Week 10 Radio Blog

This week’s article for the radio blog was the first episode of the seven part true crime podcast “S Town”. It opens on a single voice having a trivial discussion about the process of fixing an old clock. This is used as a clever and intriguing transition into the murder mystery aspect. It garners the interest of the listeners. Throughout the piece there is music and music intervals which construct the overall pacing. The episode is an investigation and has a pseudo documentary vibe. A large section is centered on the phone calls between our host and a character from this town. One thing I enjoyed from this piece was the strong sense of character. Our interviewee seems to be a peculiar redneck who wishes to unveil the true crime story of a murder that happened in his home town. The piece really delves into this interesting persona. The story gradually develops through the revelations of our interviewee, and audio clips from the host cut in every now and then to offer the listener pieces of important exposition; these techniques assist in driving the story forward with a streamlined pace. There are interview segments, dialogue, sound effects and use of descriptive language that help bring this podcast segment together effectively. An example of the use of sound effects that I can think of is when the host is looking up an address we can hear the typing of a keyboard. These little audio details impressed me. The music swells in and out in during specific parts which really carries the listener through and makes them pick up during moments of narrative importance. This was a strong opening episode that sparked my intrigue in the story and I am considering returning to listen to the following chapters.