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October 2003

Look out...Martians!

Friday, October 31, 2003

Radio Lab investigates why millions were so terrified by a single hour of radio. The Mercury Theatre of the Air's "War of the Worlds" caused listeners to run out into the streets, half-dressed, women to miscarry, and it forever changed how we listen to the radio...not to mention that the original 1938 broadcast spawned a series of remakes that CONTINUE to fool people.


The Radio Lab Fundraising Special

Friday, October 17, 2003

It’s that time of year again. The time when we ask you: what is your public radio worth to you? How much would you be willing to pay for it? The best way we can think of convincing you that public radio is worth supporting is to do what we usually do – cobble together an eclectic mix of interviews, documentaries and sound from around the station.


Noise Pollution vs Silence

Sunday, October 12, 2003

In a 1937 lecture on the future of music, John Cage said: "Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating. The sound of a truck at 50 m.p.h. Static between the stations. Rain. We want to capture and control these sounds, to use them, not as sound effects, but as musical instruments."


Bridges

Sunday, October 05, 2003

Radio Lab explores bridges, both literal and metaphoric, because a bridge is more than a way to get to the other side. A bridge is a monument. A place where man came upon an obstacle and did not turn away. The first stone bridges had cathedrals on top of them (so crossers would have to pass through in order to get to the other side). In fact, the word "Pope" comes from the early Italian for "bridge-builders."