This American Moth’s Sandbox

This week I listened to three different podcasts with each dealing with a storytelling. The podcasts I listened to were Moth, This American Life and Sandbox. Personally, I had heard of Moth and This American Life, but had not yet gotten around to giving them a listen. The episodes I listened to were:

- “Bye-Bye New York: Emad Kiyaei,” Moth
- “Valentine’s Day,” This American Life
- “The Sensory Connection Between Art and Science with Ani Liu,” Sandbox

For me, the Moth episode was the most interesting to listen to as it dealt with a man who told his story via Skype. Usually, participants are present at a live Moth slam to tell their stories. However, because Emad Kiyaei had been forced to leave the United States under President Donald Trump’s administration, the man told his story by only using a Skype audio call. He talked about how he grew up in South Africa and how he moved to New York just after Sept. 11. He talked about being racially profiled by TSA and the treatment he received while being interrogated for something he had no knowledge or involvement in. After his release from the interrogation, which lasted several hours, he found himself alone at night in a city he knew nothing about. Emad then talked about how he lived in New York for a few years, developed friendships that became family, and found a career he loved. Then, abruptly, he was given only so many days to leave the country. This meant majority of his belongings had to be given to friends or sold. His story was powerful and it immediately drew me. It also drew in the audience and judges, as he ended up winning the competition that evening.

Next up, the This American Life episode I listened to was about how various people took a break or pursued love. Overall, the stories told were very interesting and entertaining. My only issue was that the hosts would continuously interject with questions or comments that took away from the natural flow of the stories. On top of that, the music and general format of the show just didn’t really interest me. It was more so the content of the stories being told that kept me listening.

Lastly, the Sandbox episode I heard was not very interesting to me personally. Either that or I just was tired of podcasts at that point. I do, however, think the sound quality for this episode was superior to the others. It sounded crisp and clear. The speaker was great and she didn’t stumble over her words or come across as if she were reading.