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Those who tune in to WMEB tonight will hear a new pair of voices filling the airspace that recently has been monopolized by back-to-back hours of RoboDJ’s top hits.
University of Maine students Bourcard “Bhuki” Nesin and Amy Becker are the brains behind “Looking Around,” a half-hour show airing at 6 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays on UMaine’s student-run radio station aiming to emulate the storytelling style of public radio’s “This American Life.”
“It’s about engaging your local environment and utilizing it,” said Nesin, a fourth-year sustainable agriculture student.
According to Nesin, the idea for the show arose from conversations with his fellow students, who expressed “a lot of frustration” with campus life. A common thread of these disparaging expressions was a lack of activity in the community and the perception that Orono is an unexciting place to live.
In his view, however, the Orono campus is home to a number of interesting individuals whose stories have nearly universal appeal but would not normally be explored by other media. An example Nesin pointed to was a roommate of his who has struggled with a life of crime and alcoholism.
“This guy has the most interesting story,” he said. “This guy’s story needs to be told.”
A fan of the format made famous by “This American Life,” where stories that revolve around a central theme are compiled in an hour-long broadcast, Nesin approached Becker, a journalism and ecology student, about putting together a similar program focused on local issues and characters.
With Becker’s knowledge from her media classes — “I’ve never done radio, but [I] definitely [have] some experience with audio editing” — and Nesin’s self-taught skills — developed while piecing together his own violin recordings — the pair set out to create their first foray onto the airwaves.
So far they have created only the first episode but plan to release another after winter break. Nesin said the format next semester might see the airing of one full show followed by a couple of weeks with alternative content, such as concerts that will give the producers time to record another episode.
Today’s premiere episode won’t feature any acquaintances with troubled pasts but will reveal some of what goes on behind the university’s brick walls. Nesin and Becker focused on two research projects by university professors on wildly different subjects.
“We wanted the first show to instantly relate to the university,” Nesin said.
Becker’s segments focuses on a test designed by Alan Cobo-Lewis, an associate professor of psychology, which will eventually be used to help diagnose children who may have trouble learning how to use language to communicate. The idea is to be able to identify those kids who will experience these difficulties as early as possible, thereby increasing their chances in the educational system.
While the subject matter may sound dry, Becker said the excitement comes from the impact of a virtually unexposed research effort, something she believes happens constantly in Orono.
“This test that he created sitting in his office in Little Hall will change the future of language development,” she said. “That’s happening all over campus, but you would never know about it.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Nesin focused on the research by Philip Silver, who works in the school of performing arts, into uncovering music lost during the Holocaust. Under Hitler’s rule, Jewish culture was erased along with millions of people, causing major compositions to virtually disappear.
“It’s a good mix of the actual story and the music — it’s really good,” Nesin said.
Listening to the recording itself, the appeal of radio as a medium by which to tell stories is immediately revealed. Nesin was able to lay some of the music Silver has recorded over clips of their discussion, helping to illustrate the words in a way text never could.
While the first episode is complete and ready to air, the process of getting from blank tape to a finished product didn’t come without problems, some of which almost proved devastating.
“It takes a lot of mistakes to figure out what works,” Nesin said, adding that he spent roughly three hours working for each minute of the final recording.
One such setback occurred this past weekend. While trying to convert the final audio file, Nesin discovered the file had become corrupted and was therefore unusable, forcing him to redo hours of work. Other times, less serious factors have intervened in the process.
“People getting distracted by cats, cats getting distracted by people,” Nesin said, referring to work sessions at friends’ houses.
So far, the work has mainly fallen on Nesin and Becker to complete as other individuals have come and left due to time constraints or a lack of interest. However, with the creation of a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/lookingaroundorono), the pair hopes to attract more contributors for future episodes.
“Getting more people would be great to help us out,” Becker said.
Even without direct content contributions, Nesin said he and Becker have developed a network of individuals to help evaluate their ideas.
“The great thing is I know I have people I can talk to,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Becker remains positive that the process will only smooth out in the future.
“It definitely had its stressful moments,” she said. “But at the end of the day it was a blast.”
