The major question in Radiolab's "Emergence" is spelled out at then end of the podcast--What is consciousness? I've wondering this myself a time or two, but I never knew that it was an actual field that has recently 'emerged' :) It's a riveting subject and I was also intrigued by the nature of the podcast.
I'm not familiar with podcasts, I've really only ever listened to a handful of NPR audio clips so for me Radiolab was a little disorienting at first. All the different sounds and effects brought the narrative to life but it was also an odd experience to be moved around so much, so vividly, in a piece that is not visual.
I felt that the piece addressed smaller questions that led up to the big question and that were all interrelated. Emergence compares fireflies, to cities, to ants, to bees, and to neurons in the brain. When the pod-casters were talking about randomness coming together it made me think of my acting rehearsals when we work in a big group. One person will start something and it's infectious and everyone catches on eventually--there's group energy--that invisible that guides us to the same work.
Some of their transitions were more subtle than others. I appreciated the 'different' way the pod-cast went about narrating--it was refreshing and I think I'll definitely listen to more in the future. Thanks Elaine and Emily!
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