Radio, Someone Still Loves You — The Attic On Eighth

“Now more than ever, listening to familiar voices bantering back and forth about TV, literature, and pop culture feels like a soothing connexion to the outside world. ”

When the quarantine was abruptly put in place here in France — around March 16th — public services were thoroughly disorganized, including the different networks of the public radio. The next day, like every morning since I was a teenager, I turned on the radio, only to find silence. A few weeks later, things slowly came back – if not to normal, at least to next-to-normal – and the usual morning program was partially restored (if you're curious and francophone, you can listen to France Culture here).

That morning, when I finally heard the familiar voices of the morning show returning to the airwaves , I realized how deeply I had missed them. Our audio environment, like our visual one, can provide a lot of comfort in these trying times. I was already aware of that fact, but this impression has increased over the past few weeks, as I came to realize that the time that I spent in front of a screen had gone through the roof. Since the beginning of the confinement, all the work that I do throughout the day is on my computer, every social interaction I have, except with my quarantine-mates, are virtual, and when we finally have time to all relax and enjoy a bit of time together, like watching a movie or a TV show, it's necessarily through a screen. It doesn't help that taking walks is limited by the government at the moment.

It is very hard, but I've found that the little moments I set aside for myself to listen to the radio (when I clean up my apartment, when I cook or do the dishes) are the only ones when I can truly find my own rhythm and relax. I've completely set aside political and news-related shows for the time being to focus on what brings me joy and peace. This is what I've been listening lately :

RADIO

For those of you who mourn the summer holidays they had planned abroad, I recommend the website Radio Garden, which connects you to a large number of radios across the globe. We're all stuck at home, but we can still enjoy a bit of travelling listening to Radio Trio De Tres in Columbia, Gold FM 92.9 in Taiwan or Radio Blago in Russia… even without (in my case) speaking a word of Spanish, Chinese or Russian.

With all the radios of the world at your fingertips, it's only fair that I share a few suggestions for my home country as well: if you're looking for an eclectic musical radio, featuring all kind of music genres including (but not limited to) classical, film music, jazz, rock, reggae and pop, all of this without commercials and with anchormen and women specifically selected for the soothing quality of their voices, then Fip is the radio for you. In the same vein, I also recommend the online radio Reverberation, which proposes a series of playlists — some of the best and original mixes I've ever listened to. You're bound to discover something you like listening to them.

PODCASTS

When you're looking for a more specific type of show to listen to, podcasts come in. A few weeks ago, many people joked about compulsive podcasting as one of the side effects of the quarantine (with reason, it seems, since Amazon found itself out of podcast microphones before March was over). Even though I'm well aware of the saturation of the medium right now and the (gentle) fun we make of them, I can't help but love podcasts. Now more than ever, listening to familiar voices bantering back and forth about TV, literature, and pop culture feels like a soothing connexion to the outside world. My personal favorite in that regard has been the Slate Culture Gabfest for years. Originally a free weekly show, its frequency will now be reduced to one show every two weeks due to Slate's financial difficulties, but you can still dive into the archives of the show and, if you like what you hear and can afford it, can consider the Slate Plus membership. There is something fascinating in listening to a cultural podcast from only a few years back, and hearing the hosts discuss the launch of a brand new Tinder app, or whether or not the term "dad bod" was here to stay. Since mid-March, its team of hosts has dedicated one segment each week to the discussion of a movie that was particularly comforting to them, from Paddington 2 to the Talented Mr Ripley. They follow the excellent example of The Pop Culture Happy Hour on NPR, which dedicates a segment each week to what makes their team happy — and, indeed, I have discovered many sources of joy and entertainment thanks to them.

*Marilyn Monroe at home, as featured on You Must Remember This.*

Another perk of signing up for the Slate membership is the access to one of my favorite podcasts, cohosted by Slate's film critic and Vanity Fair's film critic, Flashback, a show dedicated to one-hour long discussions of old movies — and from The Silent of the Lambs to The Bride of Frankenstein, you're almost guaranteed to tumble upon one of your favorites. Speaking of my love for old movies, I cannot recommend highly enough You Must Remember This, the podcast in which Karina Longworth narrates tales of ld Hollywood like you've never heard them before.

Literary podcasts are naturally among my favorites. Most platforms favor a format organized around the interview of an author discussing their latest book, but I tend to prefer open discussions about said book between the hosts, like a book club. It is what the Audio Book Club set up to do until its interruption in 2018 : an hour long discussion on both the latest releases (Conversation with Friends, at the time) and the classics (Swann's Way or Pride and Prejudice). After all, when it comes to books, there is always time to listen to old suggestions, which is why I strongly recommend the wonderful podcast Books on the Nightstand, which ran from 2008 to 2016 — when I listen to old episodes, I still discover new books I'm dying to read thanks to the two hosts excellent pieces of advice.

If you find a host that speaks to you, podcasts are also a great way to learn about things you've always been meaning to learn more about, without ever finding the time to do so. In my case, it's about classical music. I don't come from a family particularly well-versed in classical music, so even though it's a genre that I love, I sometimes have trouble navigating that field by myself and forging my own taste. I've recently become obsessed with the Sticky Notes podcast and its host, Joshua Weilerstein, the Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Beginning my listening sessions by their episode on the history of classical music was a great way for me to have a broader view over a field that I've been meaning to explore for years.

Finally, and most importantly, radio or podcast listening is about finding intimate companionship and comfort when you need it most. It's about reconnecting with the same voices, week after week. It's not a coincidence that I've been religiously listening to the Bon Appétit Foodcast since the beginning of confinement, even though I never seem to find the time needed to actually cook any of their suggestions.

Just like a TV show, it sometimes takes an episode or two to really get into it, but once it's done, regular podcast listening becomes one of the most grounding experiences one could ask for — and I hope that among the few favorites I've listed here, you'll find something that you like.

Milena Le Fouillé is an art historian based in Paris, France, with a specialty in nineteenth and twentieth century art and a strong taste for mythology, fairy tales and legends. She's probably hiding in a museum's cafeteria right now, reading a novel when she really should be working.