How to grieve when the deaths come so quickly?

Coming as it does from Duke University’s Center For Documentary Studies, Scene On Radio might be easily misinterpreted as a classroom exercise—the work of spirited amateurs looking to break into audio production. Listeners find themselves quickly disabused of such a simple read on the show, especially with this week’s standout episode that kicks off the series’ second season. The episode takes the form of a personal essay by producer Stacia Brown, weaving together several disparate threads, including the officer shooting of Philando Castile, the death of Prince, and the way unborn children act as a prism through which parents examine the world. But to simply name the elements contained within does not speak to the deep emotional richness that makes Brown’s poetic rumination such a powerful piece. Brown deftly floats above the roiling narratives, dipping into each story and combining her truths with theirs, whether it be in exploring the early stages of Castile’s relationship with his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds or the tolls incurred by the instinctually performative bent of black life in America. Brown’s audio essay equally signals her as a writer and producer to watch, and Scene On Radio as excellent arbiters of quality.