Radiolab used sound throughout the entire podcast to really emphasize the story that was being told. There were a few moments I particularly enjoyed.

I really appreciated how they took parts of clips and put them together. This occurred multiple times in the podcast, but I think it was done best in the beginning when it keep switching from bits of news clips about Gary Hart’s campaign to bits where the radio hosts/guests were speaking. The sound clips were short and, even though they were spoken by different people, mashed up extremely well and sounded like they were meant to be put together. It was a much more interesting way of introducing a person than just listing some facts.

I also really enjoyed how they used music and sound effects to emphasize the words being sad. One particular instance of this was when they were talking about Gary Hart entering a vortex, and then they played an audio clip of him talking mixed with an eerie, swirling noise that imitated his words being lost in a vortex. They also did this at a point where they were talking about how the reporters were lurking around (they played creepy, slow music in the background while this part of the story was being described) that made the story much more exciting. Whenever there was language that could be enhanced with sounds that are popularly associated with those words, the podcast took advantage of it and added the sounds.

Overall, I think the sound design really added to the podcast and helped to keep it interesting. I think that the story could have ended up being really boring if it wasn’t for the use of sound to keep people actively listening. In fact, the parts without sound effects really didn’t grab my attention like the parts that did.