Maverick Life

MAVERICK LIFE PODCAST REVIEW

Podcasts to take you outside while you’re stuck inside

Podcasts to take you outside while you’re stuck inside
Image design by Leila Dougan for Maverick Life

In these difficult times of lockdown when our lives have shrunk to the size of our floorplan and we’re all trying to stay sane, it is vital to cultivate small moments of delight. Here is our weekly review of podcasts that might inspire, surprise or bring you some joy.

One thing that brings joy to many of us is being outside in nature, but that’s currently off limits. So, if you’re stuck inside and dreaming about the day when you can go outside again, take heart. There are plenty of podcasts that will transport you there, even if only temporarily.

Last year I was lucky enough to work at The Third Coast International Audio Festival in Chicago. My job involved listening to hundreds of audio stories from around the world for their annual competition. Below are a few of my favourite audio stories that I’ve heard in the last year that are keeping me going in these surreal and terrifying times. I hope that you take as much comfort from them as I do.

Field Recordings

Field Recordings podcast

Average length: Between one and ten minutes

This new podcast from the award winning British producer, Eleanor McDowell, is a collection of sounds from around the world. There are no words, very few humans and lots of audio landscapes to get lost in. Hear Italians singing from their balconies during lockdown in Rome, get swept up in the sounds of rush hour in Jenin, Palestine and listen to the haunting calls of a pair of kookaburras at dusk in Golden Gully beach, Australia. These field recordings feel like forest bathing meets armchair travel meets meditation app.

Sharon Davis – Sandile Dikeni: From Revolution to Reconciliation

Average length: About 37 minutes

This profile of legendary South African poet Sandile Dikeni by Australian producer Sharon Davis first aired on the ABC’s Poetica in 2004. This is a non-narrated piece with Dikeni’s being the only voice you hear throughout. His life story set against the backdrop of the anti-apartheid struggle is masterfully interwoven with his struggle poetry and scored with familiar sounds of his childhood home in the Karoo town of Victoria West. This beautifully produced piece dances on the ear combining familiar accents and field recordings to create something both local and lyrical.

Short Cuts (BBC Radio 4) – Nature Documentaries

Short Cuts (Image BBC)

Average length: About 28 minutes

Hosted by comedian, Josie Long, Short Cuts showcases a collection of short sound-rich audio documentaries. In this episode, we join in conversations with whales, learn about the power of bats and sing songs about a mythical bird. Long’s soothing and playful tone weaves throughout the pieces, pulling the episode together into a dazzling audio tapestry.

On Being – Mary Oliver, Listening to the World

On Being with Krista Tippett

Average length: About 52 minutes

This interview is a balm for the soul longing to be outside. The beloved Pulitzer prize winning poet, Mary Oliver, talks with On Being’s Krista Tippet in one of the few interviews that she granted during her lifetime. In this episode, Oliver delves into how nature saved her life and inspired her poetry. Listen to the end to hear Oliver read her tender and beautiful poem, Wild Geese.

The Kitchen Sisters (Radiotopia) – Tony Schwartz: 30,000 Recordings Later

Average length: About 37 minutes

In this episode veteran audio storytellers, The Kitchen Sisters, masterfully guide us through the vast library of one of the greatest sound collectors of the 20th Century. Tony Schwartz invented the portable sound recorder and exchanged recordings with a handful of fellow recordists scattered around the world in a time before the internet. His sounds influenced the work of Harry Belafonte and carried the voice of WEB du Bois to South Africa. Schwartz had agoraphobia (fear of open or crowded spaces), but that didn’t stop him from exploring and influencing the world through sound from his small apartment in New York City. Listening to this piece feels like eavesdropping on the past.

If you’re wondering how to listen to these audio gems, local podcast organisation, Sound Africa has prepared a handy guide to show you how.

Happy listening! DM/ML

 

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