Yarn AudioWorks tells audio-rich stories that reflect the mystery of existence and the delights and dilemmas of modern society.

Yarn AudioWorks

Featuring: Kristen Mulvihill and David Rohde
Recorded: June 2011, New York, NY
Music: Ryan Rumery

In November 2008, while in Afghanistan writing a book on the region, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter David Rohde was abducted by Taliban gunmen. At the time, he had been married only two months, to Cosmopolitan photography director Kristen Mulvihill. Seven months later, after being moved from Logar Province to the tribal areas of Pakistan, after multiple videos depicting Rohde's captivity and a string of dead-end negotiations, Rodhe and his Afghan colleague Tahir Ludin escaped from the compound in which they were held. Days later, Rohde was reunited with Mulvihill in Dubai, and within a week the two were back home in New York City. In December 2009, the two began work on a book about their experiences during the period. The resulting narrative, A Rope and a Prayer, was published in November 2010. During the months that followed, on tour and elsewhere, Rohde and Mulvihill relived details of their ordeal for audiences both awestruck and enraged by what they had to say.

Kristen Mulvihill has been a fashion and photography editor at various women’s magazines, including Marie Claire and Self. Most recently, she was the photography director of Cosmopolitan magazine. She is also a painter and illustrator.

David Rohde, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, is a foreign affairs columnist for Reuters. Previously, he worked as a reporter for The New York Times for 15 years. He won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for uncovering the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia for The Christian Science Monitor and his second in 2009 as part of a team of New York Times reporters covering Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is also the author of Endgame: The Betrayal and Fall of Srebrenica.

They both grew up in New England, graduated from Brown University and live in New York.

Photo by Erik Swain.

Beyond the Rope

Story by: Jim Perakis
Recorded: September 2009, New York, NY
Music: Richard Thompson 

A portrait of Mike Butler: tannery worker, hard drinker, avid gambler, and, in the eyes of three young boys growing up in suburban Massachusetts in the 1950s, the greatest babysitter ever.

Broadcast April 26, 2011 on The Story by American Public Media; also March 13, 2011 on KUT-FM's "O'Dark 30" (Austin, TX); and January 2, 2010 on WILL-AM's "Sidetrack with Jason Croft"(Urbana, IL). 
 
Jim Perakis is the former CEO of Hyperion Software.

Blue Collar Babysitter

Story by: Scott Mulhern
Recorded: April 2010, New York, NY
Music: Slow Six
Music Coordination: Jeff Golick

Stumbling blindly through the late Sixties, a promising young actor finds comfort, then spiritual solace, after a series of stunning coincidences alter his life forever.

Broadcast March 27, 2011 on KUT-FM's "O'Dark 30" (Austin, TX).

Scott Mulhern, father of two grown daughters, lives with his wife, Susan, in Hopewell, New Jersey. After twenty years as an actor, he became a professional paperhanger. He is a also poet and writer whose blog is Listening Walls. Photo: Ananda Ashram in Monroe, NY.

The Through Line

Featuring the voices of: Bradley Ellis, Jeff Golick, Victoria Harmer, Kira Petersons, Dahlia Gallin Ramirez, and Bill Rousseau
Recorded: January 2010, New York, NY
Music: The Monolith; Billy & Dolly

Featured on KQED.org, San Francisco, April 27, 2010. Broadcast May 3, 2010 on KUT-FM's "O'Dark 30" (Austin, TX).

What's an unknown band to do after pouring blood, sweat, tears, and its own money into making the most awesome record ever? The answer: give it all away. Outraged, one dedicated follower takes it upon himself to spread the word, one fan at a time. 

Visit Billy & Dolly's website at http://billyanddolly.com. Brad Ellis is a Brooklyn-based DJ and dancer. Jeff Golick is the former co-author of destination: Out, an MP-free music blog. A former employee of Arista Records and BMG, Victoria Harmer works in the hotel business in New York City. Kira Petersons is a San Francisco-based writer and editor. Thanks to Stephen Grant. Photo by Gabriela Hasbun.

Rip This Band Off

Featuring the voices of: Maria Baugh, Linda Lea, and Pamela Nelson
Recorded: February 2009, New York, NY
Music: Django Reinhardt; Pink Martini

Is there such thing as a recession-proof product in a downward-sliding economy? Three vets of the corporate world are banking on the cupcake as today's luxury item of choice, and that the secret to building a better confection lies somewhere between traditional Southern baking and the stylish sophistication all New Yorkers secretly crave.

Featured by PRX as a News Station Pick for April 2009. Broadcast April 4, 2009 on WILL-AM's "Sidetrack" (Urbana, IL) and March 19, 2009 on WAMC-FM's "Midday Magazine" (Great Barrington, MA).

Butter Lane is located at 123 East 7th Street in Manhattan and at 240 7th Avenue in Brooklyn. You can read more about the bakery at http://butterlane.com.

The Bakers of Butter Lane

Story by: Annie Lalla
Recorded: April 2008, New York, NY
Music: Preservation Hall Jazz Band 

A painting mishap tests the limits of one young writer’s sanity when, newly-relocated to NYC, she becomes locked in her bathroom, with a tiny, 1′ x 1′ window her only means of communication with the outside world. 

Broadcast September 12, 2010 on KUT-FM's "O'Dark 30" (Austin); July 22, 2009 on "KUOW Presents" on KUOW-FM (Seattle); July 5, 2008 on “Sidetrack” on WILL-AM (Urbana, IL). 

Annie Lalla is a writer residing in Greenwich Village, NY whose online magazine “for the emotionally astute female intellectual,” Wonder, will launch soon. A prose version of this story can be found at http://www.hackwriters.com/Lalla4.htm.

Damsel, Distressed

Featuring the voices of: P.J. Escobio, Tom Foley, Jeff Golick, Jason Kravits, Jeremy J. Lee, and David Markus
Recorded: September 2009, New York, NY
Music: Luiz Bonfá
Music Coordination: Jeff Golick

In Fall 2009 as my wife entered the late stage of pregnancy I asked several friends who are recent or long-time dads for advice on becoming a father myself. I interviewed all six over the phone, requesting two pieces of advice, one for first time dads in general and one for me specifically. I'd worked out a precise timeline for transcription, editing, and publication of the piece. But things didn't happen according to schedule. Photo by Leda Ward.

Broadcast June 20, 2010 on KUT-FM's "O'Dark 30" (Austin, TX).

P.J. Escobio is an actor and producer who lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and daughter. Tom Foley is a filmmaker who lives in Marblehead, MA with his wife and son. Jeff Golick is pro-Brooklyn, pro-jazz, pro-friends, and anti-oxidant. Jeremy J. Lee lives with his wife Maggie and son Lucas in Sunnyside, NY; Lucas made his Broadway debut about a month before he took his first breath. Jason Kravits is an actor/writer/director, and especially father, living in NYC. In addition to David Markus’ work as a model for Conde Naste Traveler and the New York Times, he is a hedge fund manager, husband and father of two pretty wonderful kids, Nicholas and Nora.

Dad to Dad

Produced by Eric Winick and Jay Allison for Transom.org
Recorded: April 2005, Marblehead, MA (interview); May 2008, Woods Hole, MA (voiceover)
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven

The Nadeaus were, to most eyes, an ideal family – enlightened, brilliant, prosperous. But then things turned upside down. In a remarkable series of events, Doug and Lynn Nadeau were forced to re-define their identities and affirm the foundation of their love.

The story was first featured on Transom.org:  http://transom.org/?p=65

A 12-minute version, "The Crossdressing Family Man From Down the Block," was broadcast November 28, 2008 on NPR's "All Things Considered."  Additional production by Larry Massett of Hearing Voices.

Broadcast October 5, 2010 on KCRW's "UnFictional"; Broadcast February 1, 2010 and January 24, 2012 on KUT's "O'Dark 30" (Austin, TX); June 9, 2009 on KUOW's "KUOW Presents" (Seattle); and September 8, 2008 on KFAI's "Listening Lounge" (Minneapolis-St. Paul).  Featured by PRX as a "Rainbow Radio" LGBT Pride Pick  for June 2009.  

Additional support for this work was provided by the Open Studio Project, with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

How Are You Who You Are

Story by: Wayne Peter Liebman
Produced by: Eric Winick & Wayne Peter Liebman
Recorded: November-December 2008, Los Angeles, CA
Music: Santo & Johnny

When a young doctor questioning his choice of profession has a chance encounter with cinema icon Marlon Brando, the ensuing conversation proves surprisingly profound -- not just for the doctor, but for Brando himself.

Featured by PRX as a News Station Pick for January 2009. Broadcast January 22, 2009 on WBHM-FM's "Tapestry" (Birmingham, AL), February 7, 2009 on WILL-AM's "Sidetrack" (Urbana, IL); April 20, 2010 on KUOW-FM's "KUOW Presents" (Seattle/Puget Sound); and September 19, 2010 on KUT-FM's "O'Dark 30" (Austin).

Wayne Liebman is a physician, poet and playwright. To read more about his work, click here. I met Wayne at the Third Coast International Audio Festival in Evanston, IL, which is where he first told me this story. Since Wayne lives in L.A., he recorded his story there, and we compiled this story via e-mail, the first Yarn piece to be created in this fashion. Thanks to Jay Allison, Caitlin Fitzwater, Bradford Louryk, and Rob Ribar.

Meal Ticket

Featuring the voices of: Chris Robinson, Amy Leith, Kim Bradley, Tamara Taylor, and Liz Zale
Recorded: June 2005, Middlebury, VT
Music: Yann Tiersen

Tensions are running high on the occasion of the author's 15th college reunion. And as he learns, sometimes old habits are hard to break. A before and after story.

Author's note: this one was never broadcast, but it remains one of my favorite pieces, if only because it completely captures my anxiety about this particular event, and then, afterward, the utter exhaustion of everyone involved.

Crass Reunion

Party Out of Bounds

Story by: David White
Recorded: July 2005, Waterford, CT
Music: Vince Guaraldi Trio

A group of disillusioned college kids crash a fancy gala party at the local museum by faking French accents, only to discover, in spectacular fashion, that their success has a darker side.

David White is currently a professor of theater at Towson University in Maryland. When we recorded this, he and I were sitting in a makeshift recording booth on the campus of the Eugene O’Neill Center during the 2005 Playwrights Conference, where he was literary manager at the time.

Fly in the Ointment

Story by: John Morogiello
Recorded: February 2009, New York, NY
Music: Marc Ribot
Music Coordination: Jeff Golick

Broadcast February 8, 2010 on KUT-FM's "O'Dark 30" (Austin, TX). Chosen by PRX as a January 2010 "News Station Pick of the Month."

It's only his second week on the job as house manager at a major American regional theater, and an icon of the modern cinema is paying a visit. That's when the embarrassing incident occurs, one which the house manager must clean up -- quickly, quietly, and literally -- putting every one of his newfound skills to the test.

John Morogiello is a Playwright in Residence with the Maryland State Arts Council. For more on his work, click here. Producer's note: John first told me this story seventeen years ago when we were working on a play together in DC. I've never forgotten it, and sought him out specifically so we could record it for Yarn. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Seating Mr. Pacino

Story by: Samuel D. Hunter
Recorded: July 2005, Waterford, CT
Music: Robert Fripp

A high school student learns he’s vulnerable to more than just prejudice in his small Idaho town when he consumes a spread to which, he finds, he is fatally allergic.

Samuel D. Hunter’s plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play), A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Few, A Great Wilderness, Rest, Pocatello, Lewiston, Clarkston, and most recently, The Healing and The Harvest. He is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, a 2012 Whiting Writers Award, the 2013 Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, the 2011 Sky Cooper Prize, the 2008 PONY/Lark Fellowship, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho. His plays have been produced in New York at Playwrights Horizons, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Clubbed Thumb and Page 73, and around the country at such theaters as Seattle Rep, South Coast Rep, Victory Gardens, Williamstown Theater Festival, The Old Globe, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Denver Center Theatre Company, Marin Theater Company, and elsewhere. His work has been developed at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the Ojai Playwrights Conference, Seven Devils, and PlayPenn. A published anthology of his work, including The Whale and A Bright New Boise, is available from TCG books. He is a member of New Dramatists, an Ensemble Playwright at Victory Gardens, a member of Partial Comfort Productions, and was a 2013 Resident Playwright at Arena Stage. A native of northern Idaho, Sam lives in NYC. He holds degrees in playwriting from NYU, The Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and Juilliard.

When we recorded this, Sam and I were sitting under a tree in a meadow on the campus of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, overlooking the Long Island Sound. So if you think you hear wind whistling through the mike, it’s not your imagination.

Nuts

Story by: Scott Schultz
Recorded: August 2011, New York, NY
Music: Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou; Nomo; Glissandro 70; Public Enemy
Music Coordination: Jeff Golick

Broadcast February 5, 2012 on KUT-FM's "O'Dark 30" (Austin).
 
With his comedy career stalled out, 30 year-old Scott Schultz enrolls as a Freshman at down-and-out L.A. City College. After Scott is named Sports Editor of the school paper by default, the college's legendary basketball coach, Mike Miller, enlists his aid in assembling LACC's first women's basketball team -- an experience that changes Scott's life.

Scott Schultz has been a comedian, journalist, photographer and editor for various newspapers, blogs and magazines, covering sports, music and science. He has been a regular contributor for LA Record, since 2008, and his work has appeared in L.A. Weekly, L.A. Times and Maxim En Espanol among others. As a comedian he has performed at clubs and colleges across the country. Having grown up in Marblehead, MA and moved to Southern California via Greyhound bus when he was 18-years old, Scott graduated from UCLA. He currently lives in the seaside town of Winthrop, MA and participates in storytelling and readings throughout Cambridge, MA. His favorite basketball movie is Hoop Dreams, and his all-time favorite basketball coach is John Wooden.

Pride of the Lady Cubs

Featuring the voices of Doug French, Isser Gallogly, Ruth Gallogly, Mark Loftis, Niki Naeve, Nadaleen Tempelman-Kluit, Eric Winick, Colin Young, Lisa Zullig, and others
Recorded: August 2008, Garden Island (Charlotte), VT
Music: Percy Faith & His Orchestra

A sound-infused portrait of life on a small island on Lake Champlain, where ten exhausted city-dwellers convene for a week, seeking relaxation and rejuvenation.

Pictured: one last cup, final morning on the Island.

Reflections on a Summer Place

Featuring: Meghan Ritchie, Paul Jones, and Kari Browne
Recorded: September 2013 - April 2014, Brooklyn and Manhattan, NY
Music: Django Reinhardt

There's a lot at stake for new food startups, but in Brooklyn, NY, the climate has become unmistakably hospitable. After baking treats for a friendly brunch, then selling some on her stoop, one entrepreneur takes her homemade dessert item to the next level. The results are beyond anything she expected.

From stoop to store:  a Brooklyn success tale

Featuring: Gabriel Vaughan and Piper Goodeve, with Lauren Fortgang and Andrew Bakonyi
Recorded: June 2014, Brooklyn, NY
Original Music: Larry May

Gabriel Vaughan and Piper Goodeve have set upon a singular mission: to revive the sport of croquet in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, where it once thrived. Their Brooklyn Croquet and Hunt* Club, now in its second year, intends to draw players from every side of the park, which is to say, from all walks of life. (*Hunting postponed until further notice)

To view photos of the Club in action, visit http://bit.ly/1q1PIPQ
Read more about the Brooklyn Croquet & Hunt* Club at https://www.facebook.com/brooklyn.croquet.and.hunt.club

Gabriel Vaughan is from Western Massachusetts and wears a lot of hats in addition to his croquet boater. A professional stage and film actor for over 15 years, a senior casting studio manager at Endeavor Studios and a founding member of the Tennessee Shakespeare Company, Gabe is also a photographer, audiobook narrator and diehard Red Sox fan.

Piper Goodeve is from the Live Free Or Die state of New Hampshire. A graduate of the MFA program at Brown/Trinity Rep, Piper is a professional actress and audiobook narrator of over 50 titles. When not acting, narrating or curating the social media of the Brooklyn Croquet & Hunt* Club, she can be found planning her wedding and using the internet for its true purpose: posting photos of her cat on instagram #mycatcaroline.

Larry May (Original music). From numerous airings on network and cable TV shows All My Children, One Life to Live, The Young and Restless, NCIS, Parenthood, Melrose Place, 90210, America’s Prom Queen, Caroline in the City, Party of Five, Summerland, DeGrassi: The Next Generation, Teen Cribs, Sunday’s Best, True Life, Laguna Beach, Harper’s Island, Co-Ed Confidential, Dogs in the City and Hollywood Heights to a finalist in international songwriting contests, Mr. May, a native New Yorker, has been writing, recording and performing in the U.S and abroad for a number of years.

Sticking the Wicket

Story by: Harold Lerner
Recorded: May 2014, New York, NY
Music: Alex Tiuniaev

1943, The Pacific. Aboard a troop ship bound for New Guinea, under threat of enemy fire, a young private is tasked with an awesome responsibility. His actions that evening will effect hundreds of his shipmates, and alter the course of Harold Lerner's life inexorably.

God's Sanctuary

Story by:  Megan Whitman
Recorded: July 2016, New York, NY
Music:  Jimmy Fontanez

There was something about the flamingo area at San Diego's Marineland that attracted four year-old Megan Whitman.  Maybe it was the color:  pink, her favorite.  Or maybe it was the sheer beauty of the birds.  Whatever the reason, she and her father ventured over for a closer look.  What happened next changed her life.

To read more about the fate of Marine Land, visit https://goo.gl/OShDD2