Listen to stories from a 60-year career largely spent helping people in love build everlasting memories. Bill Medley has one of the most distinctive voices in music history, and now at age 84 is still singing the songs the people love, continuing the legacy of The Righteous Brothers. Also: Marquez Price's new book "The Backcourt"; and "The Class of 2024" continues.
Feb 13, 2025•24 min•Season 10Ep. 471
"Stories that Soar!" asks that we look for beauty beyond the screen; and an essay series "The Class of 2024" begins.
Feb 06, 2025•27 min•Season 10Ep. 470
Old Pueblo Playwrights take stories to the stage in their New Play Festival; and the Southern Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fair celebrates its 70th anniversary.
Jan 30, 2025•26 min•Ep. 469
Hear how Micky Dolenz of The Monkees recent recordings are exploring new ground, and how he celebrates being part of one of the most popular bands of the 1960s. Also: Invisible Theatre's production of "What the Constitution Means to Me"; and how Adiba Nelson's new children's book is a love letter to those seeking representation and a connection to spirituality.
Jan 23, 2025•26 min•Ep. 468
Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis has always been an ambassador of the purest form of New Orleans jazz. Delfeayo will be performing in the Tucson Jazz Festival at the Rialto Theatre. Also: Three emerging local jazz musicians; and storyteller Jess Losoya shares a story about freedom.
Jan 16, 2025•26 min•Ep. 467
Jazz singer Dominique Eade, rocker Dweezil Zappa, and comedy legend Vicki Lawrence all bring their talents to The Old Pueblo.
Jan 09, 2025•28 min•Ep. 466
We'll take you behind the scenes of the annual “LightsUp!” festival of illumination at Tucson Botanical Gardens. The documentary "Growing Tradition" provides details about this dazzling display that requires more than a million sparkling lights and other decorations. Also: Meet Glenda Bonin a storyteller, magician and puppeteer who shares her "Sleigh Bells" story.
Dec 19, 2024•27 min•Ep. 465
ArtWorks is an all-day program for adults with developmental disabilities. Their art is being displayed at the Joseph Gross Gallery in an exhibit called “Won't You Be My Neighbor”, featuring a series of original house designs that combine imagination with the most important aspects of what makes a house a home. Also: How the Tucson Bird Alliance will be making a difference in 2025; and actor and history buff Fred Pitts brings his one-man show "Aren't You..?" to Tucson.
Dec 12, 2024•27 min•Ep. 464
Learn about an annual art auction event held by BICAS in Tucson - where food and music are also a part of the mix. BICAS is a non-profit bicycle recycling center that helps improve accessibility and independence in our community by making affordable two-wheeled transportation available to everyone. Also: How Ittai Sopher, a former Arizona Spotlight producer, became a "Jeopardy" champion; Marquez Price on the value of doing a digital detox; and "Stories that Soar!
Dec 05, 2024•26 min•Ep. 463
Meet the father and son founders of Spotlight Community Theater. It's a place where curious student-age children can learn about all aspects of the performing arts, with no experience required. Spotlight Community Theater is holding performances of “Cinderella” in December to raise money for charity. Also: A tale of true love that started in Tucson in 1943 that continues today; and historian David Leighton shares the history of the Reid Park Zoo.
Nov 28, 2024•28 min•Ep. 462
“Children of the Holocaust” is a living-history project launched by AZPM. Project producer Laura Markowitz interviewed 20 survivors who were children during the Holocaust, and later settled in Southern Arizona. This week, hear the story of Paula Bronstein, a survivor who escaped the Nazis by hiding in Holland. It saved her life, but cost her her childhood. Bronstein passed away earlier this month, at age 87. Also: Beth Colburn Orozco shares the story of her search for the daughter she never knew...
Nov 21, 2024•29 min•Ep. 461
Also on Arizona Spotlight: Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent for the BBC, receives the 2024 Zenger Award for Press Freedom from the UA School of Journalism; and Richard Cachor Taylor's talks about his book "Birds of Arizona".
Nov 15, 2024•28 min•Ep. 460
Also on Arizona Spotlight: Voices from the Tucson Pride Festival; emerging UA filmmakers take the stage at San Diego Comic-Con; and historian David Leighton shares the star-studded story of Nick C. Hall.
Nov 08, 2024•33 min•Ep. 459
Featuring: The stars of Live Theatre Workshop's "Misery"; Broadway designer David Korins' creations from "Beetlejuice"; a ghost story from "Stories That Soar!"; and the supernatural invades suburbia in the Ten-Minute Drama "The Jack-O-Lantern".
Nov 01, 2024•27 min•Ep. 458
Also on Arizona Spotlight: Find out how the Assistance League of Tucson has been helping people in need for 65 years; and cold blooded critters (and those who love them) gather for the 22nd Tucson Reptile and Amphibian Show..
Oct 24, 2024•26 min•Ep. 457
Jade Beall is a Tucson-based photographer with an eye for finding beauty all around her. Beall talks about her collection called “The Crone Body”, which contains intimate portraits that celebrate the changing wisdom and power of women as they age. Also: "Bad Art Night" at the Arizona Science Center offers people a chance to explore their curious side; and an asylum seeker shares his welcome to Tucson.
Oct 17, 2024•27 min•Ep. 456
Long-time friends Molly McKasson and Susan Claassen have each created lasting legacies in Tucson, and next week they are reviving their sketch comedy act "Mols and Suz" for one night only at the Invisible Theatre. Also: The 3rd Annual Chinese Chorizo Festival celebrates culture, community and food; and Tucson native Jeff Biggers on co-writing "Disturbing the Bones".
Oct 10, 2024•30 min•Ep. 455
One legendary day in 1956, four of America's leading music stars met and recorded a session together for the only time in history. Now the musical stage play "The Million Dollar Quartet" dramatizes the chemistry between Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, and it is being presented in Tucson by the Saguaro City Music Theatre. Also: Film Fest Tucson returns with independent and international cinematic gems; and "Stories that Soar!" explores the meaning and versatility of ...
Oct 03, 2024•27 min•Ep. 454
Meet Awesta Zarif and Lucy Lavely, the stars from Arizona Theatre Company's new production of "Dial M for Murder". Also: How Bisbee Bikeways want to make transportation safer and healthier; and learn the secrets of the Vegan Night Market.
Sep 26, 2024•35 min•Ep. 453
The Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre recreates the experience of old-time radio for a special event. Also: Monument Valley's important role in the classic westerns of John Ford and John Wayne; and a local librarian is recognized for his dedication to improving youth mental health.
Sep 12, 2024•26 min•Ep. 452
A new documentary called "Final Vows" tells the story of a small order of cloistered nuns who live at Santa Rita Abbey, an isolated monastery in the high desert of Arizona. Dwindling numbers and old age threaten the order's long-term survival, and the monastery stands in the path of new mining projects being dug south of the Grand Canyon. Also: The Rogue Theatre celebrates its 20th anniversary season; and "Stories That Soar!" presents a boy's remembrance of his father.
Sep 05, 2024•27 min•Ep. 451
Nature writer and outdoors adventurer Rebekah Doyle shares an essay about her perspective on "Monsoon Magic". Also: Reactions to the first load of uranium ore to come from the Pinyon Mine near The Grand Canyon; and "Concussion: The Play", a new Ten-Minute Drama.
Aug 22, 2024•27 min•Ep. 450
Learn about some fascinating discoveries made in the Sonoran desert by Dr. Deni Seymour that shed new light on the history of first European settlement in North America. Also: Simon Donovan shares a story about a beloved dog named Betty.
Aug 15, 2024•27 min•Ep. 449
Also on Arizona Spotlight: Visit Valley of the Moon; Marquez Price on "digital detoxing"; and 65 years of local television history in the AZPM Video Archive.
Aug 08, 2024•26 min•Ep. 448
Also on Arizona Spotlight: The story of Nick C. Hall, the Mayor of Old Tucson, and a song about spreading love, joy, and hope.
Aug 01, 2024•26 min•Ep. 447
Also on Arizona Spotlight: Checking in with the Tucson Audubon Society; and a Tucson knitter who is making socks the REAL old-fashioned way.
Jul 25, 2024•26 min•Ep. 446
On this Arizona Spotlight, hear three women who are telling vibrant stories across different mediums: Tucson-based author Lydia Millet; Author, educator and storyteller Molly McCloy; and local music artist Gabrielle Pietrangelo.
Jul 18, 2024•23 min•Ep. 445
Also on Arizona Spotlight: Visit the Word of Mouth Print Space; celebrate imagination at the Library's Megamania!! Festival; and meet the founder of the Naco Wellness Initiative.
Jul 11, 2024•28 min•Ep. 444
Also: How art can help with in-hospital healing; Luis Alberto Urrea on how his literature career began; and "Stories That Soar!" considers the meaning of love.
Jul 04, 2024•26 min•Ep. 443
Also on Arizona Spotlight: The Pascua Yaqui Tribe welcome new leadership; and the legacy of screen actor Donald Sutherland.
Jun 27, 2024•28 min•Ep. 442