ChristopheRadio

My name's Christopher M. Johnson. I'm a professional journalist who makes radio stories about people and music and art and food and struggle. I started at NPR, now I work for me, in Chicago. I report, record, & produce. The whole thing. Have a listen. CONTACT: RadioChristo[at]gmail[dot]com

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A look at how many riders it takes to make a bus profitable.

WBEZ/Curious City - Nov 20, 2015

Find out why $5.12 is the magic number in my geek out piece about the CTA bus system’s “break even” sweet spot.

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CHIRP Radio - Oct 26, 2015

Mike Joyce learned how to box when he was young. His volunteer coaches and mentors made such a strong impression on him, he decided to carry on that volunteer tradition when he started a free gym in the back of his law office for any neighborhood kid who wants to learn to box. Listen to my trip inside the Celtic Boxing Club.

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Studio 360 - August 27, 2015

My story about Jacob Lawrence’s Great Migration series, which is on exhibition - all 60 pieces, rarely shown together - this summer at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

The series was Lawrence’s tribute to the decades-long mass exodus of millions of black Americans out of the south, to cities and towns north and west.

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CHIRP Radio: Need The Service - August 2, 2015

Martinez Williams is the consummate entrepreneur. He was a hair product model, ran a Chinese restaurant “in the hood,” and whips up sticks of homemade lip balm in his friends’ kitchens around Chicago. He also kills bedbugs for a living. 

Most of his clients are paying customers on the South Side. But not everyone who needs the service can afford it. For them, Williams exterminates totally for free. 

In this piece, I go pro bono bedbugging with Martinez Williams, who says he exterminates for free in honor of his mom.

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Marketplace - March 15, 2015

Some of the world's fastest growing economies are in Asia. With more cash flow, more jobs, more people, Asian cities are getting a lot bigger. Some are overflowing.

In Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, it seems as if little can stand in the way of urban sprawl — not even the dead. The city's biggest cemetery is slated for demolition, with plans to use the space for a shopping mall, apartments and parks.

Moving 70,000 tombs is one challenge. Here's an even trickier one: What to do about the hundreds of people who work and live inside the cemetery?

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Deutsche Welle Radio: Living Planet, Dec 26, 2014

Vietnam is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of rice. But there’s a problem: as global temperatures warm and glaciers melt, sea levels rise right up into some of Vietnam’s richest rice-growing areas. And Saltwater is bad news for rice. So just how are farmers in Mekong River Delta coping with these climate changes?

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Deutsche Welle Radio: WorldLink, Nov 1, 2014

Religion's comeback

In the US, an African religion called Yoruba is attracting a new following. Originating from Southwestern Nigeria, this spiritual tradition is older than both Christianity and Islam. Many converts say the religion offers them a spiritual path and a deep sense of cultural belonging, something they felt was lacking in other faiths. And the number of people seeking out these religions is on the rise.

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KCRW: Good Food - July 26, 2014

In Vietnam, they like to do everything as fresh as possible: the herbs, the meat, the seafood. And, a light golden lager called bia hoi. It’s brewed unpasteurized, preservatives-free. Bia hoi kegs usually have to be finished in less than a day, before it all goes bad.

Bia hoi is huge in Vietnam. It’s so fresh, usually served on the sidewalk, and really cheap. Producer Christopher Johnson stopped by one of the city’s most popular bia hoi spots.

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The World, May 13, 2014 

There's standing up for yourself. And then there's picking a fight you're likely to lose. But Vietnamese don't seem to care.They're fuming about China's decision to set up an oil rig in a nearby area of the contested South China Sea, close to the Paracel Islands, which are controlled by China but claimed by Hanoi.  

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PRI: The World, Jan 14, 2014

During the US-Vietnam War, North Vietnam’s government only allowed music that encouraged people to fight for the nation. And bluesy love songs were associated with South Vietnam and Americans. That’s how a young musician named Nguyen Van Loc ended up spending 10 years in prison.

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KALW & SF Arts Commission: Sights and Sounds of Bayview, Sept 19 2013 

Having P.R.I.D.E.: Bayview elders take their word to the streets

A congregation of former gang members turned clergymen who feel called by Christ to help young men leave violent street life, by independent producer Christopher Johnson. Photos by Kevin B. Jones. 

The Sights and Sounds of Bayview is a project of KALW and the San Francisco Arts Commission to tell the stories of the people who live, work, and have a positive impact on San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood. Radio producers and photographers documented the stories in sound and imagery.

On September 19, the stories were presented live on stage at the historic Bayview Opera House in front of an audience of local community members and newcomers to the neighborhood.

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NPR: Weekend Edition Sunday - August 25, 2013

An ancient West African religion is becoming increasingly popular among black Americans, even in some less-than-likely corners of the US. This is my story about the Ifa tradition in Seattle’s suburbs. 

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NPR: All Things Considered - June 4, 2013

A  survey about black Americans’ views on their neighborhoods, finances, and dating - conducted jointly by NPR, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health - included more than 1,000 men and women 18 and older.  

One note-worthy finding: more men than women said they were looking for long-term relationships. But men and women don’t necessarily have the same thing in mind when they say “long-term.”

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PRI: Living On Earth - May 31, 2013

A program called REDD could be the fastest, least expensive way to stall global warming. REDD is a scheme that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation by preserving trees. Award-winning correspondent Alex Chadwick and producer Christopher Johnson travel to the Congo Basin to investigate the high stakes of protecting the carbon-rich forest, the wildlife, and people who live there. 

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KPCC: Take Two - Dec 21, 2012

Aretha Franklin was already an international superstar the weekend she stepped into New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in South Central L.A. 40 years ago. Together with gospel giant Reverend James Cleveland, and in front of a live congregation, Aretha recorded what is still her best-selling album ever, 1972's "Amazing Grace." The album is also the best-selling Gospel record of all-time.

Reporter Christopher Johnson recently visited New Temple and spoke with people who still remember Lady Soul’s heavenly performance.

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KPCC: The Madeleine Brand Show - May 31, 2012

Cee-Lo Green. Andre 3000. Ludacris. Just a few of the rap superstars who started their hip-hop careers in Atlanta.

The city's rap scene continues to support home-grown talent. Including an artist who calls herself "StaHHr". The double H stands for "hip hop." StaHHr flaunts those letters like stripes she's earned after nearly two decades on Atlanta's rap music scene.

Reporter Christopher Johnson recently visited Atlanta, and Stahhr took him on a tour of the city AND her new album "Mother Nature With a Molotov: Molotov Season."

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Marketplace - Feb 16, 2012

We are, as of today, a little more than halfway through Black History Month. Proclamations and resolutions by presidents and Congresses, going back decades, set aside the month of February as a time for Americans to increase their awareness of African-Americans and our shared history.

Which means that every February companies roll out ads linking the achievements of black Americans to everything from Heineken to Harleys. Here's a slightly less cynical note: What began in 1926 as Negro History Week is now one of the busiest and most lucrative months for black professionals on the public speaking circuit.