Voice

Over the course of millions of years, human voices have evolved to hold startling power. These clouds of vibrating air carry crucial information about who we are–and we rely on them to push ourselves up and out into the physical world.

This week, we’re on a journey to understand how we got our unique sonic fingerprint, the power it affords us, and what happens when it’s taken away.

Special thanks to Alice Wong, Wren Farrell, Hector Espinal and his parents, Crisaly and Hector Espinal, Mary Croke, Nancy Kielty, Beth McEwen, Robin Feuer Miller, Roomful of Teeth, Amanda Crider, Caroline Shaw, Judd Greenstein, Leilihua Lanzilotti, Rebekka Karijord, and Michael Harrison.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Reported by -Annie McEwen and Matt Kielty

Produced by - Annie McEwen and Matt Kielty

Original music and sound design contributed by - Jeremy Bloom and Matt Kielty

with mixing help from - Jeremy Bloom

Fact-checking by - Anna Pujol-Mazzini

and Edited by  - Alex Neason

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Books -

• Disability Intimacy by Alice Wong
• Year of the Tiger by Alice Wong
• This is the Voice by John Colapinto

Websites -

• DisabilityVisibilityProject.com

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Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.