Speechification

Apologies for my second, er, challenging listen in succession, but this is a stunning, moving bit of radio. You know you’re in for a harrowing time when Arvo Pärt’s Fratres is playing during the intro …

000 is Australian for 999 or 911, and this is a documentary about calls to 000 in Melbourne. A simple enough description, but as with Don’t Hang Up, the drama suspended between two sides of a phone call can be compelling and fearful. In an emergency situation, though, this suspension is so precarious and fragile that you almost catch your breath hoping for the connection to be retained, for the static to clear, for the mobile signal to remain strong, for the other person to answer …

As the show’s synopsis notes, it’s a psychological portrait of Melbourne as well as of the astonishingly together teams that handle the calls. It’s the sound of life - chaotic, visceral, raw - and I suspect this programme will stop you in your tracks.

Radio Eye: 000 Ambulance (mp3)

Would you pick up a ringing payphone?

Ever since Russell introduced us to the wonder of ‘Don’t Hang Up‘ last year, I’ve been snuffling around for more of it like some sort of radio pig with the scent of a delicious audio truffle. Or something.

The BBC re-broadcast two episodes recently.

Night Lines (MP3) is pretty dark. There’s the conversation with a drunk teenager in Margate (which becomes increasingly disturbing and sad) a friendly Floridian security guard (which is also slightly disturbing in parts) and the tales of a hitchhiking transexual in New Zealand (which sounds like it might be disturbing, but turns out to be rather uplifting).

Will Santa Pick Up? (MP3) explores all things Christmas. I include it for completeness but also as a pick-me-up for anyone already missing the holiday season.

Photo credit: Jo Levine

In celebration of Steve getting us up and running as a podcast I thought I’d post one of my favourite programmes from the hard-drive archive. It’s an episode of Don’t Hang Up - a programme constructed from a presenter (Alan Dein) ringing phoneboxes around the world and waiting for people to answer. The conversations are fascinating but I particularly love the textures of the sound; the accents and the bleeps, cracks and hisses of global telephony. Lovely stuff. Why did they only make three? (mp3)