Brian W. Smith: Voiceovers, Classical Host


Audio Escape Almanac with Brian Smith Audio Escape Almanac

This is an archive of a sound-rich podcast produced in the Winter and early Spring of 2007 for iTunes. Each daily episode presents the voices, music, and other sounds that define that particular day in history, including cultural observances around the globe. Visit iTunes page.



Friday, 3/23 @ 5:03 | Meteorological Day, Asclepius, Mir, Gemini 3, SDI, von Braun, no bananas, Messiah
RESOURCES: For some still-images of Gemini 3, here's the appropriate NASA page. And for those wanting to know when Asteroid 4581 Asclepius will visit again, here's a cool JPL Javascript plot.
Thursday, 3/22 @ 6:08 | Water, Seals, Rollercoasters, Foster Hewitt, ERA, Reese Witherspoon, Rutles, Augusta
RESOURCES: For more about Canadian broadcaster Foster Hewitt, including media files, here's his presence on the CBC Archives Site. For more information about the Invitation Tournament that became The Masters, here's the Masters Timeline Page.
Wednesday, 3/21 @ 6:24 | Spring, Coolidge & Lindbergh, Selma March, Alan Freed, Kate Smith, Dallas
RESOURCES: For more about the life and accomplishments of Charles Lindbergh, here's a site that carries his name. And for more about the Selma marches, here's a PBS page on the topic.
Tuesday, 3/20 @ 5:28 | Equinox with Ella, Einstein's relativity, Vera Lynn, Lyndon Johnson, Holly Hunter, Bogart
RESOURCES: For more information about musher Libby Riddles, there's no better place than LibbyRiddles.com, and to learn more about the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, visit the official Iditarod site. For more about Big Bird, here's his exhaustive Wikipedia article.
Monday, 3/19 @ 6:35 | Capistrano swallows, Amos 'n' Andy, Moms Mabley, Bob Dylan, Goldfinger, MTM Show
RESOURCES: Here's the story of the Capistrano Swallows at Mission San Juan Capistrano, here's where you can listen to a number of Amos 'n' Andy radio shows, and here's some information about the life of comedian Moms Mabley.
Wednesday, 3/14 @ 5:02 | Pi, Potato Chips, Catch a Falling Star, Jack Ruby, Einstein, Stones, Billy Crystal
RESOURCES: Here's a Brief History of Pi at this Exploratorium page, and here's a not-so-brief History of the Potato Chip at this Central Connecticut State U. Dept. of Geography page. As for the Cotton Gin, here's the Gin's page at the Eli Whitney Museum and here's the USDA Specs page.
Tuesday, 3/13 @ 4:24 | Hamburgers, clowns, Butler Act, Anschluss news, Long Hot Summer, Allman Bros
RESOURCES: For a peek at Tennessee's 1925 Butler Act, here it is on this UMKC Law page. For those wanting to play the "wouldda shouldda" game, here's the Microsoft IPO calculator (.xls file will download). Go ahead. See what a couple hundred bucks in '86 would have gotten you today!
Monday, 3/12 @ 6:41 | Mauritius, Canberra, FDR's first Chat, Truman Doctrine, Les Miz, Mrs. Robinson
RESOURCES: Here's the official site of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, and on a different site here's where you'll find the transcripts of FDR's Fireside Chats, all of them. To learn more about Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low, here's her page at the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
Friday, 3/9 @ 4:29 | Baron Bliss Day (Belize), Bob Hope, ER Murrow, James Dean, Dan Rather, Robin Trower
RESOURCES: Regarding Edward R. Murrow's See It Now, there's more information about the program at this Museum of Broadcast Communications page. To see the closing two minutes of Murrow's March 9, 1954, Report on Senator McCarthy, visit this YouTube page, and for a complete transcript of the broadcast, visit this UC Berkeley page.
Thursday, 3/8 @ 4:11 | Int'l Womens Day, Louise Beavers, Fillmore East, Hitchhiker's Guide, Mickey Dolenz
RESOURCES: Here's a brief History of the Fillmore East. To learn more about the initial airings of the radio version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, here's the Wikipedia article on the topic.
Wednesday, 3/7 @ 4:15 | Metallica Day (SF), LaRocca and Lombardo, Selma (AL), Ravel, Divine, Amundsen
RESOURCES: Images from Selma, Alabama, in March of 1965 can be found at this Civil Rights Veterans page. For more information about Roald Amundsen at the South Pole, visit this South-Pole.com page.
Tuesday, 3/6 @ 4:15 | Dentists' & Alamo Day, The March of Time, Manson's LP, Cronkite, Lou Costello, R Reiner
RESOURCE:For more information about The March of Time, the CBS Radio series, visit this Radio Days page.
Monday, 3/5 @ 5:31 | Mother-in-Law, Boston Massacre Days, Churchill's Curtain, Beatles, Paul Evans, Belushi
RESOURCES: The complete text of Churchill's Iron Curtain speech (officially, the Sinews of Peace speech) is at this About.com page. If you'd like to learn more about singer-songwriter Paul Evans, PaulEvans.com is a fine place to start.
Friday, 3/2 @ 4:20 | Texas Independence, King Kong, Elmer Fudd, Miles Davis, JFK nuke testing, the CD
RESOURCES: Regarding Compact Discs, visit this Philips page to learn about its development, and this CED Magic page to see the first commercially available player.
Thursday, 3/1 @ 4:58 | National Pig Day, Salem Witch Trials, Hattie McDaniel, Paul Robeson, Peace Corps, FM
RESOURCE: To learn more about the business and political sides of FM radio in the 1940s (and beyond), check out this fine Wikipedia article on the topic.

Wednesday, 2/28 @ 4:54 | Kalevala Day (Finland), Smokey Bear, M*A*S*H, Waco & N Hollywood

Tuesday, 2/27 @ 4:16 | Beethoven's 8th, Shirley Temple, Wounded Knee, Joanne Woodward

Monday, 2/26 @ 5:03 | Liberation Day (Kuwait), Schubert, Jackie Gleason, M.J. & M.J., J.R. Cash

Friday, 2/23 @ 4:06 | Iwo Jima Day, Woody Guthrie, Peter Fonda, Schindler's List, Dolly the Lamb

Thursday, 2/22 @ 4:11 | Chico Marx, Woolworth's, Calvin Coolidge, Miracle on Ice, more

Wednesday, 2/21 @ 4:04 | Mother Tongue Day, Battle of Verdun, Alka Seltzer, Jackson 5, more

Tuesday, 2/20 @ 4:12 | Mardi Gras, Rossini, Follow the Fleet, Friendship 7, Kelsey Grammer

Monday, 2/19 @ 4:41 | President's Day, Donner Party, Lee Marvin, Mr. Rogers, Carson McCullers

Friday, 2/16 @ 4:37 | Studebaker, Edgar Bergen, Hugh Beaumont, Bessie Smith, Elvis, McEnroe

Thursday, 2/15 @ 3:48 | National Lamb Day (NZ), The Maine explodes, Ellington's A Train, COPS

Wednesday, 2/14 @ 5:30 | St. Valentine's Day, This is War, Jacqueline's tour, NASCAR firsts

Tuesday, 2/13 @ 4:25 | Get a Different Name Day, Stockard Channing, Pat Novak for Hire

Monday, 2/12 @ 4:20 | Kindness & cleanliness, Charles Darwin, Lorne Greene, Barbie & Ken

Friday, 2/9 @ 5:05 | Early sports milestones, She Done Him Wrong, Beatles on Sullivan, Bill Haley

Thursday, 2/8 @ 4:41 | Sun Pageant Day (Norway), teen witches, Boy Scouts, Spud Webb, Andy Rooney

Wednesday, 2/7 @ 3:54 | Great Baltimore Fire, Pinocchio, Beatles, Clay to Ali, Blazing Saddles

Tuesday, 2/6 @ 4:30 | Waitangi Day (NZ), Paul Harvey, Murrow-Castro, Reagan, Vince Guaraldi

Monday, 2/5 @ 3:00 | Tybee Bomb, Enrique Caruso, Smothers Bros., Nigel Tufnel, Howard Stern

The Audio Escape Almanac was the third iteration of a project began in mid December, 2006, as Brian's Almanac.

I respect intellectual property rights and always adhered to a conservative interpretation of the murky "fair use doctrine" in excerpting copyrighted materials. If you hold the copyright for a segment included in these programs and believe the usage is in violation of copyright law, please inform me immediately. I will examine the specific case and take appropriate and timely action.



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