Good listening

One of my new year’s resolutions: to be a better listener. Working in radio, you’d think I have it down, right? But what I mean is being the type of listener who’s always engaged, caring and willing to take time and lend an ear.

In that spirit, here are  some radio stories I’ve come across that make you really listen.

In “After the Forgetting,” producer Erica Heilman documents Greg Sharrow’s relationship with his mother, Marj, who has dementia.

As part of the Song and Memory project, actor Mike Daisy elaborates on how his admitting his childhood favorite song proved pretty scarring. It’s a little sad and a lot funny–and you’ll get Hall & Oates stuck in your head.

A touching, musical piece in which a young hospital patient asks “what if.”

Kohn talks about what it’s like to hear his own voice. Scroll down to the story called “Kohn.”

And the extraordinary work by students in the Fall 2011 Transom Story Workshop.

Here’s to a year of good listening!