Blog Response (Audio): Radiolab

The podcast I chose to listen to was Radiolab's "An Ice-Cold Case." I chose this mainly at random, but the name was also slightly intriguing. It implied a mystery, one that may have laid dormant for years, or perhaps it was literal, and there was some sort of crime committed where temperature was important.
My initial reaction to the podcast was of confusion. I had absolutely no idea about what the format of the show was, or how it was going to be presented. A few minutes after listening, and I still had no idea. People were talking about seemingly nothing, only having a conversation on the phone. There was no explanation as to what they were doing. It took a while for me to understand the premise of the show, but I got it after a while.

This episode talked about a man found frozen under snow on the side of a mountain by a couple of hikers. Initially, the police were called to investigate a recent death. However, when they examined the body closer, they found that the man hadn't died recently, but rather 5000 years ago. The man had been perfectly preserved for thousands of years due to the constant freezing and thawing of snow every year. Researchers examined the man's body to figure out who he was, and why he had died in the spot he did. Eventually, they found that the man had been frantically running away from something before he died. They were able to track his whereabouts throughout this journey from the pollen in his body. Some types of pollen were only found in some areas, and others in other areas. This also gave them a season of the year, as this type of pollen only came out during early summer. Researchers even found that the man had come to a point of peace before his death through the perfectly preserved food in his stomach. He felt safe enough to slow down and cook a meal in the middle of running away. After his meal, it was concluded that he was shot in the back with an arrow and hit in the head with a rock, killing him. He laid in the same spot throughout history until only a few years ago when he was found.

Albeit confusing at times due to its constant back and forth between people's explanations, I found the show to be quite enjoyable. Not only was it an interesting thing to listen to, but it was produced very well. The sounds in the background sneakily mimicked the story that was being told. The sounds felt frigid, a though the listener should think they are on the same mountain as the frozen man. I say these sounds were sneaky because they felt extremely natural. I was somehow aware they were there without realizing that I was listening to them. It was a great way to experience this podcast.