Uptown Radio

About Uptown Radio

This is a weekly Uptown Radio broadcast from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Publisher

Uptown Radio

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Mar 2021

Latest episode

14 Apr 2026

Latest episodes

692 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Apr 2026

   Little Guyana (Audience Award)

   Travel to Little Guyana with Chris as he shops for his mom's favorite food from her home country, which she hasn't returned to in 30 years. A story about culture, food, and family. Created by husband-and-wife duo Chris Agbanyo and Kylie Miller. TRANSCRIPT CHRIS VO If you take the A train all the way to the end and get off at the last stop, you'll end up in Little Guyana. Little Guyana is a very small neighborhood in Queens where the A train rumbles above your head, where you can find great food, great culture, and great people. CHRIS And then can I also get six pine tarts? MOM Uh-huh. And one butter bread. CHRIS One second, Mom. CHRIS VO My mom's Guyanese. She immigrated to the United States in the eighties and she's always been craving and wanting many Guyanese things. So I always go to Little Guyana before I go to visit my mom in Pennsylvania to get her everything she needs. CHRIS What, what else do you want, mama? MOM Um, Pholourie mix and, and split pea flour. CHRIS Okay. All right. I'll get that. CHRIS VO She has a really, really strong cultural identity in her cooking, in her accent, the way that she acts and, you know, laughs and yells. STORE CLERK What your mom is? Guyanese? KYLIE Yeah. CHRIS Yeah, she's Guyanese. STORE CLERK And what the father is? CHRIS Uh, my father is, uh, Togolese from West Africa. STORE CLERK Well, he, she made a handsome son. CHRIS Thank you. CHRIS VO Food is so important to both my parents' cultures. It's the connective tissue that brings people together. CHRIS Can I get, can I get one, uh, one chicken patty please? STORE CLERK At least he could get something for himself, mom. CHRIS The lady said at least I can get something for myself, not just for you. STORE CLERK Because he buy all for you. CHRIS Thank you so much. CHRIS VO I go to Little Guyana, you know, and it's over an hour from my house taking the J all the way to the end of the A to get there. And the reason why I do it is like she hasn't gone home. You know, I do it so she has a piece of home. You know, I come from a place where, you know, that $800 flight, you know, is too much. So if I can spend a hundred dollars at a Guyanese supermarket and call her on the phone and hear her voice, how she's excited to get what she's getting and saying, "thank you, son". MOM Thank you son. CHRIS VO and just being happy. CHRIS Alright, bye. CHRIS VO That's what I do it for. MOM Bye bye.

2. 

   14 Apr 2026

   The Other Side (Judge's Award)

   In the middle of breakfast, the ladies of the Community Park & Market henhouse wonder what it's like outside the coop, across the road, on the other side. Winner of the Judge's Award in Columbia Journalism's School 2026 Radio Race.

3. 

   14 Apr 2026

   The Middleman

   Finalists in Columbia Journalism's School 2026 Radio Race Transcript: AUTOMATED SELF-CHECK-OUT MACHINE: Thank you for shopping at Wegmans. [COLD WIND] TOMÁS: El invierno es donde más se gana. Winter is when you earn the most. [DOORDASHER BIKE ZIPS THROUGH THE WINDY STREETS] Ganamos por entrega. We earn by delivery. Estamos en contra del tiempo. We are racing against time. Mi nombre es Tomás. Soy de Guatemala. Trabajo de DoorDash de semanas y trabajo en ‘warehouse’ de lunes a viernes. My name is Tomás. I'm from Guatemala. On the weekends, I’m a Doordasher. And from Monday to Friday, I work in a warehouse. ¿Cómo lidiar con el cansancio? Ah, a mí me lidiana mucho el vino, pero Mi futuro es esto: trabajar duro. How do I cope with exhaustion? Uh. Well, wine helps me cope, but this is my future: working hard. Hay que andar con casco, las luces, y respetar las señales. Wear a helmet, use lights, and respect the signs. [SOUNDS OF TRAFFIC] Si usted respeta eso, no pasa nada. If you follow that, you’ll be safe. [CAR BEEP] Me la paso más en Manhattan. Mi área es bajo por la World Trade Center. I work mostly in Manhattan. My area is near the World Trade Center. Lo que más me gusta es que me distraigo bastante. En las calles. Entro en diferentes restaurantes [y] supermercados. My favorite part of this job is that I entertain myself a lot. I’m outside in the streets. I go into many different restaurants and supermarkets. [MONTAGE OF DELIVERIES] [BIKECHAIN LOCKS] Y lo malo es que los clientes no contestan, no abren la puerta, te toca llamar al servicio al cliente. Entonces ahí perdemos mucho tiempo. Eso es lo malo. And my least favorite part is when customers don't answer, or they don't open the door, and you have to call the App’s customer service. That’s where a lot of time is wasted. That's the bad part. [APARTMENT BUZZ] Muchos edificios así, viejos, toca subir, caminar seis [o] cinco pisos, [y] bajar. Many buildings like this, old, you have to go up, walk six or five floors, and then come down. Entre más hacemos, más ganamos, pero hace como dos años, ya no dan tips. Raro que te den $2, $3. Ya no. Ya nadie quiere dar tips. The more we do, the more we earn. But, it's been about two years since they stopped giving tips. Rarely do they give you $2 or $3. Nobody wants to tip anymore. [FOOTSTEPS WALKING UP FLIGHTS OF STAIRS] Hi. [DOOR OPENS] May I have your ID please? [HEAVY BREATHING]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 41 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

54

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

68

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.