Third Coast gathers audiences together for an hour of stories in sound: carefully selected and stitched together around a theme, and screened in a darkened theater.

On Sunday, June 25th at UnionDocs, we’ll be screening our “Field Trip” reel – all about unexpected adventure and escape. We’ll be joined after the screening for a Q&A with two of the featured producers, Sean Cole (This American Life) and Jonathan Goldstein (Heavyweight, Gimlet)

Sophie Townsend and her husband used to go on long driving trips, taking the back roads and scenic routes, with a cup of hot coffee between them and a constant supply of Fellini soundtracks on the stereo. Sophie no longer drives those routes though, and she’s slowly losing those memories because it’s another story, one that keeps forcing it’s way up to the surface, that keeps eclipsing those earlier recollections.

In the city, things never seem to slow down. So producer Amy Pearl decided to get away and hike the Appalachian Trail for a few days with her dog. The plan was to be totally unplugged. Well, almost.

A story produced by UnFictional producer Bob Carlson and his daughter Tess, last year when she was 10. She had always wished she were brave enough to ride a looping roller coaster. Just the thought of riding them made her very anxious. So Tess and her dad spend a day at Six Flags Magic Mountain riding progressively scarier thrill rides. Just like a roller coaster there were some ups and some downs.

After Oklahoma passed the toughest anti-immigration bill in the country, a Catholic church in Tulsa was looking for help, so they created a shrine to Santo Toribio, the patron saint of immigrants.

In 2007, Oklahoma passed a bill making it a felony to give someone without papers a job, a ride, or a place to stay overnight in your home. The law was designed to scare undocumented immigrants, and it did. But in Tulsa, a mostly Mexican Catholic congregation also saw it as an opportunity: they imported a statue of the patron saint of immigrants to be a symbol of hope.

Producers Jonathan Goldstein and Sean Cole were fascinated by a recent Pew Research statistic stating that 9% of Americans want to travel through time. So they decided to hit the streets and ask people—is it true? Do you want to travel through time? And what period of time would you travel to?

“The Glowing Orbs” is about John Glenn’s experience with glowing orbs as he orbited the earth. Out of nowhere, he found himself surrounded by these beautiful orbs that reaffirmed his faith in God. The piece is a beautiful meditation on belief.

Sean Cole is a producer at This American Life in February. He’s also worked as a producer at Radiolab, a regular contributor to Marketplace, and a freelance reporter for lots of other shows and podcasts including Studio 360 and 99% Invisible.

Jonathan Goldstein hosts Heavyweight from Gimlet Media. Before Heavyweight, Jonathan hosted the acclaimed show Wiretap on CBC Radio. He also makes stories for This American Life.

Sarah Geis is a Chicago-based independent producer, editor, and teacher, and a former Third Coast artistic director.

She has led workshops at community organizations throughout the U.S., and presented at audio gatherings around the globe. Sarah got her start in radio with StoryCorps, where she travelled the country in an Airstream trailer recording interviews, and then founded StoryCorps’ Bay Area recording and outreach program. She swears her website will be functional any minute now.

Johanna Zorn is the executive director and co-founder of the Third Coast International Audio Festival, and has been committed to the development of contemporary audio culture for more than three decades.

Previously, Johanna spent 30 years at WBEZ, Chicago, producing and directing a wide variety of programs.. In 2009, she led efforts to transform Third Coast into an independent media arts organization.

Maya Goldberg-Safir is TCIAF’s Artistic Associate, who helps shape the Festival’s artistic programming and manages all marketing efforts.

She also performs as one of Third Coast’s licensed Podcast Therapists, offering podcast “prescriptions” to audiences in Chicago and beyond.