Tune into the final season of Sunflower Story Hour!
Photo courtesy of Giulyana Gamero
On the local radio waves of SUNY Geneseo’s college radio station, 89.3 WGSU, you may have heard the premiere of the latest and last season of Sunflower Story Hour, “Cricket and the Circus.” If not, it is not too late to catch up! Sunflower Story Hour is streamable on Spotify at Sunflower Story Hour and on Youtube at 89.3 WGSU. This season of Sunflower Story Hour has also just begun, leaving plentiful opportunities to catch (or listen) up; its first episode aired this past Monday, Apr. 6, 2026.
This writer for The Lamron had the opportunity to sit down with the creator and author of Sunflower Story Hour, Giulyana Gamero. Gamero first began writing in makeshift books made from stapled notebook paper, with her saying, “I’ve always loved creating little worlds.” Her lifelong passion for writing turned into Sunflower Story Hour during her time at SUNY Geneseo. Inspired by the world around her while writing the series, Gamero overall hopes to “learn how to make [her] writing more adaptable to other formats.” Gamero’s favorite part, besides having the creative liberty to push into different genres while writing Sunflower Story Hour, lies in this season, “tak[ing] place in a world [she’s] been building for a while, so it’s been very fun to explore just one slice of that.”
For anyone unfamiliar with the medium of audio drama, Gamero explained that it can be thought of as “TV but without any of the visuals, just sound effects, a full voice cast, and a storyline.” Each season of the series has different storylines and characters, though Gamero says that “the stories have become more linear” from the original “choose your own adventure” approach. This season, in Gamero’s words, follows the story of “humanity’s very last circus troupe in a world of monsters and a highly confidential piece of tech that just so happens to fall into their hands.”
The production of the paranormal audio drama’s series finale includes 23 voice actors “plus [their] beloved music composer, Chuck Fantauzzo,” Gamero says. One of these 23 actors, Antonio Reinehr Souza, is the voice behind the character Bingo. In conversation with Reinehr Souza, he expressed his wish that students “know about the passion and effort that went into producing each and every season of the show. I want them to see the talent in every aspect of it, from production and script writing to voice acting and sound design.” Additionally, Gamero hopes that listeners will enjoy the story, but also think “about their own curiosities and experiences in the world,” since the content of the fictional story “doesn’t mean we can’t draw from [it]... and apply it to the things we’re curious about in our own life!”
In discussion with both Gamero and Reinehr Souza, they shared their favorite parts of Sunflower Story Hour. Gamero mentioned seeing people’s response to each episode, the memories made behind the scenes, and “knowing that the voice cast feels rewarded and feels empowered.” Reinehr Souza concurs with the latter, saying, “For someone who wants to work with voice acting, having the chance to play one of the main characters was extremely fun and meaningful to me personally.”
While “Cricket and the Circus” will be the last season of Sunflower Story hour because Gamero is graduating, there is still plenty of time to catch up and listen in. Gamero “encourage[s] everyone to give it a good chance—even if you’re not the audio drama type of person.” Make sure to also keep an ear to the ground (or the radio waves) for the announcement of the behind-the-scenes documentary filmed by Sunflower Story Hour’s cinematographer, Gianna Bolognino. You will have the unique opportunity to see what Reinehr Souza says is an “incredibly fun and unique” experience of students collaborating to produce the audio drama, “particularly due to the creative and self-run nature of the project.” Follow their Instagram at @sunflowerstoryhour for updates, and tune in Monday, Apr. 13 at 8:30 p.m. at 89.3 WGSU to hear the second episode of the series finale!