Leslie Thompson

 RECENT AUDIO WORK

WRITING/EDITING:

NICHE TO MEET YOU
Leslie’s original show, Niche to Meet You, produces miniseries about little-known niche subcultures. The Santa Portrayal Artists 3-part story released in December 2024 and included a bonus episode of a host of Santas reading “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” that premiered on WPLN, Nashville Public Radio. LISTEN TO THE SERIES HERE.


CREATIVE PRODUCTION:
Malcolm Guite reading his latest article for Christianity Today

 
 

RADIO PRODUCTION:
Profile: Odessa Settles — WPLN This is Nashville
Odessa Settles comes from a family of musicians and activists. Recently retired after five decades as a neonatal nurse at Vanderbilt, she continues to perform with her group, The Settles Connection, for audiences across the country. On the episode, we talk with Settles about the philosophy behind her mission to heal, what music means to her, and how she chose to center everything she does from a place of love. Plus, she performs live for us in the studio.

Episode: Extraordinary Penpals — WPLN This is Nashville
In an age of digital communication, it’s a remarkable achievement to keep friendships alive through handwritten, mailed letters. As a result, pen pal friendships can have unique and extraordinary stories worth telling. Longtime Nashvillian Keely Scott kept a written relationship for over 30 years with an eccentric Manhattan artist, starting when she was a second grader in Texas. The story of their relationship is marked by moments in Keely’s own life and contains beautiful stories of friendship. Not surprisingly, Keely is passing this legacy onto her daughter, who now has her own faraway pen pal.


 The Blue Nuns Need an Elevator

A multimedia story in three parts about Sister Mary Theo and her order of Nigerian nuns running a crisis pregnancy center in Illinois.
They’re taking people to God, it’s just…they need an elevator.

Project originally released on Substack and streaming on podcast platforms

PART 1: Meet Sister Theo
The Blue Nuns Need an Elevator is a story about an order of Nigerian nuns and their attempt to run a pregnancy center out of a dilapidated hospital in Illinois. Meet Sister Theo, the runaway, flying nun.
READ & LISTEN ON SUBSTACK | LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

PART 2: Fish Not Necessary
Sister Theo makes a comparison to Jonah. Is it an accurate one?
READ & LISTEN ON SUBSTACK | LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

PART 3: Elevator as Protest
"Let the excellence of your work be your protest.”
READ & LISTEN ON SUBSTACK | LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN ON SPOTIFY