TWO PITCHES FOR SUBSEQUENTLY PUBLISHED AUDIO STORIES
Walking Art: Bespoke Prosthetic Limbs , Cynthia Graber, Studio 360
The story:
http://www.studio360.org/story/216421-prosthetic-limbs/
The pitch:
I think I’ve finally come up with a 3D printing/design story that’s perfect for Studio 360.
Prostheses are relatively dull, mass-produced limbs. They have no relationship to the
shape of the lost limb, and in no way do they reflect the personality and creativity of the
wearer.
Until now.
Bespoke, based in San Francisco, is transforming the world of prostheses through 3D
printing. Instead of a generic limb – a leg, an arm – Bespoke takes a 3D scan of the
person’s mirror limb to recreate an individual’s own shape. Then the industrial designers
work with the patient to figure out how to reflect the patient’s personality in the design.
The result? A Porsche, says founder Scott Summit, rather than the equivalent of a
vacuum cleaner. One prosthesis, for instance, is a complicated continuation of the
patient’s tatoo. Another may involve leather, or metal printed in the shape of lace. One
reflects the wearer’s Harley. With the advent of inexpensive 3D printing, there’s little
limit to the design.
And it’s a limb that, as one athlete said, allows him to feel his leg in space in a way he
hadn’t been able to do since losing it years before. He can now play soccer again. “It’s
like recapturing a memory,” describes Summit.
Another customer says she now proudly shows off her new limb in mini-skirts – for the
first time in eight years - rather than hiding it discretely under pants. Soldiers, athletes,
artists have a personalized work of art that gives them confidence and improves their
movement in the world.
And 3D printing – advances in technology and the resulting reduction in cost - is making
this entire individualized process possible for less than the cost of traditional prostheses.
Though Bespoke is based in California, little happens there. I asked Summit about the
scenes that I’d be able to get with him; he told me that I could meet with him and a new
client in the Boston/New York/DC area (perhaps even a veteran at Walter Reed in DC,
which would be great), as he takes a 3D scan of the client’s limb. In that manner, I could
also get immediate personal stories from the client, and then hopefully follow up once the
prosthesis is complete.
The printing itself happens in North Carolina, so I could get that process taped if there’s
any sound (though I’m not sure there is). In any case, I could have someone walk around
with a computer or phone, just so I could get a sense of what it all looks like. I’ll also
want a scene with someone who’s wearing one of the prosthetics, someone who can take
it off, show it to me, describe it, explain how it reflects him or her. And I’ll be able to get
the sound of this person moving around his/her normal life.
The story will be rich in personal stories: Summit himself has great stories about why he
started this company with an orthopedic surgeon and what he hopes to do, and the clients
will be able to talk about the design process, about the look of the limb, about the way it’s
affected their lives.
Summit was interviewed as part of longer Kojo Nnamdi show back in 2010, and his
company was included in a NYTimes article last September about 3D printing, but there
hasn’t been any NPR piece about Bespoke.
At its core it’s obviously a technology/science story as well as a design one, and I think it
perfectly fits your ‘science and creativity’ series. What do you think?
The Poison Squad: A Chemist’s Quest for Pure Food, Sruthi Pinnamaneni, PRX
The story:
http://www.prx.org/pieces/100067-the-poison-squad-a-chemists-quest-for-pure-foo
The pitch:
In the winter of 1902, twelve robust, young men in suits gathered in the basement of a
government building in Washington DC. Waiters served them dinner prepared by chefs,
courses like chipped beef and applesauce, served on fine china. The room and board was
free. The men ate what was served, though they knew each course has been spiked with
a dose of some unnamed poison. They did this every day, three square meals a day, for
the next nine months.
The press took to calling them the “Poison Squad.” Harvey Washington Wiley, the
chemist who conceived this experiment, would go on to become the founding father of
the FDA and the "Watchdog of America's Kitchens." His fight for "pure food" would
span three vigorous decades, and he would take on tough opponents like Coca Cola or
sodium benzoate, losing more often than he won.
Based on the extensive Wiley papers at the Library of Congress as well as conversations
with living descendants of the Poison Squad, this is the story of a quaint and sadistic
human experiment--one that began in a government basement and continues on our
dinner plates today.
~ 7 minutes, documentary-style audio with narrative, mixed with archival readings.
Interviews and Sound:
Suzanne Junod, historian at the FDA
Melanie Cook, author of Pandora’s Lunchbox (Tape Sync)
Daughter of William O. Robinson of Falls Church, Va, one of the last surviving Poison
Squad members, lived until the age of 94. I’ve written to him and relatives asking for
William’s old notebooks and letters from him time in the squad.
Archival Material
Wiley’s copious notes from the time of the experiment
Washington Post articles about the Poison Squad
FDA oral histories pertaining to Wiley