Our Times
Episode Two
Our Times is a news magazine program produced by the Video Magazine Storytelling class in the Journalism Department of Boston University. In the second episode, Kaito Au observes what’s going on in Boston’s R&B music scene; Claire Law records the beginning of a long journey for the historically polluted Neponset River, which was recently determined eligible for federal funding to test and clean its water quality; Eliza Billingham examines what role the brain plays in the punches, kicks, takedowns, and elbow strikes of the ancient martial art of Sanda; and Charles Taylor has a dispatch from Narragansett Bay where he found an old man sailing on the sea.
Kaito Au
Love, Joy, and R&B
Kaito Au is a senior majoring in journalism. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he is a music lover, especially R&B. Kaito takes his camera into Boston’s R&B scene and talks with up and coming R&B artists about their lifelong passion for R&B.
Claire Law
The Hidden River Awaits
Our Times Reporter Claire Law is a journalism student at Boston University with experience creating print and multimedia content. She is interested in covering stories on the local level, particularly about equity for communities of color. Law also likes covering human interest stories, and is the features editor at BU’s student newspaper, the Daily Free Press.
In her segment, Law records the beginning of a long journey for the historically polluted Neponset River, which was recently determined eligible for federal funding to test and clean its water quality. Advocates from surrounding communities such as Dorchester, Hyde Park, Mattapan and Milton, hope the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency includes them throughout the Superfund process.
Eliza Billingham
Mental Battles
A grad in the Department of Journalism grad program, Eliza Billingham has covered stories ranging from food insecurity and public infrastructure to stand-up comedy and nudist footraces. Before getting her master’s in journalism from Boston University, she studied Christian theology and Ancient languages at Wheaton College (IL), then lived in Hanoi, Vietnam for two years.
In Episode 2, Billingham introduces Joshua Bartholomew, a national champion in the ancient martial art of Sanda, who is working to keep the sport alive at Redline Fight Sports in Cambridge, MA. A full-time educator, Bartholomew consistently motivates his students to develop their mind into their best weapon.
Charles Taylor
The Seafarer
Charles Taylor is a videographer and occasional reporter based in Newport, Rhode Island. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor’s degree in Film and English, he decided to pursue documentary filmmaking while studying for a Master of Science in Journalism at Boston University. For Our Times, Charles documented aging Newport sailor Bill Steel’s sailing season coming to an end.