Audio Stories

I fall in love with the people I talk with, and the goal is to get a listener to fall in love with them, too. And I don't mean that you always have to like them. But love is something different, and love is always possible between any two people.

Erica Heilman

Rumble Strip

Let's Dance

Sue Cavanaugh created a large fabric installation for the exhibit "Passages" at the Mansfield Art Center. She completed this work as she was dying of cancer. I went to see this exhibit, and brought a microphone, becasue I was seeking a passage through the grief of lossing my wife to cancer. It was a healing experience. (14:18)

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O Holy Night

Christmas Eve, 2022, the temperature dropped well below zero. But in all of Licking County, there was only one homeless shelter that was open without restrictions. Hear the story of travelers finding shelter, often with beloved pets, on the night when a savior was also given shelter in a time of need. This story originally appeared in The Reporting Project with a powerful essay by Jack Shuler, and moving photography.(11:58)

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The Memory Gears

A mother, Sue Sinclair, and daughter, Heather Shaw, connect in surprising ways in the presence of Alzheimer’s disease. Even as the facts of their shared life become more tenuous, they also become more precious. Gifts are everywhere. (22:03)

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The Big Sit

When migrating birds flock to Magee Marsh every spring, Tom Bartlett is there waiting. In May 2023, he held his 28th annual Big Sit, in which he counts species, and raises money for the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. There are fewer birds than there used to be, but tens of thousands more people. What's all the excitement about? This story originally appeared in The Reporting Project with complimentary photography. (11:53)

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