Radiolab Launches Its First-Ever Mobile App

RADIOLAB LAUNCHES ITS FIRST-EVER MOBILE APP

Launching Thursday, June 21, App Mimics Playful Experience of Radiolab with Surreal Imagery,
Easter Eggs, and Navigation System that Takes Users on a Journey through Space

Allows Users to Be Part of Public Radio’s Most Innovative Show

(New York, NY – June 21, 2012) – WNYC’s Radiolab, public radio’s highly popular, critically acclaimed show about wonder, discovery and big ideas, announced today the launch of its first mobile application, available on both iPhone and Android platforms. The app delivers Radiolab’s content through an interface as playful and curious as the show itself, includes access to all of Radiolab’s podcasts and gives users the opportunity to potentially help produce the show.

The Radiolab app features a “Make” tool that invites passionate fans to become part of the show’s creative process, with opportunities to contribute to Radiolab’s inimitable mash-up of innovative sound design and riveting storytelling. Listeners will be able to respond to specific callouts for audio by recording sounds through the app and sharing the audio through their SoundCloud® accounts, as well as answer thought-provoking, ticklish questions via text. Listeners can also submit videos and images for off-beat crowdsourcing projects such as, ‘find parabolas in the everyday world around you’ or, ‘help us track walking speeds in different cities,’ or ‘take a video of someone waking up.’

The app also breaks new ground in navigation. Instead of relying on a standard scroll bar to access the app’s content, users will move through an animated virtual space, starting at a desk and window, opening out onto a cityscape, and sweeping up through clouds to the planets and beyond. Along the way, users will encounter gateways to Radiolab content, including the entire archive of Radiolab podcasts, the blog, the “Make” function, and more. For the Radiolab fan in a hurry, there’s an easily accessible quick menu of shortcuts to jump straight into the main sections.

Further information about the Radiolab app, including a brief tutorial video, may be found at www.radiolab.org/mobile.

“Radiolab is meant to be a kind of psychedelic road trip through a set of ideas and stories and hidden connections, where Robert and I try to figure out how the world really works,” said JAD ABUMRAD, Co-host and Creator of Radiolab. “It’s a show that I think has always ‘felt’ interactive. But now, with this app, it actually is. Radiolab listeners are some of the most creative people in the world. For years they’ve been sending us sounds, stories, drawings, songs, videos, shirts, new logos. This little app makes it easier for them to create with us. To record things for the show. To just generally be a part of the process.”

“Just as the soundscape of Radiolab is so unique to the show, the design and visual flow of this app is a vital part of its feature set,” said THOMAS HJELM, Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, New York Public Radio. “On one hand, the app is a great utility. If there’s something particular from the show that you’re looking for – a favorite episode, the latest blog – you can find it here easily. But if you’re up for an adventure, navigating the app will give you more than you knew to expect.”

“Radiolab rocks,” said JAKE SHAPIRO, Executive Director of Public Radio Exchange (PRX), the company that developed the app. “As big fans of Jad Abumrad, Radiolab, and WNYC, PRX was psyched to bring our best to this game-changing app.”

Other features of the Radiolab app include:

“Easter egg” interactive animation (some of which are inside references to Radiolab stories), including a goat that spouts Radiolab aphorisms and quotes, a lamp that turns on and off, and a spaceship abduction feature
Streaming and downloadable versions of the entire Radiolab library of podcasts
Push alerts of news, new podcasts and Radiolab events
A ‘Share’ function for listeners to share favorite podcasts via email, Facebook, and Twitter
Blog and updates from the show
A “Pledge Cow” (a nod to the popular “Goat on a Cow” story) to support Radiolab and public radio

The Radiolab app was produced by WNYC, developed by PRX, and designed by 1 Trick Pony. The iPhone and Android versions cost $2.99 to download.

Radiolab – the Peabody Award-winning show produced by WNYC, the nation’s most-listened to public radio station – is co-hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich. Radiolab is heard weekly on more than 300 stations around the country, and is consistently in the Top 10 iTunes downloads. Currently, the show is touring the country with a live show called “In the Dark,” in collaboration with comedian Demetri Martin, Grammy-nominated “dancer-athletes” Pilobolus, and singer-songwriter Thao Nguyen.

Further information is available at www.radiolab.org

About New York Public Radio
New York Public Radio is New York’s premier public radio franchise, comprising WNYC, WQXR, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, and New Jersey Public Radio, as well as www.wnyc.org, www.wqxr.org, www.thegreenespace.org and www.njpublicradio.org. As America's most listened-to AM/FM news and talk public radio stations, reaching 1.1 million listeners every week, WNYC extends New York City's cultural riches to the entire country on-air and online, and presents the best national offerings from networks National Public Radio, Public Radio International, American Public Media, and the British Broadcasting Company. WQXR is New York City's sole 24-hour classical music station, presenting new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, among other New York City venues, immersing listeners in the city's rich musical life. In addition to its audio content, WNYC and WQXR produce content for live, radio and web audiences from The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, the station's street-level multipurpose, multiplatform broadcast studio and performance space. New Jersey Public Radio extends WNYC reach and service more deeply into New Jersey. For more information about New York Public Radio, visit www.nypublicradio.org.

About PRX
PRX is an award-winning public media company, harnessing innovative technology to bring significant stories to millions of people. PRX operates public radio’s largest distribution marketplace, offering thousands of audio stories for broadcast and digital use, including signature PRX programs like The Moth Radio Hour. PRX mobile apps for public media include Radiolab, This American Life, KCRW Music Mine and Public Radio Player. Learn more at PRX.org.

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