Kristen Squire's Blog

for the love of radio

February 15, 2011 at 2:14 pm (life as I know it, radio) (are you listening?, first world, is this thing on?, what the hell)

Over the last eight months or so, I have made it a habit to listen to podcasts while I work. Whether I was printing something or working mindlessly on the computer, I would plug myself into these stories that were being told on the radio. Granted, I wasn’t listening to anything live, as most of these programs aren’t available locally, but in essence, I was tapping into a nearly-extinct way to communicate.

All of these months, all of these stories that I have heard now… the hours upon hours of information I have been able to consume while my hands were busy with something else have shown me how valuable the old ways of telling stories are. Before anything else, before writing, even, people listened to stories. Poets memorized whole epic poems, reciting The Iliad before an audience. An entire work, with thousands and thousands of verses, recited night after night. That was their job.

It is amazing to think about this now. The only way for people to understand a story was to listen to it. There was no other way. And now, having experienced this, I am realizing the value in it. Listening forces one to hold on to multiple lines of thought, giving no convenient way to look back. Without the visuals, one is allowed to visualize what they want and forces one to really think for themselves.

Some of the programs are really informative. RadioLab, with Jad Abamunrad and Robert Krulwich, deals with science issues in a social way. They interview people who are involved with the issues they’re covering, as well as weave a story with natural progression throughout the episode. I have learned about diseases, peoples, places and scientific concepts I never knew existed before. Another information-based program is Stuff You Should Know. They take a topic and explain it in plain language in around 40 minutes. From the Black Plague to Munchausen Syndrom, Art Theft to the Mob, these guys cover anything and everything they’re curious about.

My particular favorite programs to listen to are the storytelling shows. Here are a few:

The Moth: This is a long-running live program that has the audience place their names into a hat to tell ‘stories without notes’ to an audience. The winner of a weekly show is chosen to be broadcast on the podcast. Sometimes they’re hilarious, sometimes I cry. But all are brilliantly told and are stories I can’t forget.

Risk!: Take The Moth, make it a themed hour-long episode with multiple stories and crank the rating up to NC-17 and you have Risk!. This show is hosted by Kevin Allison, a member of The State, a sketch comedy group out of New York City. From the looks of the first episode, it seemed like it was just an idea among friends to ‘tell stories you never thought you’d dare to share.’ Most of the stories are laden with swearing, sex and drugs, but they’re brilliantly told and the music is well-chosen. It feels like you’re sitting around with friends, trying to one-up one another with a funnier, weirder story.

Snap Judgment: ‘It’s that left, that right, jump! Or don’t… Storytelling with a beat.’ This is a newer NPR show hosted by the smooth-voiced Glynn Washington. These stories deal with a moment’s decision that changed the course of the person’s life, whether briefly or forever. They’re remixed with beats in the background, sound effects and commentary from the hosts. The stories, while not fall-over hilarious or soul-crushing sad, are completely engaging. They’re fantastic adventures that you can barely believe are real. Some of them have supernatural elements to them, those strange occurrences you can’t explain.

Standing boldly between storytelling and research-based is the long-running This American Life. Ira Glass presents two to 20 acts, with stories and documentaries researching specific subjects. There is a reason this show has been on WBEZ since 1995. It is thorough, indelicate and informative in the way it goes about looking for answers to specific questions. One of the first episodes was about gay men in straight marriages who cheat on their wives and never tell their children. Glass thew hard questions at the gentleman he was questioning and didn’t let him off the hook. It is a brilliant show that, while being an older show, doesn’t sell out for being popular.

I feel like these shows have helped me to continue learning while I am still out of school. I am able to listen for a long period of time without interruption and comprehend all of what was told to me as well as make connections in a way that I had some difficulty with before. I would often drift off and stop listening at certain points during lectures or conversations and I feel like it’s become easier to stay present.

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