Salem State student audio, gathered into themed episodes.
Soundplay plays audio pieces made by Salem State University students, gathered into themed episodes on horror, perseverance, culture, belonging, grief and music. Host Abby Rue introduces each piece and then adds a personal reaction afterward, such as a plan to relearn a lapsed language or a paint-by-number that keeps the day grounded.
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Soundplay showcases audio stories made by students at Salem State University in Massachusetts. Each episode is built around a theme, and Abby Rue introduces them. The format is simple. Rue names the theme and the students whose work fills the episode, plays their pieces, and comes back in between with reactions and small stories from daily life. The themes cover a lot of ground. 'BOO! Did I Scare You?' is given over to fictional horror, with stories from Josie Kinghorn and Rachel. Kinghorn contributes a double feature framed as a night at a drive-in theater. Another story follows a lonely narrator who meets a man named Arthur at a Barnes and Noble and decides to keep him a secret from friends. 'The Only Way Out is Through' collects stories about getting through hard times. Presley Shares contributes a story about a life-altering moment and her attachment to volleyball, one of the things she holds dearest. Shannon Adams interviews Helen Hatch, an ice skating coach in Reading, Massachusetts, about a tragic incident involving her own coach when she was younger. 'A World of Culture' pairs two views of heritage. One is a piece by Rosanna Wu, in which J.D. Scrimgeour is heard, about embracing a new culture and its art. The other is Morelia Morel-Diaz's piece, grounded in Baní, her hometown in the Dominican Republic. 'Everyone Has a Place in This World' is about belonging and includes work by Melanie Zimmick. It also has a piece in which a speaker named Alexandria explains bohok, a pungent fermented fish paste central to Khmer cooking, and touches on the traditions Cambodia lost to genocide. 'The Human Condition' turns to loss and family, with pieces from Atia and Kate. One recalls a cousin who went through chemotherapy and whose wish before he died was to meet the rapper T.I. 'The Power of Music' collects pieces that put music at their center, including a profile of Lauren, a performer about to graduate with a music technology minor who was disqualified first after a performance she was proud of. Rue's commentary holds all of this together. The asides are personal and specific: taking photos and working on a gifted paint-by-number to stay present, and hoping to pick up Spanish again after graduation. The response to the students' work is generous, though Rue also says plainly that taking criticism is part of growing. Episodes close by thanking the contributors and with a brief send-off. What a listener gets is range: horror, grief, food, heritage and performance, all made by students and framed by a host who treats the work as worth sitting with.
Made for: Suits a listener who enjoys personal, first-person storytelling and wants to hear what college students make with audio, from spooky fiction to accounts of grief, heritage and belonging.
What sets it apart: Episodes pair student-made pieces under a shared theme, and a host who calls the contributors peers fills the gaps with candid personal reactions, so the show plays as a curated anthology instead of a plain archive of student work.
This show features student audio work composed in courses across the disciplines at Salem State University in Massachusetts.
A dancer's aching foot puts your 'just push through' mantra on trial.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Student stories use music to trace criticism, corruption, self-expression, and connection.
Soundplay treats music as a pressure point and a refuge, pairing two student audio stories about what sound can bring to the surface. One story follows Lauren after a disqualification from a performance she had felt proud of, then watches that criticism become part of her growth…
Two student stories trace how language shapes cultural curiosity, migration, and belonging.
Soundplay gathers two student stories about language, culture, and the uneasy work of finding where one belongs. Rosanna Wu follows Scrimgeour, a writer, educator, and mostly a poet, as he reads Mandarin poems for poetry lovers in a coffee shop and describes a passion that links…
Three personal stories trace identity through family, dance, and persistence learned in field hockey.
Soundplay frames identity as something built under real pressure: Adrian wondering whether family acceptance will hold, a dancer trying to live inside an unforgiving ideal, and a field hockey player finding persistence through exhaustion.
Student-made sound design gives this season finale about family loss a lingering emotional shape.
Soundplay closes its season with two student pieces that let grief come through family memory instead of abstraction. Atiyah Haynes begins with a childhood sleepover at cousin Raekwon's house, then moves through his illness, his Make-A-Wish chance to meet and rap with T.I., and…
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Soundplay ends its season from Salem State University with Abby framing two student pieces around loss, family, and grief.
Soundplay, hosted by Abby Rue, frames music as part of daily routine before introducing student work from Frances Gervais and Bridget Thorn.
Soundplay's episode "Who Am I?" from Salem State University, hosted by Abby, focuses on identity through three student stories by Cam Boisvert, Brianna Scorry, and Jasmine Hopkins.
The tap-tap of your willow and the tap-tap on your window were not the same song.
Helen Hatch says, "Life does move on" after leaving competitive skating and building a coaching career.
David Townsend has visited 85 countries, and his Jakarta jam with Indonesian rock fans shows cultural connection beyond travel.
Host Ben Westgate opens this Salem State University episode with a content warning for depression, mental health, and suicide before three student-reported career profiles.
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A sociology professor shares her journey of taking up running after her mother's death from cancer, leading to a goal of running a half marathon in every state.
This episode features five student audio projects in the 'This I Believe' genre, showcasing their use of sonic strategies to convey personal beliefs.
This episode introduces a student audio show and features a segment on a faux podcast that explores sound-based storytelling without narration.