Starting in January, Sun Sounds of Arizona, a non-profit radio station whose mission is to provide audio access and information to individuals who, because of a disability, cannot otherwise access or read print media, is opening their Flagstaff studio to the community for those interested in creating their own podcasts, audio stories and creative audio projects.

According to Edison Research, more than 110 million Americans have listened to a podcast, a number 11 percent higher than in 2016. And, according to the same article, podcast listening growth is on a steady incline with “the year-over-year growth rates for podcast listening” amounting to “10 to 20 percent increases each year.”

In this interview, recorded on Friday, Jan. 26, we talk with Gina Byars, who is the station manager of the Sun Sounds studio in Flagstaff, and Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom, who hosts Do Good, Be Good, a podcast about individuals committed to doing good in the community and the challenges they face. During our conversation we talk about Sun Sounds of Arizona, the Do Good, Be Good podcast and why podcasting varies from traditional media.

Recorded at Sun Sounds of Arizona by Gina Byars and edited by Gabriel Granillo

To read the accompanying article, follow this link: http://azdailysun.com/flaglive/cover_story/the-art-of-sharing-stories-sun-sounds-opens-its-studio/article_cae3baf4-0bac-5fe0-9ee9-b159a6228a48.html

The Art of Sharing Stories: An interview with Gina Byars and Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom

Jon Margulies practically wrote the book on Ableton Live. 

No, really. He did. 

Back in 2008, he wrote "Ableton Live 7 Power! The Comprehensive Guide," and since then he's produced dozens of workshops, videos and tutorials for the music production software and digital audio workstation. He's also written a range of reviews, tips and techniques  for Music Tech Magazine and Electronic Musician. 

With the release of Ableton Live, Version 10 in February, Margulies has been working on his latest guide in the series, "Ableton Live 10 Power!," set to release on March 15. 

In this interview, we talk with Margulies about Ableton Live and his future in Flagstaff, followed by a short performance from his home studio.

Recorded and edited by Gabriel Granillo

To read the accompanying article, follow this link: http://azdailysun.com/flaglive/features/music/room-to-create-tiny-machines-jon-margulies-on-his-new/article_5acd0dfe-bfa9-5cd0-82f7-cb83567a0569.html

Room to Create: An interview and performance with Jon Margulies

In 2016, Sarah Jansen embarked on one of the world's longest trail bike races: The Arizona Trail Race 750, 750 miles of rugged terrain along the Arizona Trail from Mexico to Utah. 

Along the way Sarah experiences complete bike failure, battles the elements and learns of her grandmother's passing. She recounts these experiences in her book "Pedaling Home: One Woman's Race Across the Arizona Trail."

In this episode of The Word, we talk with Sarah about her book, the Arizona Trail Race and rebuilding herself along the way, beginning with a reading of an excerpt from "Pedaling Home" where Sarah learns about her grandmother's death.

Recorded and edited by Gabriel Granillo

"Pedaling Home" is available through Amazon and at Bright Side Bookshop.

Pedaling Home: An interview with Sarah Jansen

These days, podcasting is no longer a niche activity. According to a Nieman Lab article published in 2017, an average of 67 million Americans are reported to be monthly podcast listeners. Over the past two years, that number has grown by 40 percent. With the release of the true crime podcast Serial in October 2014, the podcasting world has been on the up and up, now including just about every genre, style and format imaginable. It’s safe to say we’re hitting a podcast boom.  

Even here in Flagstaff we’re seeing the results of that boom with podcasts such as Do Good Be Good, the Brew Trails Podcast with Dark Sky Brewing and the Books and Tea Podcast, and for a little over a year, Derrick Thomas and McHale Butler have been hosting their own -- Bros and Brews.

The podcast follows a fairly simple format -- Thomas and Butler discuss a variety of topics over libations, in their case, beer. 

Though the concept behind Bros and Brews is not inherently unique, the ways in the hosts have grown set it apart from other podcasts that share the same format, giving us an intimate look into the lives of two recluses who use the medium as a way to learn about each other and to become better communicators.

In this episode of The Word, we talk with Thomas and Butler about what they’ve learned in their first year of hosting the Bros and Brews podcast and how it’s helped them break out of their comfort zones. 

This interview is edited down from Episode 42 of the Bros and Brews podcast. You can find the full episode online at the Bros and Brews Soundcloud and iTunes page. 

To read the full article on the Bros and Brews podcast, visit https://bit.ly/2M5y5Q8

Recorded at the Bros and Brews Living Room Studio
Edited by Gabriel Granillo

Two best friends and a podcast: ‘Bros and Brews’ hosts on beer, video games and social growth

What does it mean to live sustainably? And how much of our own lives and happiness are we sacrificing to truly live an environmentally-conscious life?

For author and Northern Arizona University professor Nicole Walker, those answers don’t always come easily, especially when you know how much she loves bacon and the occasional glass of Merlot. Her new book, "Sustainability: A Love Story," questions what it means to live and love sustainably. Through a series of personal essays, many of which include glimpses into her not-always-easy family life, Walker explores the frailty of human life on a decaying planet and our commitment to sustaining our world, our relationships and our lives.

In this episode of The Word, we talk with Walker about her new book, the distinction between environmentalism and sustainability and how struggling can help us love.

Recorded and edited by Gabriel Granillo.

'Sustainability: A Love Story': An interview with author Nicole Walker

Jesse Sensibar has lived many lives. He’s been a tattoo shop owner, a strip club bouncer, even a private investigator. Now he’s organizer of the Northern Arizona Book Festival and co-founder of the Narrow Chimney Reading Series, but he said his life as a tow truck driver is what shaped him the most. Living that close to death affected Jesse, changed him. 

Over the years he’d tow many wrecked vehicles from the highways, after which Sensibar would often see makeshift shrines and memorials pop up, and he’d have images, objects and stories attached to them, connections to the people lost. 

In his new book, “Blood in the Asphalt: Prayers from the Highway,” Jesse documents these shrines, along with a collection 10 short stories and non-fiction vignettes. 

In this episode of The Word, we talk with Jesse Sensibar about his new book, coming to peace with trauma and life and death on the highway. 

“Blood in the Asphalt: Prayers from the Highway" is available through Tolsun Books, at Brightside Book Shop and other book stores. For the full written feature on Jesse Sensibar and his new book, visit www.flaglive.com

Recorded and edited by Gabriel Granillo

Keeper of the space: Jesse Sensibar looks at highway deaths, memorials in new book

There’s a stark difference between playing music alone for fun and stepping in front of an audience to bare your soul. For Cyam, that transition began at the end of 2016 when they performed alongside Jelena Gonzalez as part of an early iteration of former local band Egg Princess. Cyam then took on their first solo performance in May 2017. 

“I didn’t think I was ready, but then I did it anyway and the rest is history,” they say.

We caught up with the singer-songwriter/ukulele player for an intimate acoustic performance. Read the full article by MacKenzie Chase here: https://bit.ly/2B91ykV

Songs: "Monsoon," "Little Spoon" and "Carly's Song"

Recorded and edited by Gabriel Granillo

Bright and heavy: An acoustic performance by Cyam

Life is constantly in flux, consistently moving in and out and between high and low, and we’re always being sold by media and self-help gurus the key to happiness. We’re always being told to set aside pain and sadness for joy, even if it means ignoring the root of the problem, and no one feels this more than children.

Emmanuelle Giumelli, Mathilde Gatinois and Patricia Murphey have authored a new children’s book, “See, Hear, Feel: Mindfulness for Children – One Moment at a Time,” published by Wisdom Publications in early November. The book follows a young boy named Charlie as he sees, hears and feels the world around him. It offers mindfulness activities and exercises for parents and teachers to use with children.

Giumelli is a mental health counselor and programs director for Mindfulness First, an organization that provides mindfulness training to educators, and she said the idea for the book came from noticing the misconceptions many people had about mindfulness and how the practice was always attributed to a sense of calm or happiness.

“For me, mindfulness is an awareness of what’s happening in the present moment,” she said. “I really wanted to show that mindfulness is not about being calm and sitting still. You can be mindful when you’re angry. You can be mindful throughout your day.”

In this episode of The Word, we talk with the authors of "See, Hear, Feel" about their new book and how learning to live mindfully can lead to better communication and mental health. 


For the full written article, visit: https://bit.ly/2UZoVW7

Recorded and edited by Gabriel Granillo

Between stimulus and response: How three Flagstaff authors are teaching mindfulness to children

How do you take your coffee? Cream? Sugar? For Audrey Canyon, she takes it with a hearty dose of dedication to craft she’s spent years perfecting. She’s a barista at Firecreek Coffee Company here in Flagstaff, and last year, she participated in the Glitter Cat Barista Bootcamp, an all-expenses paid coffee competition training program that seeks to coach members of marginalized communities. 

And while some might view working at a cafe as a secondary job or something to help them get through college, Canyon sees it differently. 

"For me, it's not just a job, it's something that really has fueled my life for a long time, and I feel like when you have a career, have a passion or something that you're pursuing, it's not just a job,” Canyon says.

In this episode of The Word, Margarita Cruz talks with Audrey Canyon about her life as a local barista and the art of making coffee. 

--

Margarita Cruz is a contributor for Flagstaff Live! and an MFA student at Northern Arizona University. This episode of The Word is in conjunction with Cruz’ new bi-weekly “The Art Of” series. To read the first entry into the series featuring Audrey Canyon, visit www.flaglive.com

Recorded by Gabriel Granillo | Edited by Margarita Cruz and Gabriel Granillo

Comfort Creatures

Flat Circle

From seed to cup: Audrey Canyon on the art of making coffee

It took Chelsey Johnson almost seven years to write her debut novel 'Stray City.' It is the story of Andrea Morales, a 24-year-old, lesbian, part-Mexican woman who left her small western Nebraska home for Oregon’s Reed College and queer life in Portland.

The book begins in Portland in the late 90s--in the wake of the Riot Grrrl movement and the AIDS epidemic, of Bill Clinton and the Defense of Marriage Act. After Flynn, Andrea’s longtime girlfriend, breaks up with her, Andrea sleeps with Ryan Coates, a drummer in a local band, Flynn’s hairdresser and, most importantly, a white, straight man. The two are launched into a secret affair, but when Andrea becomes pregnant with Ryan’s baby and decides to keep it, she can’t hold onto the secret any longer. 

“What I wanted to show was that, having come out, that to go back is not an easy slide back into comfort or into something being easy. There’s something, I think, deceptively easy about following a heteronormative path.”

In this episode of The Word, Svea Conrad talks with Johnson about the invisibility of heteronormativity, writing Andrea and the importance of minority representation. 

We begin with an excerpt from 'Stray City.' In this scene, we’ll hear as Andrea struggles with her parent’s newfound, or rather re-discovered acceptance upon hearing she’s pregnant with a man’s baby. They welcome her back with open arms as Andrea works to explain that her pregnancy doesn’t change her sexuality while also agonizing that she may no longer have a place within her chosen, Portland family. 

'Stray City' is available through Harper Collins, at Barnes & Noble, Bright Side Bookshop and other local bookstores. To read a full article with Chelsey Johnson, visit www.azdailysun.com

Recorded and edited by Gabriel Granillo
Photo by Gabriel Granillo

An interview with Chelsey Johnson, author of 'Stray City'

Sometimes there is more to a story than what goes in print. The Word features extended interviews, extra audio bits and more insight into stories featured in the Arizona Daily Sun and Flagstaff Live!, Flagstaff's only arts, entertainment and local culture weekly since '94.

Got an idea for a story? Send your pitches to Gabriel Granillo, producer and staff writer with The Word and Flagstaff Live! - ggranillo@flaglive.com

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