Radiolab

Screaming Into the Void


Listen Later

In August we performed a live taping of the show from a theater perched on the edge of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River, overshadowed by the wide open night sky. Three stories about voids. One about a fish that screams into the night – and the mystery of its counterpart that doesn’t. Another about a group of women who gazed at the night sky and taught us just how vast the universe is, and a third about a man who talk to aliens – and the people who tell him he’s putting human civilization at risk by doing so. Finally, we turn back to Earth with the help of a reading from Samantha Harvey’s hit novel Orbital (https://zpr.io/RNi4sY2JVKxK) performed by the artist, actor and podcast host Helga Davis (https://zpr.io/TKGuzzDFnVjN). What does it mean to stand on the edge of a void, and what happens when you scream into it, or choose not to?

This episode was originally produced and developed in front of a live audience by Little Island, Producing Artistic Director Zack Winokur, Executive Director Laura Clement. Special thanks to our voice actors Davidé Borella, Jim Pirri, Armando Riesco, and Brian Wiles with casting by Dann Fink. And Anna von Mertens, author of Attention Is Discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt (https://zpr.io/j7ZYKX8wSCYL).

EPISODE CREDITS: 
Reported by - Lulu Miller, Matt Kielty and Latif Nasser
Produced by - Pat Walters and Matt Kielty
with help from - Jessica Yung, Maria Paz Gutierrez and Rebecca Rand
Original music from - Mantra Percussion
Sound design contributed by - Matt Kielty and Jeremy Bloom
with mixing help from - Jeremy Bloom
Fact-checking by - Diane Kelly and Natalie Middleton
and Edited by  - Pat Walters

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Books - 

Attention Is Discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt (https://zpr.io/j7ZYKX8wSCYL) by Anna von Mertens

Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

RadiolabBy WNYC Studios

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

42,131 ratings


More shows like Radiolab

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

91,112 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

21,996 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,103 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,470 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,686 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,660 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,741 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,233 Listeners

Invisibilia by NPR

Invisibilia

21,637 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,180 Listeners

Snap Judgment by Snap Judgment and PRX

Snap Judgment

11,609 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,180 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,338 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,362 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,232 Listeners

Dolly Parton's America by WNYC Studios & OSM Audio

Dolly Parton's America

16,364 Listeners

The Other Latif by WNYC Studios

The Other Latif

471 Listeners

Radiolab for Kids by WNYC

Radiolab for Kids

1,069 Listeners