Jessica Raimi | Radio Producer

I have been a radio producer since 1976, when I joined WBAI-FM in New York. I did interviews, news reporting, announcing and engineering, and some radio dramas best forgotten. From 1978 to 1979 I had a weekly live show, “Closing the Gap between Postal Rates and Philosophy.” Finding that form too ephemeral, I became an independent producer of my own recorded radio dramas.

The final production in these selected works, a suite of promos for public radio, has been broadcast once, on WMPG in Portland, Maine. If you have a radio station and would like to use it, please write to me at jessica@jraimi.com.

All the selections below are available (in better quality) on CD. For information, please write to me.

OUR LIFE TOGETHER AMONG THE WORKS OF ART

A story of the years of struggle artists go through before they make it big or give up. Phoebe’s unfocused ambitions land her in a crowded apartment on New York’s Upper Left Side with five roommates and their friends. George is a film critic paralyzed by deadlines, and his wife, Marceline, is tired of telling his editors he’s not home. Julian writes poetry inspired by unattainable men, while Red toils over the definitive science fiction novel. Jay spends his days in dark theaters, claiming that movies are as real as real life. Cecily, an actress on the soaps, must choose between Butch, a novelist whose radical sentiments are being eroded by his job at a mailing house, and the Narrator, whose voice of authority conceals a soul all too human.

In 28 episodes. First broadcast in 1980 on WBAI-FM New York.

The listeners write:

“I find myself hopelessly addicted.”

“It opened my eyes to the creative possibilities of radio.”

“It would be nice if Phoebe didn’t have to suffer so much.”

“Wonderfully funny, sexy and true.”

A Letter to the Landlord (9:11) download now
A Conversation about Love (14:24) download now
Red Tells a Story (14:31) download now
George’s Mother (12:04) download now
Sex Scene (14:37) download now
The Heat Goes Off (12:21) download now
Left Out (12:05) download now
Jay’s Birthday (14:55) download now
Out for a Walk (14:06) download now
Deadlines and Breadlines (14:03) download now
Scavullo Knows Best (14:21) download now
America the Beautiful (14:36) download now
Gossip (13:45) download now
Later that Evening (14:40) download now
Sisters under the Skin (14:30) download now
Broken Glass (14:22) download now
Ticket to Ride (14:22) download now
In the Cards (14:44) download now
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (14:02) download now
L’Histoire de la petite vendeuse (14:28) download now
Just between Us Boys (13:37) download now
A Future without Men (13:57) download now
A Poetry Contest (13:04) download now
Just Good Friends (13:40) download now
Words of Love (15:07) download now
A Kiss Goodbye (12:39) download now
The Ghost in the Human Machine (13:33) download now
The Last Scene (11:54) download now

FABLES FOR POLITICAL ANIMALS

Four short plays on conservative themes. First broadcast in 1984 on WBAI-FM New York.
• The Grasshopper and the Ant. A retelling of Aesop’s tale, with a new ending. (9:54) download now
• The Lion and the Canaries. The canaries discover the downside of the minimum wage. (9:02) download now
• The Canaries and the Vultures. The canaries, now out of work, are enrolled in a jobs program. (10:37) download now
• The Fox and the Beavers. Mrs. Beaver tries to persuade the other animals to embrace art and culture. (11:13) download now

THE STORY OF THE HUMAN BEINGS

On a remote Pacific island in 1944, the native people encounter the white man and his technology, which the autochthons can only interpret as magic. Tragedy ensues. First broadcast in 1986 on National Public Radio. (27:00) download now

FIVE PROMOS FOR PUBLIC RADIO

A miniature drama in five acts. First broadcast in 2011 on WMPG in Portland, Maine.
Act I (0:58) download now
Act II (1:15) download now
Act III (1:03) download now
Act IV (1:20) download now
Act V (1:23) download now