In this episode, two young Black artists revisit memories to grapple with how they are seen by others, and how they see themselves.

"Letters to a Young Poet" is one of four episodes of Best of the Best (2020), a nationally broadcast radio special produced each year by Third Coast. Each of episode of the series features winning stories from the 20th annual Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition.

How to Remember, produced by Axel Kacoutié and edited by Eleanor McDowall for Short Cuts from BBC Radio 4.

Winner of the 2020 Best Documentary: Gold Award

This story is sonically inspired by producer Axel Kacoutié's travels to his home country of Côte d'Ivoire, where belonging and authenticity dominated his mind. This work is an attempt to reconcile and accept (in seven steps/scenes) all the parts of he’s either wrongly internalized or intuitively known to be true. 

Borders Between Us, produced by Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. and Jay Allison for Transom.org.

Winner of the 2020 Best Documentary: Silver Award

Saidu Tejan-Thomas is a young poet. For a long time, he had a story he needed to tell: an homage and apology to his mother. It's a tragic love story driven by the tangled search for a better life. It's personal for sure, but set against the universal perils of immigration - in Saidu's case, from Sierra Leone in West Africa - but by extension, from anywhere. Borders Between Us uses Saidu's poems as narrative drivers, reveals, and resolutions. These are not easy tasks for poems.

This episode of Best of the Best was produced by Isabel Vázquez.

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Three stories from 2020 that each paint a unique portrait of survival and hope in the time of coronavirus.

This episode was first published in November, 2020. For the most recent recommendations and information about COVID-19, please visit your local public health website.

"The Great Indoors" is one of four episodes of Best of the Best (2020), a nationally broadcast radio special produced each year by Third Coast. Each of episode of the series features winning stories from the 20th annual Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition.

Dat Rona [excerpt], by Dr. Janina Jeff (Host and Executive Producer) and Sam Riddell (Lead Producer), with Chad Milner (Music Producer), Chris Diggins (Creative Director) and Dr. Ashira Blazer (guest medical expert).

Winner of the 2020 Impact Award

Made on March 20, just days after the United States went into lockdown, this episode of the podcast In Those Genes features host and geneticist Janina Jeff speaking with colleagues on the immediate impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly for Black communities in the U.S.

Plus, an interview with the makers of Dat Rona, recorded on November 1st, 2020.

Centenarians in Lockdown [full story], produced by Nellie Gilles, Sarah Kate Kramer, and Joe Richman for Hunker Down Diaries from Radio Diaries and NPR.

Winner of the 2020 Best Documentary: Short Award

When the 1918 flu pandemic broke out, Joe Newman was 5 years old. Today, he's 107 and his fiancée Anita Sampson has just turned 100. Together, they reflect on life, love and lockdown.

Diary of a HomeSchooler [full story], produced by Anayansi Diaz-Cortes for Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, in partnership with Chalkbeat.

Winner of the 2020 Best News Feature Award

High school student Sarah Ali-Brown finds herself managing several new heightened home responsibilities, in addition to schoolwork, during the pandemic, but she’s determined to stay on track with her future plans.

This episode of Best of the Best was produced by Isabel Vázquez.

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In this episode, we meet extraordinary people who are fighting the system, working to make transformative change and seeking a better world, for themselves and for others. 

"Towards a Better World" is one of four episodes of Best of the Best (2020), a nationally broadcast radio special produced each year by Third Coast. Each of episode of the series features winning stories from the 20th annual Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition.

The Work of Closing a Notorious Jail [excerpt], reported by Carolina Hidalgo and edited by Jen Chien for 70 Million.

Winner of the 2020 Directors’ Choice Award

Five years after Michael Brown’s murder galvanized criminal justice reform activists in St. Louis, Missouri, these folks are gaining serious momentum to shut down the city's notorious Workhouse jail — and we’re brought along to hear how they’ve managed to do it.

Somebody [full episode], narrated by Shapearl Wells, produced by Alison Flowers and Bill Healy, and edited by Sarah Geis for Invisible Institute, Topic Studios, The Intercept and iHeart Radio, in association with TenderfootTV. Mixed by Michael Raphael with sound design by Bart Warshaw and Carl Scott.

Winner of the 2020 Best Serialized Story Award

When Shapearl Wells's son Courtney is found outside a Chicago police station with a fatal bullet wound, Shapearl immediately distrusts the official narrative. So she launches her own investigation into her son’s murder — and teams up with journalists to confront the cops and find out the truth about what happened to her child.

Crosses in the Desert / Cruces en el desierto [short excerpt], written by Catalina May and Dennis Maxwell, edited by Catalina May, sound designed by Martín Cruz and produced by Dennis Maxwell for  Las Raras. Scored by Andrés Nusser.

Winner of the 2020 Best Documentary in a Non-English Language Award

Alvaro Enciso, a retired Tucson resident, spends his time methodically placing crosses in the exact places where dead migrant bodies have been found in the Sonoran desert. A story by a talented new artist concerning mental illness, toxic workplace environments, Egyptian Rat Screw, and the nature of infinity.

This episode of Best of the Best was produced by Isabel Vázquez.

Keep up with the latest from Third Coast by signing up for our newsletter at thirdcoastfestival.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.