WBEZ’S INVESTIGATIVE PODCAST “MOTIVE” STARTS ITS SECOND SEASON WITH A HIT • SPITZER INDUCTED INTO “FOLK DJ HALL OF FAME”

Creating investigative podcasts, often in the true crime genre, is something WBEZ does very, very well. 

‘BEZ has just started the second season of Motive and it is a doozy.

It tells the true story of Lauren Bajorek, a Penn State University senior, who, in 2015, was studying abroad in Seville, Spain. 

 On her 21st birthday, and one of her last nights in Spain, she went out to celebrate with a friend. 

Unfortunately she crossed paths with Manuel Blanco Vela, a local tour guide.

Lauren Bajorek

They spent the rest of the evening drinking. Manuel invited Lauren and her friend to his apartment.

In the late, late hours of the night, Lauren tragically fell off Manuel’s balcony and died.

Authorities in Seville ruled that her death was an alcohol-fueled accident.

News about Lauren’s death helped a group of women come forward with similar stories. There were allegations of sexual assault and sexual abuse by Manuel. The women who were involved investigated, put the pieces together and the story gains momentum.

You can hear the first episode here.

Candace Mittel Kahn

Sonically, we found Episode 1 to be easy to listen to. Credit the nice editing and final mix.

The narrative remains clear. 

Occasionally, there are moments when the descriptions of assaults appear.

Candace Mittel Kahn, the listener’s guide, is also one of the producers of Motive. 

Kevin Dawson, Managing Director of Content at WBEZ, is the executive producer.

You can listen to WBEZ's Motive on WBEZ’s website [link] or wherever you find your podcasts. New episodes are posted each Friday.

NICK SPITZER INDUCTED INTO FOLK DJ HALL OF FAME

Nick Spiter, the founder, host and executive producer of the weekly radio series American Routes [link], was inducted into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame at the Folk Alliance conference [link].

 

Spitzer is also a professor of anthropology at Tulane University in New Orleans. Past inductees include Fiona Ritchie and Oscar Brand.

He told the crowd at the ceremony: ‘I’m a Ph.DJ.’”

American Routes is a two-hour weekly syndicated program with music of all genres of American music. The program is exclusively distributed by PRX.

[Disclosure: American Routes is a client of Ken Mills Agency, LLC, the publisher of Spark News.