Allison Haley
EN 101
Analysis Essay
19 October 2020
The Stories Found Within Earbuds
Peter Forbes, a photographer and author, once said, “Stories create community, enable us
to see through the eyes of other people, and open us to the claims of others” (Allison). People
hear many impactful stories in their lives; however, for some, the ones that resonate the most are
found within a podcast. This may be the reason behind the ever-increasing popularity of
podcasts. The question is why? Tiffanie Wen, a freelance writer, argues in her essay “Inside the
Podcast Brain: Why Do Audio Stories Captivate” that there is a scientific reason why podcasts
are so popular. She suggests that their fame is dependent on the methods that the creators use in
order to captivate the audience, including using tension to get the audience to engage with the
story, dramatizing the audio structure, conjuring up characters, and using sound effects
(135-138). Upon reading this, I decided to put in my earbuds and do my own research, which led
to a fascinating discovery: it is the science behind podcasts--which Wen mentions but does not
emphasize--that lead to their great renown; their use of tension, characters with vivid
descriptions, and sound effects all help the listener engage in the story.
While it may seem difficult to believe, many podcasts tend to achieve an emotional
response from the listener through tension and stressors. When trying to find the perfect playlist
to listen to when getting ready, I stumbled upon the podcast Full Body Chills. Curious, I decided
to play their new episode titled “Lucid Dreamer.” I was immediately immersed in this false
reality; however, my body reacted as if it was real. Looking back, I now realize how the host of
Full Body Chills extracted this type of response from me. One feature that is constant throughout
this podcast episode is the music. The instruments are used to create a dark and mysterious
atmosphere. It keeps the listeners on their toes by crescendoing, decrescendoing, and, at times,
coming to a sudden stop. When the main character, whom we never discover the name of, speaks
of her dream, the music distorts. There are also frequent beat drops and echoes that sound eerily
similar to a woman screaming. Another thing the creators do is have the speaker switch up her
speech patterns. Her stammering and constant sighs make the listeners sympathize with her and
her situation. As she whispers in fear and talks about feeling oblivious to everything around her,
the listeners find themselves beginning to feel helpless and worried. What produces the most
reaction, though, is how she talks as if she knows them personally. The listeners view her as a
friend, which makes her problems of utmost importance to them. Paul Zak, director for the
Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, explains that “people
require some sort of stressor, some sort of arousal response in the brain to have this type of
narrative transportation where we begin to share the emotions of the characters in a story” (qtd.
in Wen 136). This podcast executes this method perfectly through its use of music and the main
character’s speech; however, this is not the only thing the podcast does well.
Another aspect that popular podcasts have in common is their ability to conjure up
different characters. There were not that many people involved in this story, but those who were
involved created quite an impact. The listeners meet the main character first. She is the one who
is suffering from a constant nightmare and whose curiosity got her into a life-threatening
situation. Though the listeners never find out the character’s name, they know plenty about her;
for instance, she often uses humor as a coping device. While talking about acquiring the VHS
she needs to watch in order to have lucid dreams, she jokes that she is “not looking to become a
connoisseur of mystery sleep tapes” (“Lucid Dreamer”). They also feel as if they know her due
to how she speaks to them with familiarity. The second character they are introduced to is the
attendant, a burly man wearing all white who mainly keeps to himself. They then come to know
Joseph. He is the one who ends up giving the main character the VHS tape, and during the
exchange, they discover that he is paranoid but professional. He is also a strapping young man
with a scar on the side of his head; however, they are never told how he got it. Finally, there are
the creatures, things with no faces, claw-like nails, and cold skin. They are the reason why she
decided to delve into the world of lucid dreams and now feels threatened. The vivid descriptions
as each of the characters appear not only add to the story but allow the listeners to empathize
with the main character more.
The ultimate method, however, that podcasts use to ensnare the listener is strategic sound
effects. One of the ways this podcast gets the listeners to pay attention is, again, through the
music. The listeners become aware of what they should focus on when the music begins to
increase in volume and drops suddenly. When the main character first starts her lucid dream
journey, she has pleasant dreams, which the music backs up by becoming light and
fantasy-esque; however, the listeners know immediately when it becomes a nightmare due to the
drastic switch in the music into a dark vibrato. The instrumentation also makes the listeners feel
as if they are in a time warp and that shadows are lurking behind them, but they cannot see them.
There is also an increase in instruments as the number of faceless creatures rises. In addition to
this, there are the standard sound effects that one would expect to hear. When she hits the diner’s
bell, its inharmonic chords ring in the listeners’ ears. They can hear the sound of the slimy food
as she is forced to eat it, the clock ticking in an impending rhythm, the creaking of doors, and a
woosh when one of the creatures moves her arm. One of the more vivid sounds, though, was
something akin to camera shutters as she attempts to conjure up a face to the faceless creatures.
By providing these unique sound effects, the creators subtly add to the imagery and allow the
listeners to focus on the story itself.
I have found, by listening to an episode of Full Body Chills, that podcasts are more than a
person talking into a microphone. There is a science behind them, a method to their madness.
There is a reason why listeners may find themselves tensing up constantly throughout their
favorite audio drama, and even though they are hidden in the background, the sound effects add
to the story. The character descriptions are not put in for fun but to immerse the listener into the
tale. When I removed my earbuds, I remember feeling a sort of loss. I did not discover what
happened to the girl or why those creatures were after her, and I had many questions left
unanswered. It was then that I realized I am not the only one going through these emotions.
Around the world, other people have also listened to this exact same story and do not know what
occurred afterward. We all got to witness the inside of someone else’s mind and became addicted
to their imagination. That is what stories are supposed to do: leave you wanting but, at the same
time, feeling full.
Works Cited
Allison, Kelly. “21 Amazing Quotes About Storytelling.” Ethos3-Empowering Presenters,
Ethos3-A Presentation Design Agency, 27 Dec. 2017,
www.ethos3.com/2017/12/21-amazing-quotes-about-storytelling/.
“Lucid Dreamer.” Full Body Chills by Flowers, 05 Oct. 2020,
https://getpodcast.com/p/full-body-chills/full-body-chills_lucid-dreamer_be68503d65
Wen, Tiffanie. “Inside the Podcast Brain: Why Do Audio Stories Captivate?” Acting Out
Culture:
Readings for Critical Inquiry, b y James S. Miller, 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018, pp.
135-138.
