It's often claimed that the radio, the dinosaur of contemporary information, is soaring on its last gust of wind. The days of worn wooden knobs and lonely voices have lost to the clamor of technology; perhaps, to more exciting media that submerge the audience more fully in colors and sounds.
Probably all of that is just ominous pop-babble. If the radio is on the verge of extinction,
it doesn't seem to notice. In fact, with the Internet's 24-hour availability and podcasts, it seems to have re-defined itself. And that is exactly what Professor Mark Svenvold had in mind when co-launching Seton Hall's WSOU-based "Talk/Art/Radio."
Airing Saturdays at 9 a.m., and available on iTunes (under Podcasts/WSOU/Talk-Art-Radio), poet and nonfiction writer Mark Svenvold offers interviews and
spells of good music with his own creative twist. His belief that the students and faculty at Seton Hall share a similar passion in the survival of radio is emphasized by his enthusiasm.
"The radio station is a fantastic platform to showcase the expertise of Seton Hall students and faculty," he said. "By bringing in a variety of artists, writers, musicians, scientists and other thoughtful people thinking about the world we live in, a show like 'Talk/Art/Radio,' nurtured and given the chance to develop, will underscore Seton Hall's role and position in the Arts and Sciences across a very large listening audience."
On Sept. 21, Svenvold and co-host Edward McCulloch interviewed the founder of Take-Dance Company, Take Ueyama. On Sept. 28, they'll be chatting with actor, singer and songwriter Rebecca Hart. In the past they've spoken with Seton Hall's Dr. Jeffrey Gray, assistant professor Jack Stamps, and Dr. Judith Stark about topics ranging from environmental ethics to musical composition to the physically expressive art form, dance.
However, the show is still in its developmental phase. There are still kinks to work out and support to be found. As Svenvold pointed out: "We're aspirational. We're starting. We're trying to launch a website! And we're looking for students who are interested in having fun, in meeting artists and writers and musicians, in hearing them talk about what they do."
Anyone interested in getting involved can contact Svenvold at mark.svenvold@shu.edu.
Ben Rader can be reached at benjamin.rader@student.shu.edu
