A computer learns to speak with emotion and conviction but lacks the ability to distinguish good ideas from absolute madness. And a man has a chance to work on a secret project involving millions of flying mammals that could put an end to World War II.

STORIES

Theodora

Making sense of the world is always a struggle.  And that's why, as far back as time has existed, some people have chosen to stand up in front of others and tells stories and share ideas that make sense of the chaos around us. We call them "orators" or "the ones who speak"  They turn the chaos into meaning and inspiration.

But there's a bad side of orators too—it's the snake oil salesmen....the buzzword charlatans...the intellectual xenomorphs who prey upon those who just want to find some deeper truths.

Producer Jeff Emtman is particularly sensitive to this dual nature of public speaking...he's got some of those darker traits himself.  So he developed a simple robot named Theodora who could speak to him about the highly porous barrier that separates inspiration and madness.

This piece comes to us from the podcast Here Be Monsters (HBM146: Theodora). Music by James Li, of Liance.  Album: This Painting Doesn't Dry

Theodora's also a Twitterbot. Read her latest meanderings on Twitter at @hypo_inspo.

The Other Secret Weapon

A young man has the chance to work on a very secret, very powerful weapon that could put an end to World War II. The project involves no toxins, no chemicals, no shrapnel and no bullets. Instead, the project involves lots and lots of flying mammals. Lots.

This story details a war situation involving both people and animals, sensitive listeners please be advised.

BIG thanks to Jack Couffer, who is now 97, and BIG love to the entire Couffer family.

Special thanks to producer Elizabeth Nakano & to Doctor Peter Kuznick from the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University.

The bat recordings were made for us by artist & composer Geneva Skeen. Learn more about Geneva’s work.

Produced by John Fecile, original score by Renzo Gorrio, sound design by Pat Mesiti-Miller, artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 12 - Episode 32

When Heidi Shin had her first baby, she took an entire year to care for her daughter full-time. For the most part, she loved it. But she also felt like she was losing part of herself to motherhood. So she decides to take a work trip to an island off the coast of South Korea. She comes away with an unexpected discovery about motherhood and herself.

Check out more of Heidi’s work. Listen to Heidi’s full story for PRI, Diving with the last generation of Korea’s Mermaids.

Produced by Heidi Shin and Shaina Shealy, original score by Renzo Gorrio

Artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 12 - Episode 31

The podcast The Turning from Rococo Punch and iHeartRadio tells the story of religious sisters who joined Mother Teresa’s order of nuns, but who eventually decided they had to leave. It asks, what is the line between devotion and brainwashing? Can you truly give yourself to God? If you make a lifelong vow, what does it mean to break it?

Produced by Erika Lantz, Elin Lantz Lesser, and Emily Forman. Editing by Rob Rosenthal. Digital production by Andrea Asuaje. Fact checking by Andrea López-Cruzado. Theme music by Matt Reed. Executive producers Jessica Alpert, John Perotti, and Katrina Norvell.

Find Mary Johnson’s memoir An Unquenchable Thirst here.

Listen to The Turning wherever you get podcasts. Find more information and pictures on Instagram @RococoPunch.

Season 12 - Episode 30

A woman in Veracruz, Mexico receives a map from a pair of anonymous strangers that leads her on a search to solve a mystery that’s haunted her for years. And a psychiatrist brings together three men who believe they are all Jesus Christ, hoping to cure them of their delusions.

STORIES

Map to the Disappeared

A woman in Veracruz, Mexico receives a map from a pair of anonymous strangers that leads her on a search to solve a mystery that’s haunted her for years.

This story includes descriptions of corpses, graves sites, and a brief mention of torture. Sensitive listeners, please be advised.

Thank you, Griselda Barradas, for sharing your story with us! Special thanks to journalist Felix Marquez for his assistance in producing this story and to actress Norma Yolanda Lopez.

Griselda is still a member of the group, El Solecito. They’ve just begun excavating a second mass grave in Veracruz and have so far found close to 50 bodies. Today there are more than 70 groups of parents across Mexico like El Solecito. Searching for the remains of their missing children while the authorities do little to help. On average, two graves are uncovered each day.

Produced by Esther Honig, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot

The Three Christs Of Ypsilanti

In 1959, psychiatrist Milton Rokeach brought together three schizophrenic men who believed they were Jesus Christ, hoping to cure them of their delusions. But over time, his methods became dangerously amoral.

Thanks to Richard Bonier and Ronald Hoppe for their help.  Additional thanks to Peter Shyppert as the voice of Milton Rokeach.

You can buy The Three Christs of Ypsilanti, Rokeach’s book, right here.

Produced by Stephanie Foo, original score by Leon Morimoto

Season 12 - Episode 29

On January 13th, 2018, at exactly 8:07 in the morning, one text message turned the state of Hawaii into a state of emergency. From panic and fear to acceptance and joy, Snap Judgment explores the 38 minutes when the people of Hawaii faced an incoming ballistic missile threat.

Lead Producer: Jazmin Aguilera

Editor: Anna Sussman

Producers: Eliza Smith, Erika Lantz, John Fecile

Additional production assistance: Nancy Lopez

Original score and sound design: Renzo Gorrio and Leon Morimoto

Snap Classic - Season 12- Episode 28

A severed head turns up in a small rural town. While police investigate this as a crime, they look at disturbed graves, search for missing people — suspect a killer. But the forensic artist on the case has a very different theory for how the head ended up in the woods.

This story contains references to forensic material, sensitive listeners please be advised.

Thank you to Michelle Vitali & Mike O’Brien for sharing this story with Snap.

Produced by Nancy López, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 12 - Episode 27

A tiny, pirate radio station broadcasts to the thousands of families trapped in ISIS-controlled Mosul. A man’s fingers fly across the keys with ease when he sits down at a piano for the first time. And a young kid learns a lesson in friendship.

STORIES

Mixed up Mixtape

Glynn tries to front as an angsty mixtape master, and it's got him all mixed up.

Produced by Pat Mesiti-Miller

Good Morning Mosul

A tiny, pirate radio station broadcasts to the thousands of families trapped in ISIS-controlled Mosul. When listeners start calling in, something remarkable happens.

This story contains graphic depictions of war, sensitive listeners please be advised. 

Produced by Anna Sussman

Original score & sound design by Leon Morimoto & Pat Mesiti-Miller

Sudden Savant

Although most musicians spend decades honing their craft, musical genius Derek Amato never had to practice a day in his life. One day, he just sat down at the piano and his fingers began to fly across the keys with ease.

As an immediate musical genius, Derek is one of the few people on Earth diagnosed with Acquired Musical Savant Syndrome. Derek takes us into the inner workings of his amazing gift.

Produced by Anna Sussman &  Pat Mesiti-Miller

Original score & sound design by Pat Mesiti-Miller

DK and DJ

Back when Urkel and Beanie Babies ruled the world, Snap Judgment producer Davey Kim was trying to keep his ‘frenemyship’ with his neighbor afloat.

This story contains a racial slur, sensitive listeners please be advised.

For more of Davey’s radio stories, check out his website -- daveykim.com

Producer and Sound Design by Davey Kim

Artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 12 - Episode 26

One officer in Los Angeles used car inspections to hit on women. Three hundred miles away in the San Francisco Bay Area, another woman says an officer used police resources to harass and stalk her.

This episode investigates these two cases of sexual misconduct by California Highway Patrol officers. While the officers were fired, the agency did not refer potential crimes to prosecutors. And the files show some women who came forward were met with suspicion, discouragement, or what one woman saw as intimidation.

Snap presents, “Conduct Unbecoming,” the second episode of On Our Watch, an investigative podcast from NPR & KQED.

This episode contains instances of sexual misconduct but it does not contain sexual assault. Sensitive listeners, please be advised.

Thank you, Sukey Lewis, Sandhya Dirks, Alex Emslie, and the entire On Our Watch team!

On Our Watch is an amazing seven-part podcast series, hosted by Sukey Lewis. It was created after a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files. NPR and KQED reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. Learn more about On Our Watch at KQED.org. Listen & subscribe now!

On Our Watch is produced as part of the California Reporting Project, a coalition of news organizations in California.

Artwork by Nicole Xu for NPR

Season 12 - Episode 25

Cheyenne Brady knew next to nothing about the US census when she was given the job of counting everyone on her reservation. Writer Julian Brave Noisecat follows her through the ups and downs of the 2020 census, culminating in the first-ever Census Powwow.

This story features descriptions of genocide and historical trauma, sensitive listeners please be advised.

A big, big thank you to everyone on the Fort Berthold Reservation. Especially Cheyenne Brady and her family: Novi Runs Above, Holy Rope, Tayvin, Poncho, Tookie, Uncle Thomas, and Grandma Florence.

Thank you also to Charlie Moran, Tavares Fimbres, Gabrielle Wilkinson, and Braedyn Taft, and Jazz Bearstail. Thanks to our friends at KMHA radio: Anne Morsette, Will Maguire, Ricky Raine, and Shelley Krueger for administering a rapid COVID test. And big thanks to the whole Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.

Sincerest thanks to Dr. Cheryl Ann Kary, Cheryl Keepseagle, Logan Davis, Barb Anguino, D’Vera Cohn, Byard Duncan, David Rodriguez, and Lycia Ortega Maddocks.

This story was produced in partnership with Type Investigations.

The original score was by Cheflee and Pat Mesiti-Miller

This story was produced and reported by Julian Brave NoiseCat and John Fecile

It was written by Julian Brave NoiseCat

Season 12 - Episode 24

In May 1991, a bank robber walked into a bank in Irving, Texas, and without speaking handed the teller a note that read, “This is a bank robbery. Give me your money. No marked bills or dye packs.” Witnesses reported that the robber was wearing a cowboy hat and a brown leather jacket. And then it happened again. And again. But when FBI agents finally got a lead, they discovered that the robber wasn’t who they expected at all…

This week, Snap proudly presents, Criminal, from PRX’s Radiotopia!

This award-winning podcast, hosted by Phoebe Judge, was one of the first, if not the first, true-crime podcast. They tell incredible stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle.

They’ve got 165 stories like this one just waiting for you -- each one more surprising than the next! Listen to Criminal wherever you get your podcasts and to learn more, visit their site.

Artwork by: Julienne Alexander

Music:

Season 12 - Episode 23 - Snap Spotlight