Sounds Big

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Sounds Big"

Podcast: Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities
Date: December 11, 2025
Host: Aaron Mahnke
Episode Structure: Two bite-sized true tales from history, exploring the unbelievable and unsettling through vivid storytelling.

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Main Theme

This episode, titled "Sounds Big," explores two historical stories where sound—whether wielded with wit or with devastating physical power—profoundly impacts lives. The episode moves from the sharp satire of a once-enslaved man to the literal world-shaking eruption of Krakatoa, showcasing how both words and waves can change history.

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Story 1: Jordan Anderson's Letter – A Masterclass in Satirical Resistance

[01:49 - 06:27]

Key Discussion Points

• Setting the Scene:

  • The year is 1865, just east of Nashville, Tennessee. The Civil War has ended, and Colonel Patrick Henry Anderson’s plantation is in financial ruin.
  • Colonel Anderson, desperate, writes to Jordan Anderson, a formerly enslaved man whom he had owned, now living freely in Dayton, Ohio.

• The Absurd Request and Jordan's Response:

  • The Colonel asks Jordan to return and work for him.
  • Jordan, illiterate but sharp-witted, dictates a response titled "Letter from a Freedman to his Old Master", filled with biting sarcasm concealed in a formal, almost sincere tone.

• Content of the Letter:

  • Jordan describes his content life in Ohio and expresses skepticism about returning south, humorously insisting on guarantees for proper treatment.
  • He requests 32 years of back pay for himself and his wife—$11,680 (roughly $250,000 today)—factoring in deductions for clothes and even dental services.

• Sarcasm and Brutal Honesty:

  • The letter’s wit exposes the cruelty and absurdity of slavery and the gall of his former owner.
  • The postscript delivers a stinging reminder of past violence:
    • “Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.” (Aaron Mahnke, [04:56])

• Aftermath:

  • Colonel Anderson, facing insolvency, sells his plantation and dies two years later, with his family harboring generational resentment.
  • Jordan Anderson’s letter becomes nationally famous, reprinted widely and compared to the work of Mark Twain.

Notable Quotes

• “Jordan’s tone is blistering to read even today, and we can only imagine how his former enslaver received it.” (Aaron Mahnke, [05:50])
• “It is an 808 word clapback against a man who never saw Jordan as worthy of human dignity.” (Aaron Mahnke, [05:04])
• “Even though he was illiterate, Jordan Anderson displayed an incredible literary wit, and without the ability to read or write, he backed his way into becoming an acclaimed author, a more important voice of the American experience than people like Colonel Anderson ever would be.” (Aaron Mahnke, [06:19])

Memorable Moment

• Postscript punchline: Jordan’s deadpan mention of a past murder attempt by the colonel as a casual aside encapsulates the letter’s dark humor and powerful subtext.

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Story 2: The Cataclysmic Sound of Krakatoa

[08:13 - 13:19]

Key Discussion Points

• Historical Disaster Unfolds:

  • August 26, 1883, Dutch colony near Krakatoa. Johanna Barink and her family experience mounting dread as the volcano grows more volatile.
  • Loud, thunderous noises from the volcano escalate, signaling imminent disaster.

• Personal Peril in the Eruption:

  • Johanna witnesses the first stones of pumice raining down, leading her and the family to flee into the hills.
  • They’re caught in a devastating tsunami triggered by the eruption but manage to escape, battered but alive.

• The Power of Sound:

  • As they take refuge, a series of deafening booms shakes the land, culminating at 10:02am with an explosion so immense it causes physical agony and temporary deafness:
    • “The sound to end all sounds. The whole world seemed to shake. Joanna felt two sharp pains on both sides of her head and all went silent. Her entire body seemed to swell.” (Aaron Mahnke, [11:26])
  • The eruption’s roar registers at 3,310 decibels—history’s loudest ever recorded. The shockwave kills indiscriminately, sparing none in its range.

• Human Toll:

  • Johanna’s baby dies, possibly from the immense sound alone, a tragic example echoed in hundreds of other families.
  • Despite injury and loss, Johanna’s family survives; most deaths from Krakatoa are due to tsunamis, but the sound itself claims many victims.

• Global Reach:

  • The sound is heard as far away as Australia, 3,000 miles distant, underscoring the unprecedented power unleashed.

Notable Quotes

• “At that level, the shockwave from Krakatoa ceased to be a mere sound wave and instead became a wave of air pressure rupturing the eardrums and even the internal organs of anyone within a hundred miles.” (Aaron Mahnke, [12:29])
• “It’s incredibly curious that in a legendary disaster where massive waves, falling pumice stones and burning clouds could kill you, it was an invisible force in the air that was the most deadly of all.” (Aaron Mahnke, [13:10])

Memorable Moment

• Physical effects of the sound:
  Johanna's experience of agony, disorientation, deafness, and discovering her melting skin—her survival and bereavement set against the era’s most violent auditory event.

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Takeaways & Insights

• The Power of Sound:
  • Both tales demonstrate how sound—in words or in shockwaves—can be transformative, destructive, and deeply revealing.
• Survival and Wit:
  • Jordan Anderson’s letter and Johanna’s ordeal both underscore resilience in the face of overwhelming forces, whether human cruelty or natural catastrophe.
• Human Stories in Historic Events:
  • By focusing on individual narratives—the freedman’s reply and a family’s flight from disaster—the episode delivers powerful emotional perspectives on historical events.

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Timestamps for Reference

• Introduction & First Tale (Jordan Anderson): [01:17 - 06:27]
• Second Tale (Krakatoa): [08:13 - 13:19]

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Episode Tone & Style

Aaron Mahnke’s narration is measured, respectful, and laced with thoughtful irony, particularly in recounting Jordan Anderson’s story. The stories are relayed with vivid historical detail and human empathy, maintaining both gravity and intrigue—apt for a show exploring “the unbelievable, the unsettling, and the bizarre.”

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In short:
“Sounds Big” uses two gripping tales to explore the hidden and overwhelming power of sound—one a razor-sharp critique of injustice, the other a force of nature that changed the course of lives and history.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Guaranteed Human support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It's IT screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures.

[A]

Welcome to Erin Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild.

Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.

The year was 1865. The place? An estate just east of Nashville. A man named Colonel Patrick Henry Anderson was struggling under debts and his land was on the verge of collapse. His financial ruin seemed inevitable. Now, before you extend too much sympathy toward the Colonel, it's worth knowing that he was the manager of a plantation in Civil War era Tennessee. His financial woes were entirely tied to the resolution of the Civil War the Confederacy had lost, and human trafficking, the enterprise that supported the entire Southern economy, was no more. Colonel Anderson was so desperate for anyone to salvage his fortunes that he wrote a letter to a man named Jordan entreating him to come back and work for him. Jordan, you see, was a former enslaved man of the Colonel's. Jordan had also taken the last name Anderson and had been freed by the Union army in 1864. The request to come back and work for his former enslaver was so absurd that Jordan, who was by this point living in Dayton, Ohio, had to respond. Now, the man could not read or write, but what he could do was dictate to a neighbor who sent the response on his behalf. The document was entitled Letter from a Freedman to his Old Master. In this letter, Jordan Anderson described his pleasant life in Ohio to the man who had once held him captive for decades. Jordan insisted that he and his wife Millie were in a good situation and didn't wish to go back South. In a tone that at first sounds sincere but drips with sarcasm, he outlined his concern that he and his wife wouldn't get the proper treatment they deserved if they were to go back and work for their one time enslaver. And then he went on to make a request. What the Colonel would have to do in order to get his interest. Jordan requested 32 years of back pay for both himself and his wife, amounting to some $11,680. Including interest, that's equal to about a quarter of a million dollars today. To complement that dry sense of humor, he said that the figure included deductions for clothing that his master purchased for them and for the services of a dentist to pull a couple of teeth. Underlying every sly jab in the letter is the brutal reality that life for a black man in the south was. Was still extremely difficult, even after emancipation. Jordan Anderson mentioned in the letter that he wished to get his children a good education, implying that this would not be possible in the south and that any request from him to go there would be an absurd decision on his part. And if his intent wasn't abundantly clear at that point, Jordan also added a postscript. Say howdy to George Carter, he wrote, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me. The reference to attempted murder makes for a perfect punchline. Jordan Anderson obviously had no intention of going back to work for the Colonel. It is an 808 word clapback against a man who never saw Jordan as worthy of human dignity. What makes the letter an incredible historical document is the use of humor to critique the brutal reality of slavery. Jordan's tone is blistering to read even today, and we can only imagine how his former enslaver received it. One month later, in September of 1865, Colonel Anderson sold his plantation, all 1,000 acres of it, for a fraction of its value. He was dead two years later at the age of 44. According to a journalist who tracked down his surviving family, they remained bitter at Jordan for generations afterward, saying that he should have been loyal and respectful to the Colonel, whatever that means, thus proving that generations later, they still missed the entire point of the letter. Jordan Anderson, on the other hand, outlived his former master by almost 40 years. His letter, published in local papers, became a viral sensation in its day, encouraging comparisons to Mark Twain, the legendary literary satirist, and it was printed and reprinted among oral accounts of surviving enslaved peoples, helping give insight and perspective on the sort of person who survived enslavement in the 19th century. Even though he was illiterate, Jordan Anderson displayed an incredible literary wit, and without the ability to read or write, he backed his way into becoming an acclaimed author, a more important voice of the American experience than people like Colonel Anderson ever would be.

[B]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you you backtested against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member finra SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures this.

[A]

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It was August 26, 1883, in the Dutch colony of Kimbang on the southern end of the island of Sumatra. Johanna Barink was the wife of the local colonial overseer. She stood on the porch of her family's home looking out across the Sunda Strait at the smoking volcano Krakatoa. The volcano was known to occasionally spew ash and lava into the air. It had for as long as they'd lived there, and it was doing that now. But Johanna was less concerned with what she could see and more concerned with what she could hear. For months now, the volcano had been producing a series of loud bangs similar to thunder. But over the last day or so, those bangs had been growing in volume and frequency. When she closed her eyes and listened to the jungle around her, the birds chirped with a chaotic energy that wasn't typical. She walked inside, picked up her newborn infant son from his crib and held him close. She looked at her two other young children playing in the sitting room with their nanny and she had a bad feeling. Johanna's heart leapt at the arrival of a new sound. Two loud bangs, but not from the volcano. They were heard coming from the roof. Outside. She could see large smoldering stones raining down onto the colony. It was pumice stone. The volcano was erupting. The family ran with their servants from their cottage into the hills. Johanna tried to ignore the putrid burning air as it coated her throat and the sharp pains of the pumice stones when they landed on her. But once again, what she could hear was infinitely more terrifying than what she could see or feel. This time, she heard a roaring sound. It was coming from behind them and it was getting louder. And then suddenly, a massive wave crashed through the jungle behind them, sending their hiking party flying in all directions. It was all Johanna could do to hold onto her baby, her husband and their servants grab the other children. And they all held on to whatever they could, dragging themselves forward through the jungle against the crashing current. Miraculously, the family managed to pull themselves through the jungle, out of the water and up into the hills where the safety of their village awaited them. The family and the villagers alike huddled inside. Johanna hoped that the worst of it was behind them, that she wouldn't hear any further harbingers of doom. Unfortunately, her hope couldn't have been more in vain. At 5:30 in the morning, an ear piercing boom shook the whole island. The baby cried and the children screamed. And then at 6:44am, another ash began to fall outside the windows. And then at 8:20am, a third boom. And finally at 10:02am, the sound to end all sounds. The whole world seemed to shake. Joanna felt two sharp pains on both sides of her head and all went silent. Her entire body seemed to swell. Her lungs inflated to their maximum capacity and she couldn't expel the air she felt beyond dizzy, completely disoriented. Luckily, the disorientation quickly passed and she could breathe again, but she couldn't hear a thing. Even worse, looking down, she saw white smoke curling its way up into the room from the floorboards. The heat was unbearable. When she looked down at the baby in her arms, she realized that he wasn't moving. Some combination of the heat, the smoke and the sound had taken her child from her. Devastated, she laid the baby down and wandered outside into the smoke. She couldn't see her hands in front of herself. She couldn't hear anything. When she felt her face, she realized that her skin was hanging loose off of her body. She was literally melting. She fell to the jungle floor and waited for Krakatoa to claim her as its next victim. When Krakatoa erupted that August in 1883, it killed over 36,000 people. Most died from the resulting tsunamis, but some died from the sound of the eruption itself. You see, that final 1,002am explosion is believed to have registered at 3, 310 decibels, the loudest sound ever documented in history. At that level, the shockwave from Krakatoa ceased to be a mere sound wave and instead became a wave of air pressure rupturing the eardrums and even the internal organs of anyone within a hundred miles. People 3,000 miles away in Australia even heard the sound. Miraculously, Joanna and the rest of her family actually survived. They were found at the brink of death and nursed back to health. Their hearing eventually returned, but it's possible that her baby and hundreds of others were killed by the sound of Krakatoa alone. It's incredibly curious that in a legendary disaster where massive waves, falling pumice stones and burning clouds could kill you, it was an invisible force in the air that was the most deadly of all.

I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or learn more about the show by visiting curiositiespodcast.com this show was created by me, Aaron Manke in partnership with How Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series and television show and you can learn all about it [e-mail] and until next time, stay curious.

[B]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures [e-mail] Disclosures this is an iHeart podcast.

[A]

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