On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg erupted into flames while docking at a New Jersey air field. Some visual footage of the catastrophe has survived, but the most vivid testimony comes from Herbert Morrison, whose voice recording for a Chicago radio station endures in the words “oh the humanity.” Try thinking these words without hearing his voice. Ödere couldn’t get them out of his head, so he threw himself headlong into the history of blimps and the radio and, typically, ends up wondering what actually happens when a voice is transmitted through the sky and where it ends up. This episode’s etymological excursion features the word “blimp,” which remains shrouded in mystery and conjecture. Welcome to World of Blimps.
Engineered Distraction. Noise at the Right Pitch. Voice & Soundscape in Podcast Format.
