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The Spot on Hiatus

That's right. The Spot is taking an indefinite break.

This show began five years ago out of necessity. Since the burgeoning podcast medium didn't need to live and die by a radio clock, it was nearly impossible to find a timeslot on air for stories produced for podcasts. If they didn't run a total of 29 or 59 minutes on the dot, there was little chance they could air on KALW. In 2013, KALW General Manager Matt Martin created a 29-minute "spot" on KALW's schedule for these new works to reach a radio audience for the first time. In August 2014, I started hosting and curating the weekly show, and it felt like the perfect task for me -- a public radio producer who was a podcast obsessive. 

In the last episode, I shared a story from Alone: A Love Story, which introduced the concept of the "invisible thread." It reminded me  immediately of my relationship to anyone who's ever listened to The Spot. I can't see you, and vice versa, but I know you've there, listening. And you may not know me personally, but I've been making this somewhat personal show just for you for so many years. We're invisibly connected. 

That's a big part of what radio's all about: creating a signal that is meant to be temporary and making a connection invisibly. It's here and then it's gone. You have the power to flip through the dials, controlling what you hear. You have all of these little worlds at your fingertips to plug into, and all I can say now is, thank you so much for tapping into this little world I've curated for you.

(I also want to thank those of you who have made yourselves visible through emails, calls, love notes, criticisms, all of it over the years.)

If you ever miss the show, you'll always find the full backlog of episodes of The Spot here on the KALW website. There are also some great alternatives to The Spot to consider when you're looking for the next great podcast/radio maker/audio documentarian, like: Podcast Playlist from the CBC, The Bello Collective, the Constellations projectPRX Exchange, and NPR One. You can also follow the #YSLTF hashtag on social media for more recommendations, or just ask for my personal picks (@wambamash). I also hope you go out and search for your own weird, wild, and uncensored sounds and share them with as many people as you can. There are so many out there to explore, and I wish you all the luck. 

Goodbye for now.

- Ashleyanne