Audio plays a role in how a story is told in the way that the changes of voices helps the listener make connections that different people are talking. Which then means many people are going through the same thing. Also, the change in tones and voices keeps the listeners attention and the tone sets the mood for the stories that are told. The parts of the podcast that I think are effective are the stories from the people who have experienced it and have the courage to tell their story because it brings the issue more to life knowing what they have gone through. I feel that a real story someone has gone through hits harder than hypotheticals. Facts and studies are also effective because you can’t prove a fact to be wrong so they convey a very strong message. The podcast is not as visual as Martha Hall’s books but you can still empathize with spoken stories as well. They are similar in the way that you can’t see the person in either situation whether it is a podcast or Hall’s books. They both convey the message just as efficiently in my opinion and just as strongly.
The story from the podcast that made me most upset was when the girl told her friend that she was lesbian and the girl stopped being her friend. The girl stopped being her friend because her parents didn’t approve of her friend being lesbian. The parents told their daughter that her friend was not welcome in their house anymore. To me that is the root of the problem in our society because people judge people based on their sex, race, or sexuality. My favorite quote to back this up from the podcast is, “The problem that we have is discrimination” (23:19).
