1/19/2011 Listening Lounge

Shades of Gray, Part 1. (Jonathan Mitchell) Pro-choice. Pro-life. Most people have already chosen sides in the ongoing debate, so why revisit the issue? Shades of Gray shares a range of stories told by people young and old who have been directly affected by abortion, instead of the polemics of irreconcilable extremes. It's a carefully crafted audio mosaic and a stark portrayal of the intensely personal nature of our relationship with abortion. PRX Reviewer Marjorie Van Halteren described it this way: This is impressive work - and very careful - it's artistic AND balanced. This piece does not promote abortion. It does not condemn it. But it does provide some very precise information - for example, part one includes a beautifully produced experiential moment of what an abortion might be like - totally unromanticized - just the sound. Unembellished. It's not horrific - just factual and radiophonic at the same time.