Radio Localized is my own weekly show on KBFG-FM that explores different places through music. Each episode focuses on a specific location, from New Orleans to Manchester, from rural Australia to urban New Jersey, and features songs connected to those places. Since listeners had no way to visualize where these places were, or understand the geographic and cultural context behind the music, I proceeded to build a site to support the show.
RadioLocalized.com is a Drupal-powered companion web site that transforms the radio show into an interactive experience. For each episode, the site displays a map showing the locations referenced in the songs, along with details about each place and the music connected to it.
The Approach
Rather than build in isolation, I worked collaboratively with AI as a coding partner to move quickly and efficiently. Using my years of Drupal and web development experience to guide the architecture and decision-making, I was able to:
- Design a data workflow that syncs directly from Google Sheets (where I manage show data) into Drupal, eliminating manual entry and keeping information current
- Define entity relationships that connect songs to episodes to places to artists, creating a flexible system that could grow with the show
- Plan interactive features like clickable maps, expandable accordions, and timestamped audio that enhance the listening experience
- Solve real problems as they arose — recovering lost data, securing sensitive credentials, debugging unexpected behavior
This wasn’t a theoretical exercise; It’s a working tool for a real radio show with a real audience. It demonstrates the ability to understand a problem deeply, make sound technical decisions, and deliver a maintainable solution.
