Episode 1 of Vocal Chords explores the idea that, as anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen says, to look at the voice is to look at what it means to be human, while New York vocalist Meredith Monk talks of singing as joining the world vocal family. Iarla O’Lionaird explores our journey of voice and sound and finds what unites us and divides us. Vocal Chords is the intellectual property of Athena Media Ltd and no production use can be made of the podcasts without the direct consent of the producers. www.vocalchords.ie