PRI Creates Podcast Collection, 'SoundWorks'

Public Radio International® (PRI) today announced SoundWorks from PRI, a collection of podcasts it says will serve as a cost-effective platform for nurturing talent for launch into public media.

SoundWorks launched recently with:

• One With Farai: Farai Chideya has been covering politics and culture in print, television, radio and online for 25 years. Her podcast One with Farai digs into the stories behind those shaking up society with their words and deeds; 
• Sideshow from Studio 360®: Sean Rameswaram is an internet hobo, catching rides on the memes that barrel across today's culture and sharing his travels in Sideshow; 
• Radio Ambulante Unscripted: Daniel Alarcon is an award-winning novelist and journalist who finds endless plotlines in the broad spectrum of Latino communities across the Americas. In Radio Ambulate Unscripted, he tunes us into the multiple frequencies he finds;
• The World in Words: Patrick Cox is British-born of Irish stock and now calls America home. From his perch at PRI's The World®, he dissects global languages for clues to our differences and similarities. He reveals all in his podcast, The World in Words.

“SoundWorks from PRI gives us a new opportunity to bring forward amazing people with great stories to tell,"  said Kathy Merritt, Vice President, Content Strategy and Development at PRI. "Who better than Farai Chideya to mix it up and talk about topics like ‘What happens to equality when we’re all minorities?’ Or author Daniel Alarcon speaking with the powerful voices of Latin American writers? Or the digital native Sean Rameswaram to connect the dots between technology and culture? Or The World’s Patrick Cox to reveal the hold language has on all of us? These perspectives create a more complete picture so that we can make better sense of the world around us.”

PRI also plans to use content created for SoundWorks to enhance existing broadcasts and develop new programs. 

“Creating content for public radio broadcast is an expensive and time-consuming effort, which has inhibited the ability of talented hosts to make their voices heard. SoundWorks from PRI will provide a platform for those voices, making them available to consumers even as opportunities for traditional broadcast are evaluated,” said Alisa Miller, President and CEO of PRI.

SoundWorks is funded by PRI’s New Voices Fund.