Tonight I tweeted along with the awesome radio show, “The Science of the Wire” and wrote my week’s review of the same show. It was really interesting to follow along and hear fellow students on a show like this.
The idea of the radio show was really interesting. I think the introduction could have been a little more loud and entertaining. However, the pager discussion was really interesting because I did not know how this system worked. It was a good discussion-based show and people bounced off of each other to explain everything better. The background noises were interesting, too. It was a very good back and forth discussion on pagers that was very conversational. I liked the musical break that seamlessly followed and the bumper was pretty cool.
Using Carmella as the introducer was a smart trick because she brings the listener back and clues them into what will be discussed next. She sets the scene if you will. I liked the discussion on the wire taps and how people find this out, but I found some of the conversation to go on a bit. However, I think it is really smart that the readers play off of each other and ask questions to allow the listener to understand certain ideas or definitions. You can tell the creators thought about the audience. I like that they put the new technology in context. They touch on the very popular and old issue of the fact that technology can be used for things that it is not always meant for.
The background noise was cool and sounded like technology stuff, but it could also be a bit loud sometimes or sound like interference. I loved the classical music tunes though in between bits and Carmella’s commercial for UMW is hilarious.
The radio commentators definitely put on a show. They introduce people and bring the audience back into what they were talking about before the break. The technology discussions really opened my eyes to things that I took for granted in the show and didn’t worry about at the moment. I also like that they bring in examples from the show. Going into the law also put in a new context that we wouldn’t necessarily learn from just watching the Wire. They explained this portion in layman’s terms and the main speaker was asked clarifying questions, which really helped me as a listener. The statistics were a really nice touch, particularly because 80 percent of the wire tapping dealt with narcotics, which really has a lot to do with the Wire. The rules were a smart thing to include, but it was hard to keep up with all of the lists that the team read out. I think they could have used different speakers or done something else to liven up the conversation here. The ending of this conversation was a little rough and I got lost a bit toward the end, but I did like that the group brought in the danger of technology and its affect on each character. The GPS conversation got a little more convoluted and sciency, which lost me, but I also don’t like science. I think they did a pretty good job of keeping it tight though here.
The relativity discussion totally lost me. I forgot what it related to in the Wire and thought it just went on a bit. I think they could have cut this a bit, but could tell they were passionate and knowledgeable on the subject, which made it a bit better. I again say that I dislike science, though, which should be taken into account.
Overall I thought it was a very good and informed show. The discussion and conversational quality of the show really made it. The end lost me in the science terms, but I can tell everyone on the show had a great time and was really passionate about what they were discussing. It sounded like a real radio show and that alone made it awesome!
