levels of growth and rot and mould – and a cacophony of sound that drenches you even more than the rains that come down and squelch up the ground eve...

PLACE: Mexico City is on the wonk, its buildings leaning off in odd directions – and it is sinking at a rate faster than any other city on Earth. Each year it drops 20 inches lower, collapsing under a mountain of bad decisions, dodgy policies, over-population, inefficient infrastructure and terrible pollution – all stemming back to the Spanish conquest where indigenous wisdom was literally paved o...

PLACE The Sonoran desert spills out either side of the US-Mexico border. Its terrain is riveted through by The Wall like a sewing machine, technology and geo-politics deciding what constitutes one place over another. But the border is not the territory and the desert will do what it’s going to do, despite The Wall’s puncturing. Down here the land and sky seem technicolour – impossibly vivid – and...

PLACE: The placelessness of the train while moving through vast and shifting landscapes for 36 hours also creates a strange, metal-wrapped place all of its own. A home on the move. Cosy and secure and endlessly stimulating. Makes me think of what Richard Grant says in American Nomads : “a nomad is someone who doesn’t feel stable when stationary. A nomad feels stable when experiencing velocity”. I...

PLACE: The lower half of Louisiana is a puzzle of waterways, swamps, canals and levees. A once complex and resilient ecosystem carved through, for generations, by commerce. From a plane the land looks like a mass of fresh scabs – little flakey islands floating in the water for as far as the eye can see. And at the bottom of the map is Plaquemines Parish – the ‘bird’s foot’. This area was fertile f...

PLACE: The first stop on this journey to tune into the pulse of place has to start in New Orleans. So powerful and charismatic is it that the mere mention of it to almost anyone, anywhere, elicits a reaction – a look of wonder, excitement, energy. Yes, it is the seafood, the jazz, the Mississippi – but the idea of it carries a charge. What is that? To me it’s the ‘irrational’ swampland within whic...

Hub & Spoke Expo is proud to present Lowlines , a sonic scrapbook, a passport to roam, following a pull to tune into the pulse of place—befriending strangers along the way. Part precursor, part trailer, this prologue is the set up for the series and a hint at what’s to come. CREDITS: Petra Barran — Host and Producer Lucia Scazzocchio — Producer Lina Prestwood — Executive Producer More information...

What does it sound like right now, where you are? How would you share it with someone who has never been there? What makes that place unique? What makes it yours ? Earlier this year, Hub & Spoke invited producers from around the country — every one of our 50 states (and DC!) — to send us a sonic postcard. We wanted to hear anything and everything that is hyper-local to you: a minute of train-whist...

Yesterday we sent you a newsletter issue all about Turning Corners, our new podcast from Hub & Spoke co-founder and member producer Wade Roush. And today we're using the Hub & Spoke Presents audio feed to share the actual audio of Wade's first episode. It's called Whose Private Mountain? Pueblo artists reclaim Tewa Country at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum . Enjoy! ----- Discover the full slate of Hu...

There’s a number of Japanese expressions that address the importance of contrasts. “A prized steer looks best against a thatched hut.” “The moon is not pleasing unless it is partially obscured by a cloud.” Contrasts, in other words, help us understand a concept by examining it in relation to its opposite. They challenge us to deepen and sharpen our thinking. They make both more resonant. In the la...

For the first century and a half of U.S. history, March 4th was inauguration day. With the ratification of the 20th Amendment in 1933, the date was moved up to January 20th. If it weren’t for the 20th Amendment, Donald Trump’s second term would be starting today. Instead, we’re now six weeks into that term. And over that time, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have become political arsonists, starting a...

That well-worn cliché – the only constant in life is change – is well worn for a reason. Every part of our lives is in constant flux, whether we’re paying attention or not. Here at Hub & Spoke, we know it’s really about the people who share their stories stories of change – physical, emotional, technological, societal – that resonate with us, and with you. This episode is hosted by Nick Andersen a...

How do we even describe this country, especially today? It’s impossible to even imagine the expanse of this place. Whose stories do we tell when we can’t even all agree on our past, or trust one another to imagine the future?  Which is why we’ve picked this big country, and even bigger idea of a country, as our theme.  We’re going to bring you podcast excerpts that offer four very specific lenses...

As the philosopher Haddaway once asked, what is love? It turns out, love can be anything that stirs the heart: passion, grief, affection, kin. The desire to consume; the poignancy of memory. Here at Hub & Spoke, we want to stretch our arms, and ears, around it all. This episode is hosted by Lori Mortimer and edited by Tamar Avishai. Production assistance from Nick Andersen. Music by Evalyn Parry,...

I was recording in my closet, where there I found My ears perking up to an eerie sound The mic grew hot, and to my surprise Came a story of fear, and all it implies… It’s Halloween! And how better to celebrate it than by plumbing the spooooky Hub & Spoke depths for stories of terror, anxiety, uncertainty, angst…in sum, plain old fear, the narrative audio way! Enjoy the second episode of our sample...

Welcome to the debut episode of Hub & Spoke Radio Hour, a sampler mix of audio from across our fine collective. In this episode, you’ll hear four show clips on the theme of independence as our host, Tamar Avishai, interviews the producers about the stories they shared from their shows. Edited by Nina Porzucki. Music by Evalyn Parry. Listen to the full episodes: * Soonish, “ Goodbye Google ” * Subt...