Radiolab: “Making the Hippo Dance”

Date: September 9, 2008
Hosts: Jad Abumrad & Robert Krulwich
Event: Live at the Koshland Science Museum, Washington D.C.

Episode Overview

In “Making the Hippo Dance,” Radiolab hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich offer a behind-the-scenes look at how they take dense, sometimes inaccessible scientific ideas and transform them into lively, engaging stories for the public. Recorded in front of a live audience, the episode is a playful and candid workshop—demonstrating the show's creative process, their storytelling techniques, and the delightful struggles of making complex science dance like a hippo in ballet shoes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Challenge: Making Dense Science Accessible

• The Hippo Analogy: They describe dense scientific language as a “heavy hippo” and their job as making the hippo pirouette—making heavy subjects light and elegant.

  • “It’s like heavy like a hippo, which is a wonderful animal, but heavy. And so I think one of our goals is to take the hippo and strap on some ballet shoes and make it do a pirouette.” —Jad Abumrad [02:44]

• The DAF Genes Example:

  • Cynthia Kenyon’s work with C. Elegans worms—a story about genes (DAF2, DAF16) involved in aging—serves as the episode’s test case for science communication.
  • After listening to her technical explanation, Jad and Robert dissect how to make such content connect.

Memorable Quotes:

• “Her verbs are very, very useful to me. It’s these nouns… DAF, DAF2, DAF16.” —Robert Krulwich [04:22]
• “We stole the nouns, replaced them with our own, and we amped up the verbs.” —Jad Abumrad [04:40]

2. Storytelling Tools: Metaphor, Music, and Moment

• Enriching Language:

  • Anthropomorphizing genes (e.g., calling DAF2 the “Grim Reaper gene” and DAF16 the “Fountain of Youth gene”) to clarify and engage.
  • “By damaging this gene, Cynthia and her team essentially are taking the Grim Reaper and knocking his knees out. Stop that.” —Robert Krulwich [05:24]

• How Far Can You Simplify?

  • They wrestle with how much to “embroider” stories for clarity and engagement without sacrificing scientific accuracy.
  • “You sort of... we watch each other’s eyeballs to see, like, when have we come to the very, very, very edge of acceptable stupidity.” —Robert Krulwich [07:24]

3. The Power of Sound: Using Music & “Painterly” Audio

• Fireflies in Sync:
  • Mathematician Steve Strogatz’s evocative story of fireflies flashing in harmony in Thailand is presented as raw tape, then replayed with rich sound design.
  • The hosts debate whether adding music and sound “enhances” or distracts from the story’s natural magic.

Memorable Sequence:

• “Picture it. There’s a riverbank in Thailand, in the remote part of the jungle. You’re in a canoe slipping down the river. There’s no sound of anything... and you just see, with thousands of lights on and then off, all in sync.” —Steve Strogatz (voiced by Announcer) [09:33]
• “There is something about just the box... you get this strange crazy quilt of just, of raw ingredients just in the sound... gradations and variety in... the sound of voices.” —Robert Krulwich [12:05]

4. Staying Personal & Playful: “Permanent Third Gradeness”

• The Third Grade Principle:

  • Most people’s love for science peaks in childhood; Radiolab aims to rekindle that sense of wonder and ownership by keeping things tactile, playful, and accessible.
  • “We live in a state of permanent third gradeness. In the sense we want this to be something that feels like it’s yours again.” —Jad Abumrad [14:56]

• Making Science an Adventure:

  • Using the sound of knocking, arrival, and “walking into the story” to invite listeners into the narrative as fellow explorers.
  • “The most important sound in all of Radiolab is that sound of knocking on the door... It’s the sound of discovery. It’s a way of inviting.” —Jad Abumrad [15:29]

5. “Be the Experiment”: Testing Ideas in the Real World

• The Laughter Experiment:
  • Inspired by a scientist’s claim that laughter is contagious, Jad and Robert attempt to start a laughter chain reaction on the NYC subway—repeatedly failing, then finally succeeding with a twist.
  • Unbeknownst to them, their colleagues prepped the subway car ahead of time, so their “experiment” worked only because of intervention, not innate contagiousness.
  • Jad: “The place went crazy. I was so frightened.” [22:31]
  • Robert: “It’s like being with too many clowns coming out of the little Volkswagen... I just thought, oh my god, I’ve just gone into hell.” [23:02]
  • Takeaway: Sometimes, to make good radio (or science), you have to “make it up”—or at least, fudge the experimental setup for the sake of the story.

6. Audience Q&A & Reflections

• On Radiolab’s Layered Introduction:
  • Jad admits he, too, is “a bit annoyed by it,” and explains its origin as a kind of “palate cleanser,” signaling listeners that the show will break the rules. [25:08]
• What to Put on the Voyager Record:
  • The hosts muse playfully: classical music (Bach, Beethoven), “babies laughing of multiple species,” and the idea that Voyager is more for us than for aliens.
  • “No one’s gonna find the record. It’s not for the aliens. It’s for us. It’s a gesture, you know.” —Jad Abumrad [27:31]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “One of our goals is to take the hippo and strap on some ballet shoes and make it do a pirouette.” —Jad [02:44]
• “By damaging this gene, Cynthia and her team essentially are taking the Grim Reaper and knocking his knees out. Stop that.” —Robert [05:24]
• “We stole the nouns, replaced them with our own, and we amped up the verbs.” —Jad [04:40]
• “You get this strange crazy quilt of just, of raw ingredients just in the sound... gradations and variety in... the sound of voices.” —Robert [12:05]
• “We live in a state of permanent third gradeness.” —Jad [14:56]
• “The most important sound in all of Radiolab is that sound of knocking on the door... It’s the sound of discovery.” —Jad [15:29]
• “The place went crazy. I was so frightened.” —Jad, after the laughter experiment [22:31]
• “No one’s gonna find the record. It’s not for the aliens. It’s for us.” —Jad [27:31]

Key Timestamps

• 02:44 — The Hippo Analogy: Making heavy science do ballet
• 03:18–06:49 — Explaining genetics: The “Grim Reaper” and “Fountain of Youth” genes
• 07:10 — Debating the line between simplification and accuracy
• 08:36–12:05 — Fireflies, painterly audio, and use of music vs. pure tape
• 13:14–15:29 — The “permanent third grade” approach and the importance of personal engagement
• 17:16–23:23 — The subway laughter experiment and its unexpected conclusion
• 24:56–26:10 — Audience Q&A: The Radiolab introduction and its rationale
• 27:05–28:46 — What would the hosts send on the Voyager record?

Episode Tone & Style

Engaging, self-deprecating, gently humorous, and deeply curious; Jad and Robert banter warmly, question their own methods, and invite the audience along for the ride—making transparency about their “messy” process the very heart of the episode. Their delight in experimenting, arguing, failing, and surprising themselves is infectious throughout.

Summary Takeaway

This episode is a joyful dissection of Radiolab's audio alchemy—how meticulous technique, playful language, and a willingness to embrace both stupidity and wonder make even the heaviest hippo of science leap and twirl for listeners of all ages.