Audio

I have two years' experience overseeing the production of a podcast for ReligionUnplugged.com, including hosting guests, writing intros, cutting tape and prepping research. In addition, I have studied narrative audio reportage at New York University under Audrey Quinn and Ellen Horne. I am proficient in ProTools, DeScript and other common tools of the industry.

For NYU, Dec. 6, 2022 (seven min.): While all of New York is considered an immigration sanctuary, many migrants are seeking literal sanctuaries: Catholic churches. And amid the huge influx of migrants, New York's Mayor Eric Adams asked religious organizations for help. In stepped Father Alexis, a Venezuelan Catholic priest, and Meudy Osio, a Venezuelan New Yorker whose husband was assassinated for opposing Maduro's regime. 

For NYU, Mar. 10, 2023 (two min.): I played around with sound design to tell a story in under three minutes about a classmate's love for fishing that she developed during the pandemic. Her gentle approach to fishing contrasts the stereotypes of guys on Tinder posting their big catch. The episode is modeled after the show, "Enthusiast!" by Mark Bramhill. 

For NYU, Oct. 22, 2022 (four min.): Bon Appetite, the BBC, the New York Times and others reported that pastry chefs are leaving their dream jobs amid inflation and a rise in pre-packaged desserts. But there is more to the story. I talked to a pastry chef and her team in a top Manhattan restaurant and the head of pastry at the Institute for Culinary Education who as both a professor and a consultant knows the pulse of the industry.

For Religion Unplugged (45 min.): Dr. Scott Kenworthy, a professor in the Department of Comparative Religion at Miami University, spoke with me about the religious aspects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the complex history of Russian Orthodoxy. Kenworthy's research focuses on the history and thought of Orthodox Christianity in modern Russia. His recent book “Understanding World Christianity: Russia” aims to correct Western myths and misunderstandings about Russia.

For Religion Unplugged (30 min.): Famous for his quirky roles in everything from The Office to Star Trek: Discovery, Rainn Wilson sat down with me (on Zoom) to discuss his Bahaʼi faith and to give a crash course on a little known religious tradition. Wilson's faith dates back to his childhood and is part of a much larger community of over 7 million Baháʼí around the world.


For Religion Unplugged (52 min.): Ethiopian scholar of African Christianity Desta Heliso spoke with me shortly after the 2020-2021 war began in Ethiopia between federal armed forces and the Tigray region’s militia. I talked to Desta about the alleged brutal massacres of Ethiopian Christian civilians in light of reports from Amnesty International and Western media and the geopolitical factors shaping the news coverage.

What Every Tibetan Wants

For The Diplomat: For this short doc filmed completely on a drone, I traveled to the exiled home of the Dalai Lama and recorded audio on a shotgun mic. I also learned how to fly a drone for the first time!

Lhagyari Namgyal Dolkar is the youngest member of the India-based Tibetan parliament-in-exile. She has never seen Tibet, where her father spent over two decades in prison for demanding freedom for the Tibetan people from Chinese rule. From McLeodganj, a suburb of Dharamshala in India's Himayalan foothills and the exiled home of the Dalai Lama, she leads the Guchusum Movement of Tibet, which serves former political prisoners and their exiled family members. 

Child Sex Abuse Survivors on How to Heal

For The Caravan: For this short doc in Delhi, India, I recorded audio on a boom mic.

A 2007 government survey found about half of Indian children have experienced or witnessed sexual abuse. Reema Ahmad was sexually abused by her cousin when she was 6 years old. Rina D’Souza was also abused, also by a close relative, when she was 7. It took both women more than a decade to be able to acknowledge and speak about their trauma because they felt guilt long after the abuse was over. In a conversation in a living room in Delhi, they recount their journey to recovery. They discuss how families ought to react to survivors, and how law-enforcement authorities could deal with abusers. 

Plane Gazing

I filmed this short doc with a friend producing audio from a Zoom recorder, just for fun. Along the side of a highway near Delhi's international airport, a mix of people stop to watch planes take off and land, especially around sunset at the end of the work day. Many have never been on a plane before. We showed our film at the virtual annual international conference of the Society for Cultural Anthropology.

Divorced and Happy? A Bright Side to Divorce in India

For The Diplomat: I produced audio for this video and selected cuts.

Divorce rates in India appear to be rising. In 2004, the capital city of Delhi had only three courts for divorce cases. In 2017 when this video was shot, the number had increased to 17. While this might worry some, there’s a bright side to it, too. According to media reports, an increasing number of women are filing for divorce, which shows they are economically stronger and that society, at least in big cities, is now more accepting of divorced women. In this video, a young mother, Rosy Kaur, expresses happiness as she awaits the final court order for her divorce. A woman should easily be able to opt out of a marriage if she has legitimate reasons, she says.