Tag Archives: media studies

Podcasting’s Obsession with Obsession (Neil Verma)

Today we discuss how narrative podcasts work, the role they’ve played in American culture and how they’ve shaped our understanding of podcasting as a genre and an industry. Neil Verma’s new book, Narrative Podcasting in an Age of Obsession, offers a … Continue reading →

From HAL to SIRI: How Computers Learned to Speak (Benjamin Lindquist)

Learn how computers learned to speak with computer historian Benjamin Lindquist. Ben tells the the fascinating backstory to HAL 9000 and the strange the analog history of digital computing. Continue reading →

Noise and Information in the Office (Joseph L. Clarke)

Ever wonder who’s to blame for the noise and distraction of the open office? Architectural historian Joseph L. Clarke has answers! Theories of acoustic communication accidentally inspired the sonic disaster of the open plan. Continue reading →

Words and Silences: The Thomas Merton Hermitage Tapes

Musician and sound artist Brian Harnetty breathes new, musical life into the analog meditations of 60s Catholic mystic Thomas Merton. Continue reading →

Bonus Episode: Jonathan Sterne [excerpt]

Today we feature an excerpt from our nearly 2-hour bonus episode for Patrons. In the full interview from last season’s episode “Dork-o-Phonics,” Jonathan Sterne discusses topics such as the early days of sound studies, how his upbringing and a music school rejection led him to sound, his illness and vocal impairment, and a lot of fascinating ideas about voice, media, disability, and more. Continue reading →

In One Ear, Out The Other (Jacob Danson Faraday On Cirque du Soleil)

On today’s show, we address a performer’s nightmare—the nightmare of not being able to hear yourself onstage. My guest is ethnomusicologist Jacob Danson Faraday, who takes us behind the scenes of the famed Cirque du Soleil to learn how even … Continue reading →

Awfully Viral (Paula Harper on Will Robin’s Sound Expertise)

Will Robin interviews Dr. Paula Harper about her work on viral music videos and taste, specifically that terrible Rebecca Black video “Friday” that’s probably still rattling around in some dark recess of your brain. Continue reading →

Voices Pt. 3: Dork-o-phonics (Jonathan Sterne)

Jonathan Sterne is one of the most influential scholars working on sound and listening. His 2003 book, The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction, had a formative influence on the then-nascent field of sound studies. His 2012 book, MP3: The Meaning of a Format, was both a fascinating cultural history and a deep meditation… Continue reading →

Lightning Birds (Jacob Smith)

Today we present the first episode of Jacob Smith’s new eco-critical audiobook, Lightning Birds: An Aeroecology of the Airwaves. In this audio-only book, Smith uses expert production to craft a wildly original argument about the relations between radio and bird … Continue reading →

City of Voices (Shannon Mattern)

This episode we have a single longform interview with a media scholar of note–The New School’s Shannon Mattern. We have teamed up with Mediapolis, a journal that places urban studies and media studies into conversation with one another, to interview … Continue reading →