The greatest stories about sound

audio rabbit holes, riding the rails, the perfect strawberry, a better 2030, police surveillance, rethinking ambition, rip to these inventors.

Do you ever listen to a podcast and think “f**k, I’m so damn inspired by their creativity. They’re making it seem effortless. I want to be this good at something. Anything!” I get that feeling a lot. And I love it. I love the kick of inspiration and aspirations, and then I carry on listening to this great work. And I’m so thankful it exists. That’s my 1am thought after watching a recording of a This American Life (TAL) live event. Something about watching Ira Glass perform a story from TAL at the beginning of the video was like seeing behind the scenes, but in a way that was both raw and expertly practiced. Thank you to Eric Johnson for sharing the link in his newsletter!

There’s another show that frequently gives me that burst of awe and I’d be remiss not to dedicate some space to it in this newsletter.

Twenty Thousand Hertz is the perfect combination of curiosity-fueled rabbit holes and exceptional production. The team behind the show are masters of sound design and their fascinations usually stem from a sound or sound-related topic, but actually tell broader stories about human experiences. It makes me think about even the most mundane sounds in a whole new way. This show blows my mind, delights my ears, and often warms my heart. Beyond the incredible stories and sounds, the art they have for each episode is ALWAYS perfect. You can appreciate the art on their website.

If you haven’t listened before, or even if you have, here are 5 of my favourite episodes so far.

1. Ted Lasso’s Dark Forest (transcript)

2. Mind the Gap (transcript)

3. Handbook for Sonic Happiness (transcript)

4. Blind Sports (transcript)

5. TikTalk (transcript)

Honestly, this was so hard to narrow down to just five. I hope you’ll scroll through their archive and find more that you might enjoy!

On to the podstack of the week!

City of the Rails - I've Gone and Made a Fool of Everyone

City of the Rails is a mother’s journey to find her daughter and understand this world she’s become a part of – life riding the rails. The first episode gripped me with the storytelling. When you hear about a daughter disappearing and a mother trying to find her, you might assume you’ll get a true crime retelling of a missing person case. But this first episode hooked me because of how much heart it has. It isn’t told the way I assumed it would be. Danelle Morton tells this story with so much care and honest curiosity. She weaves the story together by including the past, about what her daughter Ruby’s life was like before she left, with the present as she researches everything she can about the rails. You meet Mike, someone who has hopped trains for a while and knows this world very well. He even rides wearing an all Gucci outfit but in contrast describes how the struggle of the rails makes you appreciate mundane things once you’re off the train. If you liked All Relative: Defining Diego, I think you’ll like this. History of the rails, stories from different people who have ridden the railroads, and Danelle’s introspection about why Ruby chose to go.

Little America - Engineering the Perfect Strawberry (With Hannah Kingsley-Ma)

Different choice! An AppleTV+ podcast? Sure! I first listened to the Avery Trufelman episode, who is surprised? No one! Of course I did. And of course it was so great! It’s the story of a man who officiates quick weddings in NYC. After that one, I decided I needed to listen to more and I’m so glad I did. The tale of the perfect strawberry is about both the often unimpressive produce in the U.S. and the power of food-linked memories. The perfect strawberries that Hiroki Koga started producing in the U.S. are almost like a way of staying connected to his youthful memories from Japan. These strawberries don’t come cheap, there’s a detailed and precious process needed to grow them. You learn about Hiroki’s experiences with food when he was younger and why it made him want to perfect strawberries in America. It can feel technical at times, but there’s so much heart behind the reactions to these strawberries. It made think about my own strawberry-themed food memories, especially when producer/host Hannah Kingsley-Ma taste tested the strawberries.

The Light Ahead - An Extraordinary Ordinary Day in the Life of Rakia McDowell

The Light Ahead is a fiction podcast that imagines what the world could be like in the year 2030 if we had an economy that actually cared about everyone. The show combines thoughts and theories from “next-economy” leaders and scripts from award-winning screenwriters. Together they re-imagine what this future economy could look like and transport you to that world. You also hear from the visionaries and screenwriters about how they brought the idea to life. In this episode, you learn about what it could be like if we could actually choose to live our lives the way we want to and how a community of people living like that would function. What would a truly cooperative and supportive community look like? What would need to change for that to be possible? Rakia has her ideally balanced life that includes limits on meetings, meaningful interactions that work for her, and no longer lives with the expectation that you can get same hour delivery on anything and everything. Each episode is different enough that I don’t know exactly what to expect, but I know I’m going to a fascinating other reality. What could be possible if we stopped believing that our current ways are inevitable and took actions to make the world we imagine a reality? I also love the intro song! (transcript)

Rights Back At You - Facial Recognition and Policing Protesters

Rights Back At You launched this week and they’re critically examining anti-Black racism, policing and surveillance. Even though the first episode tells a story that happened in New York City, the show is actually looking at Canada. It examines the racism that still very much exists and is centering and platforming those working against white supremacy and towards a better future for everyone. The level of facial recognition, surveillance and the ability to shut down a phone that you learn about through Derrick Ingram’s experience with the NYPD will hook you. As Derrick describes it “it really felt like, in retrospect, they were using every toy at their disposal and having fun”. It’s such a strong way to open the series because it proves just how much needs to be examined and questioned here. Host Daniella Barreto listens to Derrick recount his experience, and then speaks with experts about how these technologies work, how they are inherently racist because of how they’re developed, and why making them more accurate isn’t the solution. The connection between the technology and X-Men is one I didn’t see coming. The entire episode will grip you, but I think part of that comes from just how great the dynamic is between Daniella and Derrick. You can tell Daniella did an exceptional job of interviewing Derrick because of how comfortable and honest he is with her. I’ve already started the second episode and I’m ready for the rest of the series. (transcript)

Work Appropriate - What Happened To My Ambition? with Rainesford Stauffer

I really enjoy Anne Helen Petersen’s writing in her newsletter and naturally that style and tone carried over to her podcast Work Appropriate. The recent episode about ambition looks to change our relationship with this driving force we feel towards things. Is it a feeling you only apply to work? Or do you find yourself ambitious about things that are for fun or for pleasure? I think I can be ambitious about food and cooking sometimes, but I had never stopped to consider this idea of applying ambition to fun things. As they point out in this episode, that might be because of how tightly we asssociate ambition with a hustle mentality. I really like how Anne and her guest, Rainesford Stauffer, point out the difference between ambition and constantly chasing something down. It really hit when they said “catching up is a myth - the goalposts are always moving”. Contrary to popular belief, your ambition can be stop and go and that’s actually okay! The stereotypical perception of ambition is far too narrow minded. The listener questions really help give examples of applying this new approach to ambition and drive home how this mindset could work in different contexts. (transcript)

WikiListen - List of inventors killed by their own invention

No one said the life of an inventor was a safe one! When you think about it, there’s gotta be an inherent level of risk (to varying degrees) when you’re inventing something new because it’s just untested territory. What you don’t know could kill you? Or sometimes, just lead to unfortunate accidents. Either way, this list from WikiListen was equal parts entertaining and informative! The list is divided into different categories, from art to rocketry. Some will make you cringe and empathize, and others might make you laugh even if you feel bad (don’t worry, Victor laughs too).

More sweet treats

I’m throwing in some quick links to other things I enjoyed this week, mostly podcast related but I make no promises!

A collection of fun facts all acquired from listening to podcasts.

The sweetest podcast themed art.

If groundhogs told us the listening speed for the rest of winter and what’s the deal with groundhogs anyways?

My favourite podcast trailer I heard this week.

Thank you for reading! And thank you to everyone who has sent me recommendations to check out! If you listened to something this week that made your heart sing, your imagination wander, or your brain ponder, I’d love to hear about it!