Unlock Your File

The cold draft slowly seeping in from the window delicately grazes over my uncovered face. While I lie still in bed at an hour no human should still be up, I grow restless. In the midst of flipping one way and then back the other, the warmth retained by my cozy comforter escapes. My eyes gently rest shut as my mind remains very active, allowing thoughts of the universe to come and go. Why is our galaxy warped? What’s the deal with ASMR? Who is Colton going to give the final rose to? I struggle with becoming lost in this disarray of questions because although they appear facile, they call for complex answers. However, in just a click of the play button, I am able to access the answers to all. By what means? Well, it is simple— in a podcast. These “digital audio files available via the internet” unlock a world of ideas and discussion.

As one of my childhood idols, Josh Peck, says in his podcast, “...I figured that whatever this was going to be that for my soul it had to be something that I was deeply interested in and then hope that—is this it, sort of what we’re doing? Yeah because I just wanna know, I’m just curious.” In his “Curious with Josh Peck”, Josh validates our curious nature through conversations where it manifests. Sure, it’s no “hug me brotha!” moment from the infamous show Drake and Josh, but this commonality among us is just as unifying. The curiosity that we share enables us to connect in a disconnected world, with this being only the threshold to the power behind podcasts. You see, podcasts also support our on the go lifestyle, bring about a sense of community, and cover a diverse spectrum of matters.

With these thoughts to ponder, I eventually return to a state of slumber. The sun peaking through the blinds wakes me in the morning. Despite running low on sleep, I must proceed with my daily routine. Why is our galaxy warped? As I walk to class with my headphones carefully nestled in my ears, I learn in BrainStuff’s podcast that it is “because torques, rotational forcing by massive inner disks, gravitationally bully the less massive outer regions causing them to buckle and bend. At this bend, the gravitational pull becomes weaker. Although we can’t see our galaxy’s overall shape given our limited view point, a team from NAOC (National Astronomical Observatories of China) found the farther away you are from the galaptic center, the more twisted our galaxy becomes.” In Jonah Weiner’s “Why Those Podcasts Waiting for You Feel Like a Pleasure, Not an Obligation” he discusses the enlightment we can get out of podcasts’ story-telling abilities and the diverse ways of listening. Jonah writes, “As the continued dominance of drive-time radio demonstrates, traveling creates a circumstance in which we desperately want something familiar, accessible, and digestible to listen to…” No matter the distance we long to travel, whether it’s a short walk to class, a train ride to the city, or a flight across the globe, there’s a podcast to be listened to. In a busy, on the go lifestyle we are easily transported to our destination all while being able to listen to a podcast. Or maybe relaxing on the couch sounds more like you, in which a podcast is also a great listen, allowing our minds to be taken to somewhere new; they are fitting for you. The voices in our chosen podcast supply the security that comforts us in an unfamiliar place where we otherwise lack control.

After class, I make my way to Oliver Hall to sooth my grumbling stomach. A veggie scramble— yes please! Here, I pass by familiar faces and wave good morning. I find my friends who I join at the table. The laughs that ensue bounce off the wooden beams that hang above. I would think all the noise would get lost somewhere in the tall ceilings, but rather they are amplified by the reverbant room. After leaving the lively dining hall, I return to my room where it is silent. Again, I am alone. What’s the deal with ASMR? I put in my headphones and press play. Autonomous sensory morideon response, ASMR, is the response to sounds. The whispering voices, tapping of fingernails, crinkling of wrappers is often misunderstood, but are intended to relax people perhaps by sending a tingle down their spine. These subtle sounds have the power to trigger reactions from people. As uncanny as ASMR sounds, I find that listening to this podcast in my room reveals the sense of community that podcasts are able to form. Not only have I stumbled upon a group that I didn’t know existed, but there’s an unspoken relationship between the listerner and speaker. In the article “Why Those Podcasts Waiting for You Feel Like a Pleasure, Not an Obligation”, Weiner also goes on to say, “Abumrad, the Radiolab host...when he describes something to listeners on the radio, ‘In a sense, I’m painting something but I’m not holding the paintbrush. You are. So it’s this deep act of co-authorship, and in that is some potential for empathy.’” In this time of isolation, I’m really not alone. The speaker’s words have a way of reaching me and I as a listener have a job to dissect his words. This demonstrates that what we do and say matters, because our actions and words may reach people we didn’t know existed. They are impactful despite not being able to see the effect in front of us.

As the day nears its end, there’s no forgetting that it’s Bachelor Monday. This mainstream reality show that everyone and their sister watches tastes like a glass of fine wine, looks like women judging other women, and sounds like expressing our emotional unstability. Who is Colton going to give the final rose to? Though I could listen to this podcast to find out, I have already found the answer as the episode nears its end. Spoiler alert: there are zero women left. In the article “Podcasting Is the New Talk-Radio” the author Juliette De Maeyer discusses how impactful podcasts are as they are a new means to accurately report news or stories covering a variety of topics. Maeyer writes, “Of course, there is a wide variety of podcasts styles and tones, but with their conversational color and their immersion in sound and atmospheres, they have the potential to make you feel things.” Whether you want to learn a new language, keep up with the news, listen to something educational or something more light-hearted like The Bachelor, you can do so by listening to a podcast. This is because they cover a broad range of topics, reaching many different audiences. This allows everyone to find something they can connect with, their own niche. With our different goals and intentions, it’s amazing how we can personalize what we listen to.

Left with a cliff hanger as expected, I resume working on my homework for my Macroeconomics class. As I go over GDP and the different kinds of capital, it hits me that maybe my passion for podcasts is through an economic lens, with this being my economic mindset speaking about human capital. Perhaps we value knowledge too much as a society. We’ve been conditioned to value education, instilling in us a desire to learn or feel that we should want to. But this shines light on how we all see with a unique lens, left to interpet the different voices of the world. With this realization of my own bias aside, it is time for bed.

As I fight off this oncoming state of slumber and unconciousness, I replay my day back in my head. I see how podcasts transpose with my day-to-day activities. Considering this, I find it disappointing that only “39 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly according to a study by Edison Research” (Weiner, Why Those Podcasts Waiting for You Feel Like a Pleasure, Not an Obligation). Podcasts are a great tool that should be taken more advantage of. I think it’s easy to take this resource for granted and to just let them sit there unopened because many people get caught up with their day. Imagine a world where we don’t take resources, tools, or platforms for granted. What can taking advantage of our resources lead to? That’s a podcast for another day. Now it’s time I really should be getting to bed, goodnight.