The podcast from This American
Life, entitled, “I Was So High” is about the ins and outs of understanding that
there may and probably are people around you that are constantly under the
influence of a drug and you may never even realize it. It begins by talking about a man named Sean
Cole who had heard rumors about people working under the influence of cocaine
in the bars that he regularly attended in Toronto. They were curious to know more, so they set
up some anonymous interviews with people that fit the category. At the end of the interviews of the anonymous
people is when the music starts, and during speaking breaks and transitions
from interview to narration for example, the music continues and also continues
while the narrator speaks. During most
of the interviews of the anonymous people, the music cuts out completely in
order for the listener to be able to hear the response. The radio station interviewed people who
worked at bars, probably in their mid twenties, and asked about their
habits. The narrators also talked about
their own personal experiences with their own friends, stating that they had
found out years into a friendship that their friend was always high when they
were around them, and were shocked to find that out, because they were
convinced that their habits were just attributes to their “personality.” They also interviewed professionals about
drugs such as cocaine and marijuana to get the inside scoop about their
effects. They touched on all areas of
the topic, examining the people would display these habits.
The podcast from Radiolab,
entitled, “Haunted” started off differently than “I Was So High” from This
American Life. “Haunted” started out
with a very attention grabbing jingle and appropriate music to set the tone of
the topic. The narrators also introduced
themselves after that, which I liked because in This American Life, there was
no introduction of who the narrator was and I just kept hearing different
voices throughout the podcast. It’s very
important to inform your audience, especially when you are in radio for the
audience cannot physically see you, who is speaking so that they can put a name
to a voice. In terms of music, there was
none during the interviews at first, but then some was introduced at a light volume. It came in and out and was not continuous,
but I think they used the music in a natural, comical, and clever way. They fit the theme of the music with the
theme and tone of what was being said at the time. They told the story in a good, personal,
emotional way that grabbed my attention.
They introduced the interviewee and asked him about his past and did not
just jump into the story of the haunted house.
They made a real connection with the interviewee, which gave the
interview more substance. I also really
liked that the interviewer at one point appropriately brought a new feeling of
hope into the interview when the interviewee was talking about his deceased
parents. He picked up the mood and got
the interviewee back on track, but included just enough emotion to create the
powerful message that it did.
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