Hub & Spoke Presents: Sounds Like America
The dinging train-crossing gate in Deshler, OH. Rain falling on a nylon tent in Ashford, WA. A screen door slam in Santa Fe, NM. Gravel popping under a pick-up truck tire in Fayetteville, WV. A clanging radiator in Cambridge, MA. Flip flops slapping hot pavement in West Palm Beach, FL.
These are the sounds of America the Beautiful. America the Complicated. America the Contradictory. A patchwork of lived-in places and experiences, the sounds that most people would never notice, but would bring you home in a heartbeat.
We are all living in this enormous sonic canvas, and this year, as our immeasurable country celebrates its 250th birthday, it’s the special gift of audio producers to listen for and isolate the sounds that are both familiar and foreign to us all.
Why this project? Why now?
Our mission:
Highlight and uplift independent audio producers.
Explore and value the vast differences and commonalities of experience across our giant country.
Bridge divides by drawing out the sounds and conversations that many radio producers, and public media audiences, wouldn't usually hear.
With this project, we welcome independent creators from all over the country - with all their diversity of background, thought, and experience - and from all walks of audio life, from aspiring to seasoned producers.
We are thrilled to present this project in partnership with Transom’s The Listeners
Selected audio pieces we receive will be submitted to Transom with the possibility of being on transom.org and across their platforms, and promoted to public radio stations and national radio programs and podcasts. Selected pieces will also receive a modest honorarium.
Bring your own independent voice, and place, to our shared space.
Hub & Spoke is inviting producers from around the country - every one of our 50 states (and DC!) - to send us a sonic postcard.
What does it sound like right now, where you are? How would you share it with someone who has never been there? What makes that place unique? What makes it yours?
We want to hear anything and everything that is hyper-local to you: a minute of train-whistle. An interview with your mayor, your dentist, your mail carrier. A description of your favorite painting at the local art museum. The sound of the birds in your backyard.
Alternately, are you a producer in a far-flung state with a story to share and no member station? We want to air your work, whatever the topic.
The Fine Print:
Submission requirements:
Fill out this form.
Please keep your submission under 20 minutes (under 10 is ideal).
Audio that has been previously aired is welcome as long as it’s shared with permission.
Audio must be 100% IP-owned by the creator.
Please provide a framework for your clips - e.g. if it’s the sound of birds, play the sound, but then let us know where we are, and who you are.
The Benefits:
The audio will be shared on our Hub & Spoke Presents feed.
Creators will be featured on our project landing page on the Hub & Spoke website.
The pieces will populate the feed on a rolling basis throughout 2026, and will be featured on our monthly newsletter and our quarterly Radio Hour.
Select pieces will be routed to Transom.
We’ll keep a map on Tamar’s wall (HIGH TECH) and pin the location of every new submission!