Guest Rec: Anita Rao - "What Class Are You" w/ Rumble Strip

This one good listen is presented by Anita Rao, award-winning podcast host and someone who ~*knows*~.

Hi from Claire! It’s been a hot second since I’ve been in your inbox and I miss you. It’s been busy here at OGL hq and we’ve got some amazing things coming, including more producer’s notebooks with some outstanding audio producers, and recommendations for things you’d maybe never find via the algorithm…

Ok, so - at least four times this year I’ll be sharing the host-chair with a guest recommender.

This week, it’s an expert suggestion from Anita Rao, award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex from WUNC. You might remember this title from a few issues back when I recommended an episode of Embodied. That rec is here.

Earlier this year, Sara McCrea started us out with her compelling recommendation of one of her favorite interview shows. If you haven’t had a chance to read that one, it’s here and it’s a smart one. 

And now, I’m pleased to share our second guest rec from Anita Rao.

"What Class Are You?" - A series from Rumble Strip, produced for Vermont Public Radio

Recommendation Written By: Anita Rao

Recommendation Type: Episodic Series

Length: 7-30+ mins, choose your own adventure ;)

Release Date: February - March 2024

Find the full series on Apple here (you’ll have to scroll back a bit)

I was recently on a quest for new things to listen to, so I reached out to a few of my colleagues and asked them for podcasts that always make it into their weekly rotation. My boss responded with Rumble Strip, calling it “a masterclass in character studies that don't get bogged down in tropes.” After many hours of listening, I agree.

I am late to the game when it comes to knowing about Rumble Strip, a show by Vermont-based journalist Erica Heilman that’s been around for almost a decade. Over the years it's appeared on numerous “best of” lists and won a Peabody award, but if you spend time on the show’s website, or listening to its back catalog, you can quickly tell that it’s as quirky and grounded today as it was in the beginning.

Rumble Strip has been my companion for many dog walks around the neighborhood, and in the past two weeks I listened to their 13-part series about class, money and identity twice.

Most of the episodes in this series are between 7-9 minutes and based on a straightforward premise: What happens when you ask strangers the question “What class are you?” 

Host Erica Heilman started making this series for her local NPR member station Vermont Public in 2023. She drove around rural parts of Vermont and met people in reading groups, in front of general stores, or on their farms or houses in the woods.

People are telling their stories in their own words and the power of asking simple questions and waiting around long enough to hear real, honest answers.

The folks you meet in this series range from:

• a high schooler who grew up often fending for himself and his younger sibling

• a 40 year old who lives in a community out in the woods, and

• a state legislator who runs a construction business.

Erica asks short, direct and provocative questions and then gets out of the way to let folks talk. As an interviewer, I loved paying attention to Erica’s technique. She’s mastered the art of asking one good question at a time: “Is it offensive to talk about class?” “Are you afraid of having less?” She also continuously makes herself vulnerable in a way that enhances the conversation: “What do I not understand about the world because I’ve always had enough?” “Are there blind spots in my questions because of my class?”

The exchanges between Erica and the folks she meets will make you confront your assumptions about the people in your community.

Most of all, they’ll make you think about who gains and who loses when we shy away from conversations about money.

Thank you so much, Anita! I can’t wait to dig in. You know I love a short segment…

P.S. Learn more and listen to Anita’s show here: https://www.wunc.org/people/anita-rao