Episode 51: Serial

August 26, 2015

“Koenig wants to find the truth, whatever it is, more for human reasons than for legal ones. The team started producing “Serial” without knowing how it would end; in fact, they still don’t know. Earlier, when I had asked Snyder about this, she said, “We don’t know exactly how much we have figured out.” They’ve figured out plenty, but what is the whole truth? And how do you know when you’ve found it? Can it even be found?”

— Sarah Larson of The New Yorker

“It’s funny, I feel like I’m not reporting this any differently than I report any story for This American Life. The structuring is also very much the same, except you’re structuring two things at once: you’re structuring each episode so it’s a self-contained thing that makes sense and has an internal logic and arc, but they’re all a part of this much larger thing that you also have to keep in mind. That’s very different, to have that extra layer of the big story you’re telling.”

— Sarah Koenig in an interview with The Guardian's Lilah Raptopoulos

As the most popular podcast of all time with over 94 million downloads since its 2014 launch, Serial deserves the attention, analysis and general interest it has received. It experiments with podcasting, storytelling and uncovering the "truth" behind the 1999 murder of 17-year-old resident of Baltimore, Hae Min Lee. Much of the podcast follows her supposed killer, former boyfriend Adnan Syed and his whereabouts during the tragedy. The host, Sarah Koenig asks crucial questions in both her interviews and of her audience. This week we welcome Gabe Brison-Trezise to review and discuss this podcast and critique Koenig's efforts and her creation.

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Episode 50: The Haka and Cultural Appropriation

August 19, 2015

“The All Blacks perform two haka: the traditional Ka Mate dating back to the earliest All Blacks tours in the 1900s, and Kapa o Pango, first performed in 2005 and written especially for the All Blacks. It is Kapa o Pango that contains the violent motion Sheehan objects to: a throat-slitting motion at the end.

Both haka in fact have benign origins. Although haka are best known as war dances, they have many uses in Maori culture, including to welcome distinguished guests and to acknowledge significant occasions. Ka Mate has an extensive folk tradition in centuries of Maori culture, typically used as a peace-making song or a rallying cry.”

— André Brett of The Conversation

In an increasingly global world, we are constantly exposed to new cultures, ideas and perspectives, many of which originate in remote spaces and times. As such, we often risk losing their original meanings and purposes. As peoples encounter new cultures, they often adopt and adapt foreign practices for different functions. This week, we welcome back Joe Walsh to discuss the phenomenon of cultural appropriation as it pertains to the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand and the All Blacks rugby team.

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Episode 49: Interstellar

August 12, 2015

“When you approach a black hole, the black hole is distorting space in its vicinity, and this was captured beautifully. I enjoyed watching the surrounding imagery get distorted. … It’s a sophisticated ray-tracing problem, and if you’re a movie producer and you can get it right, then why not?… At the time of ‘2001,’ the mathematical formulation of black holes was not fully explored, so all they could do was play with the space and time dimension without being anchored to actual gravitational physics.”

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

“As a filmmaker, you know, no matter how positive things seem, you always notice the bad reviews, you always notice that the things people love are the same things other people hate, so you can’t react to that. To me, it’s all about doing what you believe in.”

— Christopher Nolan in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, January 3, 2015

One of Kip's favorite films of 2014, Interstellar, was both highly anticipated and received with various reviews. Some loved it, others found it confusing, drawn-out and illogical. And while some see it as a science fiction film, its themes deal largely with the most innate levels of humanity, our fears and our hopes. It is as much about love, solitude and exploration as it is about space travel. We welcome back Kyle Aaronson to discuss his take as well as the highs and lows of the film.

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Episode 48: Speaking Body Language

August 5, 2015

“It is really hard to completely re-learn how to express yourself without using words. When you take away speech, you have to re-invent the way you express yourself. You have to exaggerate your body language and your facial expressions.”

— Jodelle Ferland

“We’re losing social skills, the human interaction skills, how to read a person’s mood, to read their body language, how to be patient until the moment is right to make or press a point. Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanizes what is a very, very important part of community life and living together.”

— Vincent Nichols

While most people would point to verbal languages as the focal point of most human communication, the expressive power of the human body (and those of many animals!) cannot be denied. Increasingly, psychologists and other social scientists believe body language holds substantial attention and weight in social interaction. Because of the relevance and interest in the topic, we were happy to welcome Edgar Arceo this week to discuss some of these phenomena with us.

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