NEWSLETTER
picks of the week
The sound: mystery of the Havana syndrome
Widely available, weekly episodes starting Friday
Ringing in the ears, dizziness, a sound so loud it sounds like pressure: the symptoms of Havana syndrome are so severe that US Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2021 visit to Vietnam was delayed because of possible cases. But despite investigations by the FBI and CIA, no one knows what causes the mysterious condition. Along with spies and neurologists, Nicky Woolf investigates and questions why it affects so many American and Canadian diplomats. hannah verdier
Smokescreen: deadly
Widely available, weekly episodes
When Donald Trump suggested that injecting himself with bleach could cure covid, a fake church pounced on him. Spoiler alert: not a good idea. Host Kristen V Brown tells the mind-bending story of the dangerous cult that promoted it and a gang of activists who embarked on a mission to hunt down and arrest its members. high voltage
A Guide to Prisons for…
Widely available, weekly episodes
Andor star Ben Bailey Smith’s insightful storytelling holds this series together, which delves deep into prisons to tackle themes like redemption. Over four episodes, he talks to staff, including the UK’s first black African governor, about encouraging inmates to find hope and how at least one of them shed a criminal past to become an officer. of prisons. alexi duggins
The Turning: Hall of Mirrors
Widely available, weekly episodes starting Tuesday
“George Balanchine made the dancers feel chosen, like they were something bigger, it was intoxicating.” In this new 10-part series, host Erika Lantz talks to those who know the real cost of working with the co-founder of New York City Ballet, a man who married his muses and said he didn’t think ballet dancers should have children. holly richardson
Joanna and the teacher
Widely available, weekly episodes
Despite being married for nearly 40 years, Joanna Lumley and her husband, composer Stephen Barlow, have never spoken about their shared passion for classical music. Here, we’re invited into her music room to talk about childhood musical crushes, play instruments, and learn something new about each other. ADVERTISEMENT
There’s a podcast for that.
This week, Ammar Kalia chooses five of the best anthology podcastsfrom a true crime series about medicine’s biggest villains to scary stories told in true campfire style.
bonfire radio drama
Horror stories are the perfect narrative material for an anthology podcast, and the past few years have seen a boom in the genre. Notable mentions include David Cummings’ NoSleep Podcast, which provides audio treatment to chilling stories from the Reddit forum of the same name, and Nightlight, which centers black voices. However, Campfire Radio Theater’s immersive audio design comes out on top, using the time-honored format of urban legends told around the flickering light of fire as a backdrop to stories featuring sinister Santas, haunting puppets and remote headlights. Not one to listen to before bed…
Chalkboard Gifts: One Year
A simple but clever premise fuels this series, in which host Josh Levin takes a deep dive into the events and people that shaped a single year in American history. His most recent series focused on 1942 and investigated everything from misinformation spread during World War II to labor strikes by working-class musicians to runaway inflation, with the help of co-hosts Evan Chung and Sophie Summergrad. By dedicating so much running time to each year, One Year often uncovers overlooked events, such as a hotly contested (and ultimately fatal) contest for a spot aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.
doctor Death
Medical malpractice is an exhausting topic for a true crime anthology series, but this offering from pod giant Wondery does an admirable job of spotlighting its reporting with detailed investigation and context that avoids sensationalizing victims. Over its three seasons, Dr Death has followed shocking cases, including Texan surgeon Christopher Duntsch, sentenced to life in prison after a series of his patients were seriously injured or killed, oncologist Farid Fata, who prescribed chemotherapy to patients who didn’t they need, and the surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, who carried out a fraudulent investigation. More than a litany of gory details, host Laura Beil explores the motivations behind these egregious breaches of trust.
The truth
Since 2010, Jonathan Mitchell’s The Truth audio series has quietly set the benchmark for fiction-based audio anthologies. Each self-contained episode takes advantage of the brevity and interconnected themes of a short story, and the show as a whole is collection-like, while Mitchell’s often impressionistic set design makes for a wealth of immersive storylines. Standout stories include an adaptation of Philip K Dick’s Upon the Dull Earth and Tape Delay meta-references, while committed performances from actors at New York’s Magnet Theater bring the scripts to life, producing the half-hour segments. perfect for getting lost.
inside the wires
Playing like an experimental found work of fiction, each of Within the Wires’ seven seasons tells a different story through letters, tapes, and audio guides, leaving the listener to piece together exciting narratives through snippets. It’s a simple premise executed elegantly, with the audience hooked on the plots that begin to weave together at an ever-increasing pace. Narrator Janina Matthewson tells the story of a medical patient who receives mysterious guidance through relaxation cassettes in the first season, while the third season follows a political thriller set in 1950s Chicago, all broadcast over the Internet. letters from a bureaucrat.
Why not try…
If you’d like to read the full version of the newsletter, sign up to get Hear Here delivered to your inbox every Thursday.
