DJ Spotlight: Liz Medina
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.” - Maya Angelou In these uncertain times something as simple as a person telling their story can be so powerful.
A person’s story carries nuance. It carries perspective. It carries darkness and light; moments of tragedy and moments of triumph. A person’s story carries grey areas and unsatisfying conclusions. It carries all of this while also acting as a microcosm of much larger forces at work.
The power of storytelling is on full display in Liz Medina’s podcast En Masse, centered around the rural town of Barre, VT and its once booming quarrying industry. Liz uses the first episode of the podcast to give a broad overview of the town and the rise and fall of the quarries. After the first episode, the podcast unfolds into a series of oral histories; painting a complex, spoken word mural of the people of Barre. These stories also act as a convincing indictment of American capitalism, by shining an empathetic light on the people who suffer at the hands of such a system.
For anyone who considers themselves a supporter of the working class, Liz Medina’s podcast can be heard on 105.9 FM The Radiator every Monday from 6-7PM. You can also find En Masse at any time of the day on your favorite major streaming platform.
With Liz, amplifying working class voices has always been a priority for her, though she didn’t always know how to go about it. “I grew up at the beginning of the Rust Belt...and saw, in my own Main Street downtown, lots of empty buildings. Businesses would come, stay for a year and be gone again.”
I couldn’t help but compare her experience to my own growing up in Vermont. I’ve seen similar conditions, not just in Barre, but throughout many of the more rural areas of the state. S
he continued, “I really wanted to understand better the pain and suffering behind my environment that I was seeing. And I hung out with a lot of the kids who had parents with chronic unemployment issues, and were on welfare. I come from a lower middle income family, so it wasn’t as prevalent in my home, in particular, but there was always that hang over our head. There was always talk of layoffs and having to move and be torn away from your community.”
During our interview I felt compelled to ask Liz how she decided to couple oral histories from as far back as the early 1900s with stories from the present-day. “I could have taken these oral histories from the 30’s and just had those performed... but I was really more interested in the ‘then and now’ aspect. Connecting the past to the present, so we can really understand: what has changed, what has stayed the same, what we are still struggling against, and what we are still hoping for.”
This point resonated with me having listened to her podcast. Liz rarely stops the podcast to give explanations and draw those lines between the past and present herself. Instead she allows the listener to draw the lines through raw storytelling that lays bare the common threads between stories, and between time periods.
Liz’s choice to approach this podcast as a collection of stories, as opposed to a discussion of facts and statistics about de-industrialization, was very deliberate. “People, in general, may struggle to feel the importance of [certain issues] without understanding the human impact; without understanding the human cost, and how it affects our daily lives. I think people relate to issues better if it’s told through an individual story. They can see these larger societal issues of poverty, unemployment, or racism and how that affects [a person] on a day to day basis, rather than just saying some statistics about it. Our life experiences are so multi-dimensional. There’s always something in our stories, even if someone is vastly different from us, that they’re gonna connect to. We are all tied up in these larger systems of economic exploitation and social oppression. There’s nothing that is completely alien to another person’s experience. The storytelling aspect really builds that connection and empathy, and a sense of love and care for other people in your community.”
Later in our conversation, I decided to pick Liz’s brain regarding the current division within the United States, with a president who uses rhetoric aimed at the working class. I wanted to understand what we could do as individuals to make this divide a little smaller.
Of course, she had yet another brilliantly nuanced answer up her sleeve. “What was beautiful and wonderful, and also challenging, about working with the working class is that you have this diversity--- racial, ideological, every kind you can imagine. Although [an] individual may not be all the way there in terms of using all the language or supporting every progressive campaign, they have experienced the power dynamics of the workplace. [They have realized] the need for [them and their] coworkers to work together to protect themselves...That’s a really beautiful starting point because we’re not gonna solve any problem unless we work together and see our interests and our liberation are bound up with other people.”
En Masse is an enthralling podcast from start to finish. But don’t take my word for it, go see for yourself! Liz is already planning for a season 2, which could take her research to Berlin, New Hampshire, Lordstown, Ohio, or even parts of Canada.
When I gave Liz the chance to make a closing statement she had this to say “Give it a listen and if it fires you up, try to find a local organization in your community. [Whether it’s] a worker’s center or social justice organization, be a part of the story!”
Text by Kevin Desmond.
Photo by James Lockridge.