• The Watcher on the Wall
    Sep 17 2024

    Alek and Doug are back (as is Doug's voice) to discuss the upcoming launch of Watershed Voice's new website, the importance of maintaining editorial independence and practicing watchdog journalism, and the news magazine's ongoing need for financial support.

    The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Appassionato” by Noto. You can support Keep Your Voice Down and Watershed Voice with a donation here.

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    37 mins
  • The things I could get done with a trained hawk
    Sep 11 2024

    Kalamazoo-based creative Marcel Fable Price drops by Keep Your Voice Down to promote his book "New American Monarch," and perform an excerpt from the title ahead of its October 8 release. Alek, Doug, and Fable also settle the Chicago deep dish versus New York style pizza debate, discover the link between Fable's love of nature and Louis Armstrong, and discuss the myriad of ways one can process trauma and grief.

    You can pre-order "New American Monarch" on Fable's website, and find anything else Fable related here.

    The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “war in my head” by messwave. You can support Keep Your Voice Down and Watershed Voice with a donation here.

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    52 mins
  • Frank Stanko
    Aug 19 2024

    Alek and Doug are joined by Watershed Voice staff writer Frank Stanko for his long overdue Keep Your Voice Down debut. The trio discuss Samwise Gamgee and the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, Frank's journey from Michigan to North Dakota and back again, the challenges, rewards, and current state of journalism, and Frank's passion for theatre.

    Alek also promised a link to that TikTok personality who perfectly melds NPR stylings with the likes of Lil' Jon, so here it is.

    The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Mama Knows” by Gaela Braun. You can support Keep Your Voice Down and Watershed Voice with a donation here.

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    54 mins
  • Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this (pay)wall
    May 31 2024

    In true Watershed Voice fashion the Keep Your Voice Down (wrecking) crew brings the news in this week's episode. Doug and Alek discuss the fourth annual Artist Showcase lineup announcement slated for next week, the Huss Project Farmer's Market that kicks off on Saturday, June 1 (according to Doug's Fitbit), and the official end to Watershed's paywall, making content accessible to all regardless of financial circumstance.

    The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Miami Beach” by Cosmonkey. You can support Keep Your Voice Down and Watershed Voice with a donation here.

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    32 mins
  • Our Gap Year
    May 16 2024

    Doug and Alek dusted off their mics and got back into the game this week after nearly five months away, explaining where they’ve been, why it’s been so long, and what not to do when it comes to retrieving DoorDash orders or cleaning up dog pee.

    The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Take It to the Top” by Orrin. You can support Keep Your Voice Down and Watershed Voice with a donation here.

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    44 mins
  • Holiday Special
    Dec 20 2023

    Hosts Alek Haak-Frost and Doug Sears Jr. are joined by Watershed Voice's resident holiday expert Steph Hightree for a very special episode of Keep Your Voice Down. After a brief NewsMatch update, the greatest trio since Garfield, Holland, and Maguire discuss elves on shelves, new and old traditions, the legitimacy of ham, Christmas cats, their favorite holiday films, and more. So grab your egg nog and glorified rice because it's about to get real — festive.

    The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Jingle Bells — 8Bit Version” by Kashido. You can support Keep Your Voice Down and Watershed Voice with a donation here.

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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Matt Erspamer
    Nov 22 2023

    Keep Your Voice Down Presents: This interview with Matt Erspamer, a journalist, copy writer, and film and television critic, who also happens to have went to Central Michigan University with hosts Alek Haak-Frost and Doug Sears, Jr.The three CMU journalism school alums discuss a new partnership between Matt and Watershed Voice, the pros and cons of streaming services acting as movie studios, the origin of Matt's passion for cinema, and why only one of them is currently practicing journalism.

    Keep an eye out for Matt's upcoming film and television reviews on Watershed Voice, and feel free to subscribe to The Normal Newsletter to read all of the reviews Matt doesn't publish here.

    The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “Billy Billy” by Yarin Primak. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

    Sign-up for our free newsletter to receive award-winning journalism to your inbox Monday through Friday.

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    45 mins
  • Blake Alford
    Oct 20 2023

    On this week's episode of Keep Your Voice Down, Alek and Doug are joined by Washington-based hip hop producer and artist Blake Alford. The Anderson, Indiana native talks about his latest project Domino Effect, and the added effort that went into producing the album's first single, Oxygen, which is set to drop on November 10.

    The trio also discuss how Blake has evolved as an artist, why community and collaboration are vital to any creative process, and answer the question on everyone's mind, "what kind of music does Alek listen to when playing video games?"

    You can find Blake (93 Energy) on Instagram, Bandcamp, and SoundCloud, pre-order and pre-save his upcoming single Oxygen on Spotify before its release next month, and support his art with a donation on Venmo at Blake-Alford-2.

    The show’s theme is “Howling at the Moon” by D Fine Us, and this week’s outro music is “City Stroll” by 93 Energy. You can support Keep Your Voice Down with a donation here.

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    46 mins