Picks of the week
Cautionary Tales
What is the value of a life? How much can scientists learn from the search for a smallpox vaccine? And why don’t humans listen to warnings until it’s too late? The new season of Tim Harford’s podcast about life’s big mistakes asks some timely questions in six mini-episodes. There are lessons to be learned along the way, with tales of people sitting in a packed cabaret bar while a fire spread through a hotel and the danger of relying on other people to guide you to safety. Hannah Verdier
Rabbit Hole
If you’ve not yet fallen down the rabbit hole that is the Rabbit Hole podcast from the New York Times, prepare to be enlightened and a little freaked out. Alongside producer Andy Mills (Caliphate), the tech columnist Kevin Roose examines whether the internet “is doing something to us that is profoundly changing who we are”, from radicalisation via YouTube to all-knowing algorithms and PewDiePie’s rise from online celebrity to hero of the “alt-right”. Perfect for fans of the similarly brain-wobbling Reply All. Hannah J Davies
Producer pick: Radiolab – Playing God
Chosen by Max Sanderson
During the past couple of months, as horror stories emerged from Italy of doctors forced to choose which patients receive ventilation, and politicians debate whether to prioritise the health of their citizens or the economy, I’ve often asked myself the same question. Who defines how much a life is worth?
It’s a question that is explored immaculately in one of my favourite pieces of audio; the aptly titled Playing God from Radiolab. With the journalist Sheri Fink as our guide, the story focuses on a single hospital in New Orleans ravaged by Hurricane Katrina (which is also the focus of Fink’s book Five Days at Memorial). What follows is a masterclass in how audio can be used to recreate a moment in time.
As usual, the Radiolab team bring the unfolding narrative to life with simple scripting and subtle sound design to create a sense of tension that, at times, verges on unbearable. Added to this is their use of space – something I’ve written about before – which leaves you alone to writhe in contemplation, much like I imagine the healthcare workers in that hospital had to.
It’s definitely not an easy listen – and is one some may find distressing – but it’s an incredibly important story, to try to give us a sense of “what happens, what should happen, when humans are forced to play God?”
Talking points
The Guardian’s new podcast, Innermost, begins on Tuesday. Hosted by Leah Green it will journey into the secret lives of listeners around the world, as they tell their stories in their own words.
Why not try: In Weird Cities | The Rewatchables | 27 Club
