Radiotopia Presents: We're Doing the Wiz

From our friends at the LAist —In 2023, North Hollywood’s Star Garden reopened as the only unionized strip club in the U.S. LAist Producer Emma Alabaster tells us the behind-the-scenes story of the workplace conditions that pushed the dancers into action. CONTENT WARNING: This episode includes sensitive content about sexual assault.For sexual assault and harassment support and resources, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673, which is a service of RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network).Here are some resources that informed our reporting: Working It: Sex Workers on the Work of Sex  (In particular, the essay "White Supremacy in Organizing" by Domino Rey) Unequal Desires: Race and Erotic Capital in the Stripping Industry by Siobhan Brooks Tits and Sass: Service Journalism by and for Sex Workers LA Co-op Lab U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives 2021 Worker Cooperative State of the Sector Report Yes, A Stripper Podcast For more resources For more, visit https://LAist.com/ImperfectParadise Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Back in 2017, Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative host/producer Jess Shane made “Perfect Woman”, an episode of Love Me, the CBC podcast. In 2018, Nick van der Kolk made “Points of Egress” for his show, Love + Radio, inspired by “Perfect Woman”. Today, we come full circle to share “Points of Egress” with you. Listen to the end for Jess’s version of the credits. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

After Jess receives feedback that throws a major wrench into her production schedule, she has to make some tough decisions.Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is written, hosted and produced by Jess Shane. Sara Nics is the story editor. Sound design, mix/mastering by Michelle Macklem. Production support from Mona Hassan. Cover art is by Justin Broadbent. Jess’s bibliography is available here.This reporting was supported in part by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G.Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.Special thanks to Eleanor McDowall and Chioke I’Anson.For Radiotopia Presents, Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm.We’d like to thank the extended Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative team, without whom you may not have heard about this project. For PRX marketing: Gretchen Borzi, David Cotrone, Sher Delva, Apu Goteh, and Maggie Gourville. For PRX sponsorship: Audrey Davidson, Melissa Garcia-Houle, Carolyn Willander, and Jeanne Yeh.This series was possible thanks to Ernesto, Michael, and Judy, whose vibrant souls could never fit into the confines of any series.Most of all, thank you for listening. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

With only a few months till launch, Jess plays a draft of the series for her subjects and gives them an opportunity to request major changes.Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is written, hosted and produced by Jess Shane. Sara Nics is the story editor. Sound design, mix/mastering by Michelle Macklem. Production support from Mona Hassan. Cover art is by Justin Broadbent. Jess’s bibliography is available here.This reporting was supported in part by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G.Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.Special thanks to Eleanor McDowall and Chioke I’Anson.For Radiotopia Presents, Yooree Losordo is the managing producer. Audrey Mardavich is the Executive Producer. It’s a production of PRX’s Radiotopia and part of Radiotopia Presents, a podcast feed that debuts limited-run, artist-owned series from new and original voices.Learn more about Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative at radiotopiapresents.fm and discover more shows from across the Radiotopia network at radiotopia.fm. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jess documents Judy's life struggles in exchange for help, causing complications in their relationships. The focus shifts to handling chaos, facing eviction, and navigating personal boundaries. Michael shares his post-prison challenges of isolation and trust. The series delves into personal transformation, blurred relationships, and finalizing the narrative with feedback.

Documentary explores the story of a newly sober fashion model and the challenges of turning it into a media product. Discusses nerves before a fashion show, the process of documentary-making, and the behind-the-scenes of the modeling industry.

The podcast explores the purpose and ethics of documentary making, challenging stereotypes and giving voice to marginalized individuals. It delves into the physically demanding nature of gymnastics, the pressures faced by young athletes, and the unexpected opportunities that come with success. The speaker also discusses the importance of finding ethical frameworks in documentary storytelling and navigating the profit-driven media landscape.

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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Today, longtime Presents producer Ian Coss shares a new project with a simple premise. If you want to talk about music today, you need to talk about migration – the movement of people around this earth. “Movement with Meklit Hadero” is a podcast that lives at that intersection: stories of music and migration, remixed. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Today, we’re introducing our Radiotopia Presents listeners to a brand new show out now from PRX. It’s called What’s Ray Saying?. In this first episode from the newest season, Ray Christian looks at the history of Black medicine and to better understand the treatment of the ills, injuries and minds of Black Americans, he reflects on his first experience of going to the doctor.What’s Ray Saying? is created, hosted, and written by Ray Christian and recorded in the great state of North Carolina. Mark Pagán is the senior producer. Jonathan Cabral is the associate producer. Story editing by Mark Pagán with development support from The Moth. Sound design by Rebecca Seidel. Original music comes from RJ Christian and Blue Dot Sessions.To find out more about What Ray’s Saying? visit us on Facebook, Twitter, or at whatraysaying.com.This series is supported by PRX, The Moth, and listeners like you. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices