Radiolab is primarily a radio show (broadcast on WNYC) wherein Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwichreveal and revere fascinating people, events and subjects in a limitless pursuit of understanding. The pair’s primary aim is to capture moments of eureka, seconds that change peoples lives, or ideas which are as mind blowing as they are mind enhancing. Endlessly inventive and exploratory, Radiolabs greatest achievement lays in it’s ability to find incredible stories and deliver them in ways that are thoroughly engaging and revelatory.
Jad Abumrad (left) talks to Robert Krulwich
Talk radio programming, however revolutionary, almost always breaks down into three distinct types. Firstly, news, live broadcasts and conversation; secondly: comedy, entertainment and performance programmes; and thirdly: documentary style shows. These documentaries are often the most solid starting point for a broadcaster, as they lend a gravitas and style to the whole station, whilst garnering a not insignificant and very loyal audience. But it is often difficult for these informational shows to really thrive and effectively brand themselves, as they are long shows with a lot to tell, and hosts who tend to be conduits for a narrative rather than outright characters. Out of this, we fall into areas like public radio, where the nature of their funding means much of their money gets put into a few major shows, with the rest keeping the station running. This means that flagship shows have to take a massive role, using fame gained through constant quality to bring more money into the company, allowing them to keep the lights on. Radiolab is one such flagbearing show, crafting it’s amazing combination of ideas, stories and serious discussion into a show with such consistent and implicit quality that it strikes a deep chord with every one of it’s loyal, passionate and fascinated listeners.
Jad Abumrad using his telekinetic abilities on a lightbulb
Radiolab is like the perfect science lesson a teacher dreams of giving, a witty, engaging and uninterrupted exploration, with a passion and sense of wonder perfectly communicated and understood by their audience. Expertly balancing the light-hearted and the hard-hitting, offering a constant sense of incredulity, harnessed through fascinating people, stories and ideas. The full shows follow a couple of patterns, either tracing an incredible individuals impact and influence across time, or following a series of amazing stories, events or ideas that combine to forge a glorious whole, which insist that after listening, you look at the world, yourself and everything else just a little differently than you did before. Despite ostensibly being a ‘science’ show, Radiolab prefers to begin with a topic as esoteric as colours, time or evil, discuss a few ideas and stories, then follow this with a dialogue about the implications of everything they’ve found. Communicating with various scientists, reporters and psychologists, Abumrad and Krulwich have endless appetities for information, whilst being more than empty vessels themselves. Frequently they will stumble onto morally questionable pieces of research or activities, whose perpatrators are almost always questioned about these moral grey spots. But there is never an ignorance of the science, or the impact of the things they discuss. The duo actively refuse to stay at surface level, digging deep underneath an issue, so that they talk about more than the obvious, more than the known quantities, battling to create a show that breaks as much ground as possible. Throughout, the show stays rife with a charm, eloquence and very certain sense of fascination that really epitomises Radiolab, with the contributors amazement echoed by the listeners.
Robert Krulwich moonlighting as a medum
There is more to this show than thoughts and science though; the hosts and guests brim with a brio, enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge that verges on the incredulous. Alongside this sits a great sense of wit and vigour, meaning that even in the post-segment plenaries there is so much to be gained that the fascination never ends. It could also be said that in a sense, Abumrad and Krulwich act as figureheads, with the numerous producers and researchers putting in hours of study and old school reportage to try and find those stories sat comfortably beyond belief, or the lost originators hidden in obscurity, whilst the hosts expertly turn this into incredible interviews, discussions and performances. The episodes also shimmer with a lovely old-style production feel. Music interweaving with the speakers voices and explanations, occasionally including choirs to display the ideas they’re discussing, or even something as simple as a re-enactment; all of which grant the show both a sense of holisticity and a simple sheen of quality. This willingness to work so hard on aspects that can go so easily unmentioned only serves to increase ones reverence for the project, it’s commitment to quality and it’s constant drive for excellence.
Less a radio laboratory and more of a radio adventure, Radiolab is that most excellent example of a show which creates it’s own boundaries only to constantly exceed them. Offering a world of exploration, fascination and amazement that goes far beyond anything that preceded it, and truly making a show that is incredible in it’s own right.
You can download Radiolab from iTunes, radiolab.org or listen to it on WNYC itself. They’re also on twitter, @JadAbumrad and@rkrulwich. That’s about it. You can go listen to it now!