WFIU is airing a 13-part podcast series, “The Ernie Pyle Experiment!,” based on the archives of the Ernie Pyle collection at the Lilly Library at IU.
The first episode is available online. The next episodes are set to be released April 18, May 9, May 30, June 20, July 11 and Aug. 1. They will also be aired on WFIU on Sundays at 1 p.m. from June 28 to Aug. 2.
The audio drama begins in spring 1936, chronicling Pyle’s pre-World War II writing as a traveling columnist for the Scripps-Howard Newspaper. Each episode begins with Pyle working on a specific column and ends with Michael Brainard, the voice of Pyle, reading the article aloud.
Brainard is the writer, director and co-executive producer of “The Ernie Pyle Experiment!” He decided to write about the lesser-known part of Pyle’s life before World War II when he traveled the country with his wife, Jerry. Brainard said he thinks Pyles' pre-war writing is some of his best work.
“When you look at his writing, you realize that not only was the guy well-taught,” Brainard said. “He just had a talent, an inimitable talent.”
Brainard’s fascination with Pyle began when he was working as an actor in New York City in 1989. He said he was an avid reader because he did not have a lot of money to entertain himself at the time.
“It's one of those stories where I put my hand on a book on the shelf to pull it off, and the one next to it got pulled out and fell to the floor,” Brainard said. “And that was an Ernie Pyle book.”
The podcast also draws attention to the relationship between Pyle and his wife. Brainard said Pyle's wife was an alcoholic who struggled with addiction.
“Of all 13 episodes, the dramatic arc is Ernie and Jerry– what they're going through,” Brainard said.
Russell McGee is the sound director, script editor and co-executive producer for the show. McGee said “The Ernie Pyle Experiment!” is less of a podcast and more of an audio drama because it depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to get the point across, not just someone speaking into a microphone.
McGee’s job includes creating realistic sound environments for each episode.
“I've been the one taking the lead as far as how all of the sound is actually shaped,” McGee said. “We make it sound realistic and not just that they're standing in front of a microphone.”
Sophomore Josh Hogan played Bobby Webster, someone Pyle runs into while on the road. Hogan appears in Episode 2, “That Long Sad Wind.”
"This was the first time I had done anything in voice recording,” Hogan said. “I have only done theater and at that point a little bit of film, but I did not like hearing my own voice.”
Hogan said he enjoyed the experience more than he thought he would and is looking for more projects with recordings and radio dramas.
“It was a very nerve-wracking experience beforehand going into this,” Hogan said. “But I will say that working with Michael and Russell on it was an incredible experience.”
