Radiotopia from PRX Announces “Radiotopia Presents,” A Home for Premiering Artist-Owned Limited Series from Audio Creators
“Blind Guy Travels” created by Matthew Shifrin will premiere on June 2
The Radiotopia podcast network from PRX — an award-winning network of listener-supported, artist-owned podcasts from extraordinary audio creators — today announced “Radiotopia Presents,” a home and podcast feed for independent producers premiering new limited series, free on-demand to audiences across listening platforms.
“Radiotopia Presents” aims to push the boundaries of audio through bold, inclusive storytelling across genres. Each series will be developed in partnership with independent producers, who will also receive financial, production, distribution, technology, and marketing support. In addition, producers will retain 100% ownership and creative control of their intellectual property.
The first series to premiere in “Radiotopia Presents” will be “Blind Guy Travels,” launching on Wednesday, June 2 with new episodes biweekly through August 9. Inviting audiences into a world without sight, “Blind Guy Travels” features 23-year old creator and host Matthew Shifrin as he experiences a Marx Brothers comedy, makes an online dating profile, collaborates with LEGO to develop instructions for blind builders, and prepares for college graduation. A senior at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Shifrin is the founder of LEGO for the Blind, a system allowing blind and visually impaired people to build sets independently, a winner of MIT’s Creative Arts Competition to support his work on virtual reality technology enabling blind people to enjoy movies, an avid rock climber, and accordion player.
“Blind Guy Travels” is also an official selection of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival as part of the festival’s first-ever podcast lineup. The series features production and sound design by Ian Coss.
“I created ‘Blind Guy Travels’ to share what the world is like from my perspective, to take experiences that you think you know and to make you say ‘Huh, I’d never thought of it that way before,’” said Shifrin. “This podcast is also for anyone who is finding their way. Thank you to the team at Radiotopia for helping to bring it to listeners everywhere.”
The “Radiotopia Presents” team includes Radiotopia executive producer Julie Shapiro, network director Audrey Mardavich, and producer Mark Pagán.
Additional series premieres will be announced at a later date.
“At Radiotopia from PRX, we strive in every way to support independent creators producing remarkable audio,” said Shapiro. “With ‘Radiotopia Presents,’ we’re thrilled to re-introduce this platform for adventurous storytelling from such an amazing range of talented producers, writers, and artists, who will no doubt take podcasting to new heights.”
“Radiotopia Presents” has evolved from its previous iteration, “Showcase,” a Radiotopia podcast that ran from 2017–2019. The limited-run series previously released in Showcase will remain available to listeners on-demand in Radiotopia Presents and online, and include: “The Stoop” from Hana Baba and Leila Day, a show now part of the Radiotopia network, “Errthang” from Al Letson and Willie Evans Jr., “The Polybius Conspiracy” from Jon Frechette and Todd Luoto,” “Spacebridge” from Julia Barton and Charles Maynes, “Secrets” from Mohamed El Abed and Martin Johnson, “Ways of Hearing” from Damon Krukowski, and “The Great God of Depression” from Pagan Kennedy and Karen Brown.
For more about “Radiotopia Presents” and the Radiotopia podcast network, including details on how to submit work as a creator, visit radiotopiapresents.fm.
About Radiotopia
Radiotopia from the public media organization PRX is a curated network of independent, listener-supported, artist-owned podcasts. In 2017, Radiotopia was named one of Fast Company’s top 10 most innovative companies. Podcasts in the network have received recognition from the Peabody Awards, Alfred L. duPont-Columbia Awards, the Pulitzer Prizes, and from the Third Coast International Audio Festival.
Contact:
David Cotrone, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communications David.Cotrone@prx.org
