WHYY recording session (11/11/2009)

I submitted a "This I Believe" essay to the Philadelphia public radio station WHYY, and was lucky enough to have my submission accepted. It was about math and though I thought it was a longshot, I knew it was unusual enough to attract attention. And yes, it was selected (broadcast on 11/13/2009). So this blog is about my adventure to the WHYY radio station to record it.

I left from Villanova station since I had a math class that very evening. In fact the building in the background is Mendel Hall where I have all my math classes.


No use in getting nervous so to relax on the train I'm playing Sudoku on my iTouch.

I exit the train at Market St. East and emerge from the station at 10th and Arch Sts. In this shot you can see the entrance to Chinatown and that storefront to the left below the traffic light is the Tracadero. The Troc is now a rock music venue and my son Tony has played at the balcony stage.

Where is the WHYY studio? Well it's across the street from the Consitution Center.

Here's the entrance.

And here's the reception desk. The receptionist didn't want her picture taken and is trying to hide in the picture. Why do people do that?

The station person who selected my essay was running behind schedule. She took me right to this studio where I snapped this picture. There's a special clock to the right of the screen that tells the radio people exactly how much time they have. It looks like the doomsday clock.

I was hoping to get some photos of my host, Elisabeth Perez-Luna, and myself but there was no time. You would see me in the photo below, but I had to take the picture myself.

After 30 minutes of reciting this essay over and over again I was beat. I tried my damnedest to put on a "radio voice." Ms. Perez-Luna had me make some alterations to the essay and she recorded it all using ProTools. I can't say what version is going to end up on the air after editing.

Goodbye WHYY, it was quite an experience.


Note: My essay was broadcast on Friday, November 20 at 5:45 pm. The station failed to give me any advanced notice so I missed it. You can find the essay and a podcast here.