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Radio Diaries

Radiotopia
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First-person diaries, sound portraits, and hidden chapters of history from Peabody Award-winning producer Joe Richman and the Radio Diaries team. From teenagers to octogenarians, prisoners to prison guards, bra saleswomen to lighthouse keepers. The extraordinary stories of ordinary life. Radio Diaries is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

  1. Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier 2: Officer X

    3 DAYS AGO

    Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier 2: Officer X

    Last week, we shared the story of Isaac Woodard, a Black soldier who was brutally beaten by a white police officer in South Carolina. No one knew the name of the police officer. Or even the town where it happened. Not even Woodard himself. By the summer of '46, the case was gaining national attention thanks to Orson Welles, who was investigating the crime, week-by-week, on his radio show.Today, episode 2 of our series Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier, about an incident in a small, southern town that became a spark in the growing civil rights movement. --- Thanks to Richard Gergel for his book Unexampled Courage and Indiana University’s Lilly Library for archival audio. Music from Matthias Bossi and Duke Ellington.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    13 min
  2. Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier 1: The Bus Ride

    12 FEB

    Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier 1: The Bus Ride

    On February 12, 1946, a Black soldier was heading home from WWII when he was brutally beaten by a white police officer in South Carolina. No one knew the identity of the police officer. No one even knew the town where it happened.   When the famous radio host Orson Welles heard about the crime, he pledged to solve the mystery, week-by-week, on the air.  Today, episode 1 of our new series Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier, about an incident in a small, southern town that led to the desegregation of the U.S. military. --- Thanks to Richard Gergel for his book Unexampled Courage and Indiana University’s Lilly Library for archival audio. Music from Matthias Bossi and Bill Frisell for music. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    12 min
  3. TRAILER: Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier

    9 FEB

    TRAILER: Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier

    On February 12, 1946, an African American soldier heading home from WWII was attacked by a white police officer somewhere in South Carolina. The soldier's name was Isaac Woodard. No one knew the identity of the officer who attacked Woodard. No one even knew which town it had happened in. So when the famous radio host Orson Welles heard about the case, he vowed to solve it on the air. Radio Diaries and Radiotopia bring you a new series about a crime in a small southern town that led to the desegregation of the United States military. The first episode drops February 12th on the Radio Diaries Podcast. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    5 min
  4. Remembering Claudette Colvin

    14 JAN

    Remembering Claudette Colvin

    A little over a decade ago, we went to interview a woman at her small one-bedroom apartment in a sprawling complex in the Bronx. She was living a quiet and somewhat anonymous life. But many years earlier, she had done something remarkable. The woman’s name was Claudette Colvin. In 1955, she was a 15-year-old girl growing up in Montgomery, Alabama. On March 2nd of that year, Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a public bus, and was arrested. This was nine months before Rosa Parks would do the exact same thing. But while Rosa Parks became an icon of the Civil Rights movement, Colvin spent most of her life in obscurity. Claudette Colvin passed away this week, at age 86. We’re remembering her by revisiting the story we did with her in 2015. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    12 min
  5. The First Computer Dating Service: Operation Match

    18/12/2025

    The First Computer Dating Service: Operation Match

    Looking for love is an art, not a science. People have been trying to crack the code, with mixed success, for a long time.  This week we're going back to the 1960s, when a couple Harvard students had an idea. Businesses had started using a new technology called the computer to process payroll or match a client with the right type of insurance. What if these same computers could be used to get a date?  This is the story of the very first computer dating service, Operation Match. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    12 min
  6. This Short Life

    20/11/2025

    This Short Life

    Today on the show, we sit down with photographer Andrew Lichtenstein to discuss his new book, THIS SHORT LIFE, which combines photo essays with audio testimonies about 12 Americans, from a West Virginia coal miner to a Maine farmer, all united by how the struggles of their past have shaped their present. You'll hear audio testimony from some of the people in the book. Buy THIS SHORT LIFE here.  If you liked this story, find more of our work at radiodiaries.org and follow us on Bluesky, Instagram and Facebook @radiodiaries. To support our work, go to www.radiodiaries.org/donate.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    16 min
  7. Detained: The Last Columbia Protester

    03/11/2025

    Detained: The Last Columbia Protester

    In April 2024, over 100 students were arrested during protests outside Columbia University, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Leqaa Kordia, a young Palestinian woman living in Paterson, New Jersey, was one of them. Kordia was let go after the protests. But months later, ICE officials took her into custody and put her on a plane to a detention facility in Texas. Kordia has now been detained there for more than seven months. She is the last Columbia protestor still in detention. Kordia's cousin, Hamzah Abushaban, talks to Kordia through a detention phone line almost every day. Today on the show, we'll hear one of those phone calls. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    12 min

  8. 23/10/2025

    Identical Strangers

    Paula Bernstein and Elyse Schein were both born in New York City and adopted as infants. When they were 35 years old, they met and found they were “identical strangers.” This story originally aired on NPR in 2007.  Liked this story? Donate and find more of our stories at www.radiodiaries.org. Follow us @radiodiaries on Bluesky and Instagram.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    17 min
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Hosts & Guests

About

First-person diaries, sound portraits, and hidden chapters of history from Peabody Award-winning producer Joe Richman and the Radio Diaries team. From teenagers to octogenarians, prisoners to prison guards, bra saleswomen to lighthouse keepers. The extraordinary stories of ordinary life. Radio Diaries is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

Information

  • Channel
    Radiotopia
  • Creator
    Radio Diaries & Radiotopia
  • Years Active
    2006 - 2026
  • Episodes
    260
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Radio Diaries
  • Provider
    PRX

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