Radiotopia Presents premiers short multi-episode series in one podcast feed, unified by bold, inclusive storytelling pushing the boundaries of audio.With Radiotopia Presents, we’re reaffirming and doubling down on our commitment to supporting independent creators and their ownership of their intellectual property. Because creators own their content, they can pursue additional paths after a series debut, including adaptations and spinoffs of their work. Each series is developed in partnership with independent producers who received financial, production, and promotional support from Radiotopia to bring their idea to the widest possible audience.Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.
Radiotopia Presents premiers short multi-episode series in one podcast feed, unified by bold, inclusive storytelling pushing the boundaries of audio.With Radiotopia Presents, we’re reaffirming and doubling down on our commitment to supporting independent creators and their ownership of their intellectual property. Because creators own their content, they can pursue additional paths after a series debut, including adaptations and spinoffs of their work. Each series is developed in partnership with independent producers who received financial, production, and promotional support from Radiotopia to bring their idea to the widest possible audience.Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.
Artist and documentarian Jess Shane posts a Craigslist ad: “Does your story need to be told? Tell it in a documentary! Seeking shocking, heartbreaking, and transformative stories for a new series about the documentary industry. Compensation provided.”
After days of auditions, Shane casts four participants, each with varied relationships to why they want to share their stories, from Ernesto, a recovering addict and fashion model who dreams of making it big, to Judy, an unhoused senior who wants to get off the street and give voice to the homeless. Through the making of documentaries about the participants, the series asks provocative questions about the story creation process, whether “sharing your story” is really as liberating as our culture imagines it can be, and how “being produced” for a show can shift someone’s relationship to their own experience. The series also explores the business side of the equation, such as how the forces underpinning today’s booming documentary marketplace impact whose stories are told or deemed valuable.
Shane also turns her mic to subjects to weigh in on standard documentary protocol, from the concept of “access” and the taboo of paying subjects to the logistics of editorial control. Ultimately, “Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative” asks listeners to consider their own relationship to this popular genre of content.
Learn more about “Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative” at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.