SOTRU’s new season of five episodes will be available for download beginning on June first. For the first half of season three, we traveled to Vermont, Maryland, Missouri and Washington State.
And in a series first, we are exploring a community based around a medium, instead of a location, for our much-anticipated Comics Book Episode.
Here is more information about our upcoming Episodes:
Despite the outdated stereotype of a solitary nerd holed up in his bedroom, burying himself in a world of fantasy, comic books serve as the connection point for a diverse community of people, who are drawn to them for all manner of reasons. And sometimes, comics become the vehicle for people to take action within the community itself or inspire individuals to make a difference in the wider world.
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Quaint storefronts along Main streets, covered bridges over clear streams, cows from dairy farms dotting green valleys: across the state, these are the iconic images of Vermont. But beyond its pastoral beauty, this is a place that prides itself on its independent spirit. Not only in the ways you might have heard of—first state in the nation to legalize same sex civil unions, say—but in the way Vermonters take on everyday life, and the challenges of it.
The Tri-Cities of Washington are Richland, Pasco and Kennewick—three cities clustered near one another in the vast plains and deserts of Washington state, to the east of the Cascade Mountains. It’s a region that seems like it would have little to attract newcomers—it’s largely remote, prone to dust storms, not close to any major city. But, over the decades, this area has drawn people from the world over for reasons as various as nuclear bombs, wine-making, and harvesting sugar beets.
The Ozarks have long been an isolated place—steep mountains break up the landscape into hills and hollows, making each little town its own microcosm. Outsiders might know little beyond the stereotypical hillbillies, generations of poverty, and an infamous meth problem, one of the worst in the country. But people in the Ozarks are pushing for ways to build community with few resources, to hold on to what is authentic about their identity while bucking stereotypes imposed on them by the outside world.
Baltimore is a city of many neighborhoods, and of intense racial divides not easily overcome. But this it’s a place with more dimensions than the impression cast by the headlines and the TV series The Wire. Those images often overshadow the passion and dedication many Baltimoreans have for their city, and for taking on what’s wrong with it in ways small and large.
Viola Morse, a lifelong Vermonter, died last year. After living in the same town for ninety-nine years, she must have left quite an imprint. State of the Re:Union set up a voice-mail box so Viola’s friends, family, and admirers could share their memories in their own words. This first piece in our new audio obituary series was produced by SOTRU intern extraordinaire Sara Brooke Curtis.
