Larry Massett was a masterful radio artist. A producer’s producer, who led listeners into unexpected worlds and influenced so many in public radio and beyond. The Kitchen Sisters were fortunate to work with him on our NPR series Lost & Found Sound and Soundprint. He was a friend and colleague.

We learned of Larry’s passing last spring on Transom.org, the premiere site for producers to come together, share their work, and access the latest tools and advice. 

It was there that we found a “Requiem for Larry Massett” created by Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices. We asked Barrett if he’d help produce an audio piece and bring it to air. He said yes. Transom said yes. And all of the producers who offered their memories said yes. And so, yes!

The Kitchen Sisters Present: “A Requiem for Larry Massett” 

Featuring excerpts from some of Larry Massett’s iconic radio works including: Listen Up: Piano Down the Stairs, A Trip to the Dentist, Helium Filled Astronaut, Death in Venice, The Road, Solidad, Apache Elder and more. 

With remembrances from Larry’s friends and colleagues: Jay Allison, Art Silverman, Bob Boilen, Rob Rosenthal, Joe Frank, Jesse Boggs, Katie Davis, Erica Heilman, Susan Stamberg, Keith Talbot, Robin Wise

Special thanks to Transom, Hearing Voices, NPR, Soundprint, Jake Fleming, The Shed Studio. And thanks to: Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities. 

The Kitchen Sisters Present is produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Nikki Silva & Davia Nelson) with Nathan Dalton and Brandi Howell. We’re part of Radiotopia from PRX, a curated network of podcasts created by independent producers.

Current, May 27, 2025 (excerpt)
Influential Radio Producer Larry Massett dies at 80
by Art Silverman, Former Senior Producer, NPR  

Larry Massett, a producer whose imaginative work left a lasting imprint on public radio, died in his sleep April 23 in Savannah, Ga.‬ He was 80.

Massett’s musical background infused his work with a sensibility few could replicate. He earned a reputation for surprise and delight in the public radio community. An accomplished, conservatory-trained pianist and composer, his work incorporated music, humor and sound elements that transformed his stories into sonic adventures‬.

His first public radio work was in the late 1970s in partnership with Jesse Boggs and Jay Allison on a segment called Listen Up. 

It was NPR producer Keith Talbot who first brought Massett into the National Public Radio fold. The two collaborated on an hourlong feature for the program Options titled “Neurotica.” All Things Considered brought a portion of that production to its evening show in the form of “A Trip to the Dentist,” in which Massett lets a dentist examine his never-well-tended teeth. For decades, Massett contributed features to NPR programs and wrote original music scores for NPR’s “Radio Experience” series.

In 1983, he traveled to China and Japan for NPR’s now-defunct Educational Services department. The resulting series earned him the Major Armstrong Award, named after the inventor of FM radio, Edwin Howard Armstrong. He traveled extensively to create radio stories. including visits to Sri Lanka, to Romania with poet Andrei Codrescu, and a U.N.-funded trip to Nepal in 1980.

With Allison, Massett co-founded and hosted the Soundprint documentary series, winning the AAAS Science Journalism Award and International Radio Festival Silver Medal. He was a member of the team that produced The DNA Files, which won Peabody and duPont-Columbia Awards. He served as senior editor of the Peabody Award–winning series Hearing Voices.

Funding for The Kitchen Sisters Present… comes from The National Endowment for the Arts, Every Page Foundation, The Fertel Foundation, The Robert Sillins Family Foundation and Listener Contributions to The Kitchen Sisters Productions.