Radiolab: "In Silence"

Original Air Date: April 7, 2009
Hosts: Jad Abumrad & Robert Krulwich

Episode Overview

In this special episode of Radiolab, the hosts turn away from science and data to explore some of the deepest, most difficult questions examined through Bible stories—specifically, the profound silences that reside at the heart of two of the Bible’s darkest tales: the binding of Isaac (the Akedah) and Noah’s Ark. Through a reflective, sermon-like narrative delivered by Robert Krulwich, the show investigates what happens, both humanly and divinely, in moments of unbearable, unanswered silence. The episode uses these stories to probe universal questions: How do we make sense of suffering? Why is there pain and inexplicable loss in the world? Can pure hope exist in the face of silence?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Shifting from Science to Faith

• Context: Unlike typical episodes, the hosts acknowledge that some questions—especially in the realm of suffering and meaning—cannot be addressed by science alone.
• Quote:

  "But there are some questions that science just can't get to." — Jad Abumrad, [01:22]

2. The Story of Abraham and Isaac: An Exploration of Obedience and Silence

• The Call: God calls out to Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac (Genesis 22).
• Abraham’s Silent Compliance: Abraham does not argue, question, or speak; he simply obeys in silence.
• Emphasis on Silence:
  The journey and preparation for the sacrifice are conducted without spoken protest or explanation, making the silence itself a character in the narrative.
• First Words: When Isaac finally asks, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham gives only a minimal answer.
• Quote:

  “So much of what happens in this story happens in silence.” — Robert Krulwich, [06:29]

3. The Story of Noah: Parallel Silence in the Face of Destruction

• Noah's Ark Recap: Noah obeys God’s command to build an ark and saves a remnant of life while the rest of creation is drowned.
• Observing the Unchosen: The silent, sodden animals left outside are depicted in heartbreaking stillness.
• Unspoken Agony: Noah is imagined turning away—not able to articulate the horror of the destruction.
• Quote:

  "They stand there silently accepting or maybe just enduring this inexplicable end." — Robert Krulwich, [12:58]

4. The Moral and Emotional Consequences of Obedience

• Aftermaths: Both Abraham and Noah are described as deeply affected by their experiences: Noah becomes drunk; Abraham returns home alone, and soon after, Sarah dies.
• Interpersonal, Relational Silence: The relationships between survivors are altered, perhaps broken, by unspoken trauma.
• Quote:

  "Abraham returns alone to Sarah. And what of Sarah? Well, presumably, she heard what happened, what almost happened. But as soon as Abraham returns...Sarah dies. She dies. And Abraham is alone. And he stays silent. And Noah stays silent." — Robert Krulwich, [21:30]

5. The Question of Hope and Meaning Amid Silence

• Wounded Hearts: Krulwich suspects that Abraham and Noah were not merely obedient or resigned, but harbored a “furious roar of two wounded, angry, voluptuous human hearts filled with questions and worry and insult and wonder.”
• The Struggle with Facing Unanswered Suffering: The ancient silences of the Bible echo our own struggles with suffering that defies explanation.
• Quote:

  "Because the other part of being human, of being a good human, beyond our capacity to love and to care, is a desire for answers, for explanations, a desire to know why." — Robert Krulwich, [23:10]

6. The Parallel with Modern Suffering

• Abraham Lincoln as a Model: The story of President Lincoln weeping over casualty lists is introduced as a modern image of a good man sharing in the suffering of others.
• The Universality of Hope and Uncertainty: The episode closes by drawing out how all humans must at times live with hope against silence—hoping there is meaning even when we cannot see it.

7. Personalizing the Aftermath: The Perspective of Isaac

• Isaac’s Survivor Question: The episode’s closing passages imagine Isaac living with ambiguous survival and trauma, unsure whether he is miraculous or accidental, left with only the determination to “go on...and hope in silence.”
• Quote:

  "I hope that I'm here for a reason. That one day it'll make sense. Sometimes I believe it does make sense. Sometimes not.... I hope the kindness wins. But I don't think about it much. I just hope in silence." — Robert Krulwich, [26:00]

8. Cosmological Reflection: The Origin of Meaning from Silence

• Science Re-enters: Even cosmology, with its “great quiet” before the Big Bang, is invoked as part of a broader human mystery about the silence and absence of answers in the universe—until mind, meaning, and morality emerge.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Unthinkable Command:

  "Because God says, take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee to the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering..." — Robert Krulwich, [03:12]

• On the Silence of Abraham and Noah:

  "He does what he's told and he does it in silence... There are few silences in the Bible. So troubling, so hard to understand." — Robert Krulwich, [05:22]

• Interpreting Their Silence:

  “But I have to think it was in both of them a mighty struggle to smother what their hearts felt, to put their hope in a power that was beyond their understanding.” — Robert Krulwich, [23:48]

• On Human Suffering and the Search for Meaning:

  “We may come from silence, but mind. Mind breaks the silence of the universe. Mind introduces meaning, or at least the search for meaning. Maybe this is in the master plan." — Robert Krulwich, [24:41]

• On Isaac’s Lifelong Legacy of Silence:

  "What was Isaac thinking? When he went down alone from Mount Moriah, when he walked into what was left of his long, long life, he must have asked himself, why was I tested? Why was I spared?" — Robert Krulwich, [25:17]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:16] - Introduction; framing the episode’s scope and approach
• [02:00–08:30] - Abraham, God, and the binding of Isaac: story and analysis
• [08:30–14:40] - The silence of Noah, the animals left behind, and unspoken anguish
• [15:45–22:50] - The aftermaths: psychological consequences for Abraham, Noah, and Sarah
• [22:50–24:41] - The meaning of hope and the search for explanations amid silence
• [24:41–26:15] - The history of the universe as emerging from silence; human suffering, morality, and Isaac’s legacy
• [26:00–26:56] - Isaac’s imagined inner monologue and closing thoughts

Tone and Style

The episode is deeply reflective and quietly intense, blending scriptural analysis, personal speculation, literary reference, and philosophical inquiry. It employs a sermonic, intimate narrative voice (primarily Robert Krulwich) and gently challenges the listener to sit with questions that are both ancient and urgent.

Summary

"In Silence," an episode of Radiolab, uses the biblical stories of Abraham and Isaac and Noah’s Ark as touchstones to meditate on the meaning of traumatic silence—those moments when suffering, moral paradox, and the inscrutability of divine command leave us yearning for answers that may never come. Through vivid recounting, personal reflection, and provocative parallels to modern suffering, the episode ultimately places hope—not certainty or explanation—at the center of human resilience in the face of the universe’s silence. The show leaves the listener in contemplation, inviting us all to “hope in silence.”