A Note from Ira Glass: Support the Sisters

Dear Friends,

For all of us doing documentaries on public radio, Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva
are iconic figures. The Senior Producer of the radio show I run, This American Life, got into radio because she heard one of their stories over two decades ago. She’d never heard anything like it.

The Kitchen Sisters’ stories are intimate and lively and often joyful in a way few things on the radio ever achieve. These are stories about everyday people, done with such originality and charm. There’s no other word for it. I admire their whole mission and the expert way they pull it off.

There’s also a side of their mission which is about preserving and remembering various histories and subcultures. That’s obvious, but just to say. There’s a anthropological side to their documenting.

Everything they do reaches millions of people over radio and internet, but unlike
This American Life, which has underwriters and donations and plenty of money as a result, what Nikki and Davia do is hard to fund. They’re making stories that are much more labor-intensive than the average news story, but they’re paid by NPR at the rates that normal reporters on quick-turnaround stories get.

Which means they need money. It’s built into their deal. I hope you help them with your support.

Thanks and happy holidays,
Ira Glass