Galen Koch is an audio producer, sound artist, and writer based in Portland, Maine. After graduating from Skidmore College and the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, she began working as a freelance journalist. Galen has produced stories for BBC World Service, NPR’s Morning Edition, The New York Times, and various nationally-syndicated podcasts. In 2017, she founded the community storytelling project The First Coast and began documenting the lives of coastal Maine residents.
As part of her work with The First Coast, Galen teaches radio storytelling at the College of the Atlantic and produces the podcast “From the Sea Up” for the Island Institute. She continues to work through those partnerships to create audio exhibits and immersive sound installations in rural Maine fishing towns. Galen is one of the cofounders of Maine Sound + Story.
Sonny Beal, a lobsterman on Beals Island, discusses his work with the greater lobstering community. Beal talks about the Lobstering Union, the Jonesport-Beals Co-op, and the Maine Lobster ...
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Steve Peabody, the Jonesport Lobster Co-op Manager, shares the changes he has seen in the industry from fisheries shifts to bait changes and what it is like to be a manager. He explains the idea of...
listen & learn moreIn this interview, Charlie Alley talks about the history of Jonesport, sounds that could be heard in the town when he was young, and notecards that he created to document the genealogy and ...
listen & learn moreZach Smith, a Jonesport born musician, talks about his life as one of the few openly gay men in the area. Smith talks about how his identity has influenced his music, how he prepares for drag ...
listen & learn moreTom Duym, from Lamoine, ME, shares his decade-long experience as an educator dedicated to supporting high school students from fishing backgrounds in developing skills and knowledge that are ...
listen & learn moreToby Stephenson, a boat captain for College of the Atlantic who lives in Ellsworth, ME, talks about his current role as well as the research he has conducted with students to determine the diets of...
listen & learn moreTim Sheehan a former teacher from Pembroke, ME, cofounded Gulf of Maine, Inc., a shellfish wholesaler. He talks about the innovative techniques he and his wife have used to recruit diggers and grow...
listen & learn moreRodman Sykes, a commercial fisherman from Point Judith, RI, begins his interview by talking about the changes in how young people get into the fishing industry. He focuses on how the advancement of...
listen & learn morePaul Anderson, a scientist and executive director for the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries from Winterport, ME, talks about the encouraging trend of collaboration between scientists and fishermen...
listen & learn moreMary Beth Tooley, an employee for O’Hara Corporations from Lincolnville, ME, talks about the looming issue of bait shortage and how it is affecting O’Hara’s business, her personal life, and ...
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