Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Hear World In Podcasts
At this point in the summer — and the pandemic — the desire to escape to a place far away might be overwhelming. Even with so many borders closed, podcasts can transport you elsewhere, making them a good alternative to real, out-of-thehouse travel. Here’s a couple of immersive audio experiences that are almost as immersive as exploring the great wide world out there.
‘Pindrop’
If a place on a map could give a TED Talk, what would it sound like? That’s what host Saleem Reshamwala seeks to find out in each episode of TED’s latest podcast, “Pindrop.” Join him on his global expedition for surprising, hyperlocal stories like a deep dive into the Bangkok radio station that serves as the surrounding area’s emergency hotline, notice board and lost and found. Or meet the Mexico City masked vigilante protecting his fellow citizens from traffic accidents. Stop by a hardware store in Mantua Township, N.J., where paleontologists are excavating dinosaur bones and protecting the land from development. The show is a different kind of travel podcast: It introduces people around the world who are creatively working to make their communities better.
‘Rough Translation’
This NPR podcast promises to “take you places,” and since it debuted in 2017, that is exactly what it delivers. Each episode shows listeners how the same subject is perceived in different places around the world, like a cultural kaleidoscope of current events. Take some U.S. residents’ refusal to wear face masks. In the “From Niqab to N95” episode, host Gregory Warner dives into how that debate is playing out in France, where, before the coronavirus made masks a public health necessity, the discussion about covering one’s face in public was highly politicized and tinged with Islamophobia.