WINNETKA: A Memoir podcast

WINNETKA: A Memoir

WINNETKA is a ten-episode memoir created and produced by award-winning actress Jessica Harper, with original music. The podcast features the voices of the Harper family, who share in the telling of their remarkable story. WINNETKA tells of six Harper kids coming of age in Eisenhower’s post-war America, in a Chicago suburb called Winnetka. The siblings are buffeted by the rages of a father with PTSD, challenged by life in a big family, rocked by social change in the sixties, and ultimately stunned by a long held family secret.

WINNETKA is a ten-episode memoir created and produced by award-winning actress Jessica Harper, with original music. The podcast features the voices of the Harper family, who share in the telling of their remarkable story. WINNETKA tells of six Harper kids coming of age in Eisenhower’s post-war America, in a Chicago suburb called Winnetka. The siblings are buffeted by the rages of a father with PTSD, challenged by life in a big family, rocked by social change in the sixties, and ultimately stunned by a long held family secret.

 

#20

10. Corrections

While going through our father’s files after the funeral, Sam finds stunning information a... more

01 Apr 2019

18 MINS

18:39

01 Apr 2019


#19

Bonus Episode: A Preface To Revelation

Dad's presence would be more keenly felt after the revelations that followed his funeral..... more

28 Mar 2019

11 MINS

11:23

28 Mar 2019


#18

9. The Ice Storm

I regret missing Woodstock, and resolve to tune in, turn on and drop out. Soon, all but on... more

25 Mar 2019

32 MINS

32:32

25 Mar 2019


#17

Bonus Story: Drug Reboot

You really want to smoke pot? It's strong as f**k these days!

21 Mar 2019

06 MINS

06:56

21 Mar 2019


#16

8. Strange Land

Just as Papa Harper dies of alcoholism, Dad gets promoted and moves his reluctant family t... more

18 Mar 2019

32 MINS

32:09

18 Mar 2019


#15

Bonus Story: What We Wore

You could just hear their golf clubs rattle as their parents realized their daughters were... more

14 Mar 2019

05 MINS

05:15

14 Mar 2019


#14

7. Faith

JFK’s assassination in ‘62 marks a sea change. I lose faith, while big sister Diana finds ... more

11 Mar 2019

30 MINS

30:22

11 Mar 2019


#13

Bonus Story: Dancing School

I had crossed a threshold, and Mom was on the other side.

07 Mar 2019

05 MINS

05:17

07 Mar 2019


#12

6. Survival

By 1962, my little brothers emulate their father’s work ethic while they fear his unpredic... more

04 Mar 2019

28 MINS

28:57

04 Mar 2019


#11

Bonus Story: Colorado

As was customary in our family, I opted out of confrontation in favor of the harbor-resent... more

28 Feb 2019

06 MINS

06:49

28 Feb 2019


#10

5. The Grandfather Report

Mom comes from a long line of ministers, and the goodness persists in the Emery family. Th... more

25 Feb 2019

38 MINS

38:38

25 Feb 2019


#9

Bonus Story: Love and Crime

“I got interested in boys then. Not so much for romance as for a Billy surrogate, when he ... more

21 Feb 2019

06 MINS

06:43

21 Feb 2019


#8

4. Winnetka

In ‘56, we settle in Winnetka. When, in July, Mom gives birth to twin baby boys, Dad’s tem... more

18 Feb 2019

34 MINS

34:15

18 Feb 2019


#7

Bonus Story: Housework

“The trouble with being a stay-at-home mom, wasn’t that the work was so hard, but that it ... more

14 Feb 2019

05 MINS

05:51

14 Feb 2019


#6

3. Wishing

My twin brother Billy and I are close pals. In spite of our fear of our angry father, we e... more

11 Feb 2019

33 MINS

33:06

11 Feb 2019


#5

2. Mom and Dad

A Marine (Dad) and a nightclub singer (Mom) are married in 1946. By 1950 they live in a Ch... more

07 Feb 2019

30 MINS

30:11

07 Feb 2019


#4

Bonus Story: The Joke

“Memory is tricky after all. It can morph over time, and events get reimagined.”

04 Feb 2019

05 MINS

05:19

04 Feb 2019


#3

1. Introduction

My family and I attend Dad’s funeral in ’13. As I listen to my siblings’ eulogies that ext... more

04 Feb 2019

14 MINS

14:47

04 Feb 2019


#2

Trailer: The Unexpected

WINNETKA is a ten-episode memoir by actress Jessica Harper. She narrates her story of grow... more

28 Jan 2019

03 MINS

03:37

28 Jan 2019


#1

Introduction to WINNETKA

WINNETKA is a ten-episode memoir by actress Jessica Harper. It tells her story of growing ... more

05 Nov 2018

01 MINS

01:42

05 Nov 2018