This weekend begins the re-airing of three consecutive weeks of our TTBOOK series Going for Broke. Since its November, 2022 debut, this series about Americans on the edge of the economy – told through the triple lens of housing, mental health and work - has grown in listenership and recognition.
We literally took the show on the road this past year at live panel events at the PRX Podcast Garages in December in Boston and at KQED in San Francisco in April. In Boston, WGBH’s Phillip Martin moderated and our partner from the Economic Hardship Reporting Project Alissa Quart and I talked about the series with guests Alex Miller and Maia Szalavitz. In San Francisco the same group was joined by moderator Ernesto Aguilar, program director at KQED. Our audiences in both locations became part of the compelling conversation about homelessness, the mind/body connection, and how art and work co-exist.
Creating the series was an exercise in how public media thrives on partnerships. Our journalistic partner EHRP brought us the voice of Ray Suarez and shared ideas about show topics and guests. We had support from our distributor PRX, as well as our home station of WPR. The TTBOOK team took care with the guests’ personal stories, creating powerful interviews, beautiful sound design, and original art.
We were honored to win two national awards for the series. Going for Broke was awarded First Place, Civic/Political affairs Podcast in the National Headliner Awards, and the Gold Award for Best Real Audio Real Estate Report – Online or Broadcast – Podcast or Radio category for the episode “Change of Address” from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
If you haven’t listened, here’s another chance. And if you have, maybe listen again to see if there’s something new the second time. We’d also really appreciate it if you’d tell your friends – forward them this newsletter, or mention an interview that made you reconsider an idea or stirred some deep emotion. As always, we love to hear what you think, and have you join the conversation – write to us at listen@ttbook.org.
–Shannon