This week Sound Effect listens in on stories of eavesdropping.
The Scanner
Neighborhood news sites often make their names by being fast, thorough and hyperlocal. One of the ways Justin Carder of Capital Hill Seattle Blogkeeps his ear to the ground in his neighborhood is by constantly monitoring the police scanner. Through the emergency channels, he’s often among the first to know about crimes, mayhem and often bizarre occurrences. It also gives him insights into the people who keep us safe, and into the ethics of using scanners to fuel journalism.
Broadcasting The Fire
The Anacortes Music Channel, an all-ages venue that grew into an online radio station, was a hub for the small town's vibrant independent music scene. One night founder Karl Blau left the station with the broadcast rolling. While he was gone, listeners began to hear crackling sounds. Then they heard Karl barrel through the door and try desperately to put out the fire that was consuming the building. You can hear him retell the storyalong with archival audio of the actual event here.
Red Flags On Facebook
Sometimes on Facebook you might read what seems like a cry for help from a friend, someone struggling to cope who might need you to intervene. Or maybe it's nothing -- just someone quoting song lyrics or something. It’s hard to know, and it's often easier to just ignore it. The suicide prevention group Forefront is helping create tools for people who notice red flags in a friend’s post. Operations Manager Steven Paul Miller tells us what happenedwhen he found himself in that position.
Wiretapping Whales
Imagine you could listen in on the private conversations of whales. That's exactly what University of Washington oceanographer Kate Stafford does when she monitors a series of underwater microphones. You can hear her explain to Gabriel Spitzerwhat those recordings have taught her and why she finds listening to them so deeply satisfying.
Surveillance Reality Check
When you think of eavesdropping, you might think about the gumshoe, the private dick, the PI. And chances are your images of them come directly from movies, books and TV. We wondered how reality matches up with fiction, so we caught up with actual private investigator David Liston to get the skinny on private surveillance. It turns out to involve fewer car chases and more trying to stay awake. But he still has a few harrowing tales – you can hear them here.
The Talkboy Hunt
It was all the rage among Christmas shoppers in 1992: the Talkboy, a cassette recorder that let you slow down your voice (think “Home Alone 2”). Producer Warren Langford never got one, until he found one as an adult at a yard sale. And inside it contained a surprise: an audio artifact that preoccupied Warren for years. He shares the story of going on a questfor the voice inside his Talkboy recorder.
Sound Effect is your weekly tour of ideas, inspired by the place we live. The show is hosted by knkx’s Jennifer Wing.
