Radio essays
Alison on Tri States Public Radio
My Essays on Public Radio
I am an occasional commentator for the National Public Radio (NPR) member station in Macomb, IL, (WIUM/WIUW Tri States Public Radio). Since 2006, I’ve been writing and airing short essays like
- “Stinky Stuff About Being Single,” a local initiative that favors families and kicks singles to the curb,
- “Vonnegut’s Visit,” when the revered writer came to town (and made fun of it in the New York Times), and
- “My Old School(s),” which explains how I got to be Homecoming Queen at age 29.
How can you catch them?
I’ll update you when there’s another coming up via Facebook, Twitter, and the blog. You can hear them locally or listen online! You can also click below to read/listen to some of essays that have previously aired.
A few more from the archives
2009
- Stay penned? Not this kid
“Dad must have begun to notice his daughters were getting away from the fundamentals of farm life. Because one day he came in for supper announcing he had a surprise for us. We ran out into the front yard, me hoping for a new 10-speed. Or a pool. But …” (read the rest here) - De-Kindling an old flame
“How is a progressive person who reveres the classics supposed to feel about a Kindle? I mean, why didn’t they just name it the Terminator? …” (read the rest here)
2008
- Bring the (T)Pain (but leave the fanny pack at home)
“What happens at a hip-hop show? Were we, I feared, going to be expected to dance?” (read the rest here) - Would Mary have held on to her hat?
“If I’d have had a government-sanctioned reason to stay on my parents’ dime a day longer, believe me, baby, I’d have done it.” (read the rest here)
2007
- Looking for Lincoln? (or stuck in the back seat?)
In which Abraham Lincoln’s relatives are buried near the carcass of my crashed-out car. (read the rest here)
