Radiolab: Podcasts

Jad and Robert: The Early Years

May 6, 2008 – 1:43 am

Ever wonder how Jad and Robert met? Well it all began with an everyday encounter where they discovered they both went to the same small liberal arts college in Ohio. For this week’s podcast, the guys go on stage at Oberlin College to tell the tale of their meeting and how they started tinkering around with tape to come up with the Radiolab you know today.

Vintage Radiolab alert! You’ll hear the very first piece Jad and Robert made together. It’s an audio-experiment called “Flag Day” that they submitted to This American Life. TAL’s Ira Glass and Julie Snyder phone in to share what they thought of it.

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By Lulu Miller | Also posted in Behind the Curtain, Listenables | Comments (11)

Pop Music

April 22, 2008 – 1:46 am

Why do some songs mercilessly stick in our heads and repeat themselves over and over? What makes these hooks so hooky? And how does a songwriter will a song forth from the ether? In this episode, nightmarish stories of musical hallucinations, songs that transcend language, and the triumphant return of the Elvis of Afghanistan.

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By Lulu Miller | Also posted in Listenables | Comments (15)

(So-Called) Life

April 8, 2008 – 1:32 am

What are the consequences when humans start playing with life? The human imagination has always dreamed up fantastic creatures, but now biotechnology is making it easier and easier for us to actually create forms of life that have never existed before. In this episode Radio Lab looks at the uneasy marriage between biology and engineering, and asks what counts as “natural?”

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By Lulu Miller | Also posted in Listenables | Comments (36)

War of the Worlds

March 25, 2008 – 1:09 am

An examination of the power of mass media to create panic. In Radio Lab’s very first live hour, we take a deep dive into one of the most controversial moments in broadcasting history - Orson Welles’ 1938 radio play about Martians invading New Jersey. And we ask: Why did it fool people then? And why has it continued to fool people since? From Santiago, Chile to Buffalo, New York to a particularly disastrous evening in Quito, Ecuador.

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By Lulu Miller | Also posted in Listenables | Comments (23)

Deception

March 10, 2008 – 8:43 pm

We look at lies, liars, and lie catchers, and ask: can you lead a life without deception? In this episode, we consult a cast of characters, from pathological liars to lying snakes to drunken psychiatrists, to try and understand the dark trait of deception.

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By Lulu Miller | Also posted in Listenables | Comments (39)

Laughter

February 25, 2008 – 6:01 pm

amanda/ flickr

We all laugh. But why? If you look closely, you’ll find that humor has very little to do with it. In this episode, we explore the power of laughter to calm us, bond us to one another, or to spread… like a virus. Along the way, we tickle some rats, listen in on a baby’s first laugh, talk to a group of professional laughers, and travel to Tanzania to investigate an outbreak of contagious laughter.

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By Lulu Miller | Also posted in Listenables | Comments (19)

Where are the new episodes?

February 25, 2008 – 2:08 pm

Flickr/Rock Alien

Is this what you’re wondering? We thought so. The season four shows will be available to download after they air in New York.

Here’s the full calendar for online downloads:
Laughter - February 26
Deception – March 10
War of the Worlds - March 24
(So Called) Life – April 7
Pop Music – April 21

On the above dates the shows will be available both on podcast and as downloadable mp3 on the episode page of radiolab.org.

“What if I want to listen to them in New York?” Well, that’s a good question too.

New York Air Dates:
February 22 – March 21
Special 5-Week Season of Radio Lab
Every Friday: 3pm on 93.9 FM / 8pm on AM 820
Via live webstream and on-demand at www.wnyc.org

March 17-21
Encore of all five episodes
Monday - Friday: 3pm on 93.9 FM
Via live webstream and on-demand at www.wnyc.org

Happy listening!

By Radiolab | Comments (4)

Our Podcast comes in all shapes and sizes

February 11, 2008 – 6:23 pm

Big and Small

Tuesday is Podcast Day. We’ve been getting some emails from some of you who are confused about the varying lengths of our podcasts… Some are long. Some are short. Fear not! There’s nothing wrong with your download. That’s the way it should be. Sometimes we podcast an entire hour-long episode. Sometimes we podcast a shorter piece that may only be 8 minutes or so. That’s just how we roll.

Up this week, Jad plays one of his favorite pieces of all time, “IF” by Sherre DeLys. You can sign up for our free podcast using Feedburner or just search for “Radio Lab” on your iTunes music store. Otherwise, take a listen to it right here!

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By Lulu Miller | Also posted in Listenables, Uncategorized | Comments (24)

Salle Des Departs

January 29, 2008 – 12:50 pm

Imagine that you’re a composer. Imagine getting the commission to write a song that will allow family members to face the death of a loved one. Well, composer David Lang had to do just that when a hospital in Garches, France, asked him to write music for their morgue, or “Salle Des Departs.”

What do you do? What should death sound like?

Producer Jocelyn Gonzales brings us this piece about David Lang and his commission for the “Salle Des Departs.”

Radiolab: Podcasts

May 6, 2008 – 1:43 am

April 22, 2008 – 1:46 am

April 8, 2008 – 1:32 am

March 25, 2008 – 1:09 am

March 10, 2008 – 8:43 pm

February 25, 2008 – 6:01 pm

February 25, 2008 – 2:08 pm

February 11, 2008 – 6:23 pm

January 29, 2008 – 12:50 pm

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