Dead Air

In the control room of a Pittsburgh public radio station, producer Nora Whitfield has spent nine years shaping the voice that lulls late-night listeners to sleep. When station management adds a new co-host to boost ratings, Ramona Sutter arrives with unhurried confidence and an immediate spark with Nora's husband, Hugo. Nora hears every breath through her headphones and watches every glance through the glass. Rather than shut it down, she makes the attraction part of the format. After careful, honest negotiation among the three adults, the studio becomes the site of their private encounters once the mics go dead. Nora begins behind the board, then watches from the control room, and finally claims the guest chair only feet away. Ramona is made permanent on air and off it, and Nora keeps the seat that is hers. This is psychological cuckquean erotica centered on power, permission, and the deliberate choice to witness.