Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad Tries Something Completely Nuts
What makes Radiolab so strangely addictive is its willingness to take risks as it re-creates visceral moments of human insight. For a segment on the discovery of “these tiny, eel-like things” we call sperm, Abumrad layers an erudite voice over gargling noises—think aliens swimming underwater. As the crude microscope of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek comes into focus, the narrator’s voice picks up speed and Gregorian choral music resounds to illustrate the 17th-century scientist’s moment of clarity. “You feel your perspective shift,” Abumrad marvels. “So much of our show is about bumping into the moment of revelation, and I want to feel the bump, you know?”
