Out of the Archives, Season 3
Episodes 19–22
Season 3 of Out of the Archives offers episodes 19–22, and expanded “redux” episodes 2, 5, and 12.
The season’s curatorial approach puts interview excerpts together that related to a certain theme, and contextualize them with additional historical background information.
It also remixes select episodes with more historical context through staff narration.
About the series
Out of the Archives is the National Public Housing Museum’s oral history-based podcast, created from interviews with public housing residents across the United States.
Find more episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, PocketCasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Season 3 Episodes
Episode 19
In this episode of Out of the Archives, “It’s Certain Things That I Think Are Human Rights,” we celebrate National Fair Housing Month by tracing the origins of the commemorative month and digging into the concept of ‘housing is a human right’ with an array of current and former residents from Chicago public housing.
Narrators (with links to full-length interviews): Dr. Richard Morgan, Juanita Stevenson, Allen Schwartz, Nakia Herron, and Reverend Marshall Hatch.
Episode 20
In this episode of Out of the Archives, “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,” we celebrate a resident from the ABLA (a group of public housing projects consisting of the Jane Addams Homes, Robert Brooks Homes, Loomis Courts, and Grace Abbott Homes) community, the late Mr. Wilbur Farley. If that name sounds familiar, perhaps it is because he has appeared many times in different ABLA oral histories we have gathered. Known as “Mr. Fix-It” for his ingenuity and helping neighbors with small repairs, Mr. Farley was such a hugely influential and important member of the community that “Mr. Farley Day Back to School Celebration and Party” (as it was originally called) was created in 1984 by the ABLA community.
Narrators: Godfrey Bey, Al Buford, Byron Dickens, and Marquita Gandy.
Episode 21
In this episode, “There’s So Much Magic in a Place,” we uplift a range of experiences of public housing residents from across the country, featuring narrators from New York City, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Chicago. These narrators share stories of how their relationships to home and place have shaped, and have been shaped by, their identities as individuals and communities.
Narrators (with links to full-length interviews): Ramona Ferreyra, Danté Hamilton, Connie Lindsey, and Willie McShan.
Episode 22
When considering what “love” is, many varieties come to mind. Romantic love and platonic love dominate our TV shows, movies, and music, but these are only two pieces of the picture. What about love of a place, love of a people, or love of a purpose and principles? This episode, “The Act of Loving,” shares stories of all sorts of love in public housing, expanding our definition of what love means.
Narrators (with links to full-length interviews): J.L. Gross, Reverend Marshall Hatch, Milton Reed, Former Representative Bobby Rush, Daphany Rose Sanchez, Larry Turner, and Tanisha Wright.
Episode 12 (Redux)
In this episode of Out of the Archives, we’re revisiting Episode 12, “Full of Life,” and have added more historical context behind the stories narrators share! This episode feature stories about finding yourself through the arts and recreation, reclaiming and growing after trauma, and more.
Narrators (with links to full-length interviews): Marquita Gandy, Nakia Herron, Olga Molina, Sokeo Ros, and Henry Warfield.
Episode 2 (Redux)
“Bringing the Outdoors In: Community and Recreation in Public Housing,” originally aired on April 30, 2020, shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Needless to say, this period required the world to drastically reimagine how we interact while also keeping our neighbors and broader communities safe. Thinking back to those first few weeks of the pandemic, one of the most immediate and disarming changes was not being able to commune with our friends, family, classmates, and colleagues. We shared this episode with that mentality in mind, hoping to bring listeners closer to what was familiar to them. Now, over three years later, we are still living with the ever-rippling effects of the pandemic. But through those ripples we’ve also shown how adaptable we can be, finding creative ways to convene, play, and find joy with our communities.
Narrators (with links to full-length interviews): Betty Howard, Tommy Woods, Phil Ayala, Janetta Pegues, and Sunny Fischer.
Episode 5 (Redux)
Experience the thrill of late-night basketball games, memories from an Olympic-level boxer, and more about the power of sports. Storytellers for this episode include Lee Roy Murphy, Olympic boxer of the Robert Taylor Homes; Gil Walker, the former director of programs of the Chicago Housing Authority; Tanisha Wright, former WNBA player of Mon View Heights, and more.Episode transcript here.
Narrators (with links to full-length interviews): Lee Roy Murphy, James Purgatorio, Gil Walker, Tanisha Wright, Tommy Woods, and Byron Dickens.
About our team
Season 3 of Out of the Archives is written and produced by the National Public Housing Museum and mixed and mastered by Seth Engel.
Our theme song, “Born in the Blues,” was written, performed, and recorded by Keith Hudson, a former Stateway Gardens resident.
The logo was designed by Andy Hendricks.
Support
Out of the Archives is made possible through the generous support of the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
