November 14, 2008, 4:47 p.m. - TMN Talks

Question 10: Hi Jad. I love Radio Lab. Everyone I’ve ever introduced it to has made an immediate connection to it. I was wondering if you might discuss the more technical end of how you produce the show. What sort of software do you use to create the sounds you use in the show. And, for that matter, where do you get most of the sound you work with? Thanks!

Thanks for the props! Most of the sound creation happens in protools on the mac, with lots of granular synthesis in programs like RTGS, plug-ins from Soundtoys and whole bunch of others, plus various doodads along the way. i think of the sound as electro-acoustic. i start with acoustic sounds, live instruments, and then treat them electronically. so i tilt away from very synthy, glitchy stuff. the feel i want to create is of an organic, “real” world where things are a bit askew…so i stretch sounds, use lots of filters to distress acoustic sounds. because the intellectual world of the show is about exploring new, strange ideas. so the sound should reflect.

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About This Talk

The son of a scientist and a doctor, Radio Lab Co-Host Jad Abumrad did most of his growing up in Tennessee, before studying creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio. Following graduation, Abumrad wrote music for films, and reported and produced documentaries for a variety of local and national public radio programs, including On the Media, PRI’s Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and WNYC’s “24 Hours at the Edge of Ground Zero”. The Ring & I, an insightful, funny, and lyrical look at the enduring power of Wagner’s Ring Cycle which he produced and hosted, aired nationally and internationally and earned ten awards, including the prestigious 2005 National Headliner Grand Award in Radio.

Illustration by Witold Riedel

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