Review: Audio Maverick
I am a believer in context. Nothing is formed in a vacuum and everything has a pathway. We have to figure out sound before speech, walking before running, electricity before the internet, and radio before podcasts.
I think of podcasting as the child of radio. Broadcast comes before streaming in our technology timeline, so it is a natural progression. Radio was a juggernaught of technology that I think we take for granted in the shadow of television and now the world wide web. It was radio that first formed national identity, it was radio that first gave us live updates of triumph and tragedy. It was radio that started a network of communication not full of dots and dashes, but full of character and personality.
I came into podcasting at a wonky time, to say the least. I started writing out of obsession, and passion for a medium I didn't have full context for. Arguably, I never will have this knowledge because I was a child during the first podcast boom, but we move on. I look to podcast friends for context, but sources aren't always compatible with me - I admit I'm a distractable person. Academic texts take me years to read.
I keep looking. By way of various social networks, I am lucky enough to sometimes stumble upon something like What's a Podcast? Which is a limited series that recounts the earliest days of podcasting. Or, podcast friends send me things with bright shiny letters saying "you're going to love this".
Audio Maverick was sent to me via my podcast friends at Tink Media and as usual, they matched me with a podcast I want to tell everyone about. Produced by CUNY TV, this podcast is exactly the context I have been looking for. Tracing through nine 30-ish minute episodes, we are presented with the history of one of radio's biggest audio producers. We get the context of a then, that beautifully folds into a now.
From some of the most humble American beginning, to a millionare grandfather still using coupons, Audio Maverick gives us the multi-faceted life of Himan Brown. A name that may not be at the forefront of drama history, but one that boasts contact with some of the most notable dramatists of the 20th century. All because of his position as a producer of radio radio drama. Not only does this podcast find fascinating connections to other mediums, but you feel almost a full circle story. There are echoes of the podcasting industry today. What does money have to do with the art? What does it mean to have artistry and passion wrapped up in profit? What can we appreciate from history, to make tomorrow better?
This podcast lays out the history of a man, an industry, and an art form. It wraps it all up in smooth narration, awe-inspiring design, and a consumable story. It feels like it was made by people who not only loved the project because of the story, but also because of the medium they are using to tell it. Clips of interviews, dramas, jingles, and other notable audio cues weave their way through this story to create a delightful audio texture. From the choice of narrator, Margot Avery, to the final interviews with modern audio dramatists, we have a full picture of not just a producer, but the medium he loved. A journey that starts with childhood bravery, to a legacy that we probably won't ever fully appreciate without more decades of hindsight.
Audio Maverick is a podcast that doesn't answer all of these questions and maybe doesn't even pose them. You can take this podcast as a record, an analysis of a person, and then make it into a reflection if you want. A listener can enjoy the story, and the spectacular audio as what they are. They also can look for what it means within a context. It truly is an example of great audio work, beautiful storytelling, and sharp timing.
Listen to Audio Maverick today.
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