Meet the Virginia Audio Collective!
The Virginia Audio Collective is a network of podcasts from WTJU Radio at the University of Virginia, connecting listeners with exceptional stories, conversations, and music.
Launched in 2017, as Teej.fm, the Virginia Audio Collective reaches a global audience while being rooted in a corps of UVA- and Charlottesville-based producers. At its core, The Virginia Audio Collective cultivates community and enriches our shared culture — for both listeners and makers alike.
If you want to join The Virginia Audio Collective as a podcast producer, contact us today at podcast@virginia.edu
Over The Railroad And Through The Woods - December 19, 2019
In our last Soundboard of 2019, we talk about the city and county’s efforts to improve infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. Come for the discussion of transportation policy, stay to learn how to make a Baby Yoda gingerbread cookie. Plus, we introduce Bold Dominion! A new podcast from WTJU about state news!
“I think basically, the takeaway is that there’s probably a lot of history behind a lot of these roads and we need some good history researchers to help us out with that.” - Emily Hays
Development Download + Gun Sanctuaries - December 12, 2019
This week we catch up on the comprehensive plan and how the City Council and Planning Commission make decisions on new development in the meantime. Plus Nathan Moore and Peter Galuszka talk about the number of Virginia counties considering becoming a “gun sanctuary.”
“In the Spring of 2019, the regional jail board voted to keep voluntarily notifying ICE to pick up undocumented immigrants who are released from jail from a minor infraction such as speeding or overdue inspection.” - Lorena, Outreach Co-Chair Dreamers on Grounds at UVA
“We cannot have a safe community without the local authorities cooperating with the community to support immigrants. The end of local authority should be for people to feel safe in the community and to be able to seek support if something happens.” - Lorena, Outreach Co-Chair Dreamers on Grounds at UVA
“But often there’s a huge mistrust [...] because of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts to remove immigrants from communities. So what usually happens, is that if there is an incident, people are just afraid to report it and they’re not communicating with the authorities. Imagine living in a place where you literally cannot call the police if anything happens.” - Lorena, Outreach Co-Chair Dreamers on Grounds at UVA
Not Your Typical High School + Supporting Local Undocumented People - December 5, 2019
Albemarle County has one high school “Center” and another on the way. Learn what students do there and how the county is trying to make up for the under-representation of Latinx students at the Center in its first two years. Plus Outreach Co-Chair of Dreamers on Grounds at UVA talks about the challenges faced by local undocumented people and how Charlottesville and Albemarle residents can support them.
“Specialty programs, honors, AP, and gifted programs, usually have racial disparities. So for Center I and other specialty programs the division argues it might be [due to] socioeconomic factors.” - Billy Jean Louis
“With the Quest program and the specialty centers, it’s not racist in of itself, it’s just a bit of the unintentional legacy of it. That some of these programs were formed right after the end of segregated schools and they were set up to be a way to separate white students away from the rest of the student population. And for the most part, that isn’t what anyone’s intention is at the moment, but those policies and the way they were written years ago kind of led to it continuing to segregate these students.” - Elliot Robinson
“When we do stories like [this one] examining the early stage of the center it is because we know that history. So moving forward, how do we make sure that all these students receive quality education and that no one is left behind.” - Billy Jean Louis
“Femme Funk is for everybody and it’s for you” - Alice Clair
Nathan and Peter Galuszka talk Peter’s article: “The Rank Hypocrisy of 2nd Amendment Sanctuaries.”
Listening to Albermarle’s Latinx Students + Femme Funk - November 21, 2019
Charlottesville Soundboard - A podcast about equity, arts and news in Charlottesville. Albermarle’s growing population of Latinx students know how county schools can better serve them and their families. Plus we talk to Alice Clair about Femme Funk and its mission to promote femme artists and support reproductive justice in Charlottesville.
“I had the chance to talk to a group of students a few weeks ago. They’re advocating for the administration including Spanish in a more academic setting, having more school staff participate in events tailored to Latino students, and creating opportunities that teach American students the history of immigration.” - Billy Jean Louis
Elliot Robinson on the legacy of development and urban renewal in Charlottesville: “When this [wave of redevelopment] came along again, [non-profits] really had to present it in such a way as ‘we’re doing this with you, we’re not doing this to you.’”
Losing A Garden And Feeding A City - November 14, 2019
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we talk food this week. Emily Hays and Elliot Robinson discuss redevelopment of the city's affordable housing and the community gardens run by their residents. Plus we talk to local Chef and entrepreneur Antwon Brinson about the art of making food for people and his culinary and life skills training program.
The Community Garden at Friendship Court has “been providing free fresh produce for low-income residents of those neighborhoods for something like 12 years and that’s thanks to this organization the Urban Agriculture Collective of Charlottesville, which is a resident-led organization.” - Emily Hays
Election Results + Locatora Radio - November 7, 2019
This week we talk elections from the school board to the state senate. Stay tuned and because in the second half of the show we meet the artists behind Locatora radio and talk about how they made a femme-centered, survivor centered, podcast by and for women of color.