RadioLab - Moments

I am constantly astounded at both the quantity and quality of information that is available in the form of podcasts.  Trust me, Radio is back and in a major kind of way.  It exists in this sweet spot between Film and Literature.  It is linear and conversational and when done well, can be quite captivating.  It is often a little meatier than a film in that it requires you to actively participate in the mental creation of the world that is being described, but it is still a story that is being conveyed to you. It doesn’t require the kind of focus that a book does, so you can engage with it in a number of ways.  I listen to about 20 different shows on an average week.  I listen while driving in the car, while jogging, while editing.  I listen to everything from Harvard lectures to interviews with directors to economic analysis to the stories of This American Life.  Anything you could think to learn/hear about, it is there.  I promise.

All that to say, I promise that I am still working on a mixtape.  I want to make about 10 of them before I start releasing so that I can automate it and not have to worry about new content for a couple of months.

Well, one of my favorite shows is called RadioLab.  There really isn’t another show like it, in my opinion.  They work thematically, tackling the big ideas, and explore them from different scientific angles.  So a show on Morality, for instance, isn’t about religious construction of moral norms, per se, but rather about what science can tell us about how neurophysiology or brain chemistry or the structure of our blood vessels interacts with our concept of morality.  This show is constantly providing “ah ha” moments for me…

Well, they have just wrapped up a show called “After Life.”  Honestly it has been a bit of a departure from their normal show…slightly less science, more hypotheticals.  But nonetheless, a great show.  Well to follow up the show, they have been releasing RadioLab “Shorts” to further expand the ideas explored in the full program.  Well, they just wrapped up the week of talking about death with a short film (experiment) called “Moments” as a celebration of life (to end a week of death).  It is stunning.  Seriously.

Check it out:

You can check out RadioLab as well, both online here and in iTunes here