Open Outcry

Summary

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Radiolab – “Open Outcry” (May 20, 2008)

Main Theme:
This episode, produced by audio artist Ben Rubin, dives into the intense, chaotic world of commodities trading on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Through a richly designed sound collage, blending documentary field recordings, trader interviews, and ethereal vocalizations of real market data, “Open Outcry” explores human communication, intuition, physicality, and community in the now-antiquated trading pit system. The piece is a sonic portrait of how the world’s commodity prices are shaped in the volatile, noisy ecosystem of open outcry trading.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Open Outcry System: Orchestrated Chaos

• Definition: Open outcry is the system in which hundreds of traders, through shouting and gesturing, establish real-time prices for commodities like oil, cotton, and metals.
• Field Audio: From the outset, listeners are immersed in the cacophony of the trading floor—shouts, rapid bids, and emotionally charged voices (01:52–02:53).
• Jad Abumrad (Host) on the System:

  “All those screaming people sort of in that roiling pit, determine on this sort of emergent level the price of oil or the price of an ounce of gold.” (01:40)

2. The Language and Music of the Pit

• Trader Jargon: Abbreviations and clipped speech, such as “ock at 10” instead of “October at 10”.

  “If I'm selling October's, you know, you don't say...You say ock, and you don't say the full handle. You'll say like, ock at 10.” (02:54 – Trader 3)

• Sensory Overload as Music:

  "You're not listening to one person at a time. You're hearing everybody speak at the same time. It's like going to a symphony and hearing every piece of the orchestra, but yet hearing the music at the same time." (03:15 – Trader 4)

3. Human Intuition and Physicality

• Non-verbal Communication: Reading subtle cues, recognizing faces, observing breathing, body posture.

  “It's really an internal gut feeling...As far as just seeing the expression on somebody's face, the way that somebody's breathing...” (03:56 – Trader 4)

• Physical Dynamics:

  “I always knew when the guy behind me had a real order, because when he had a big, big order, he used to take my shoulder and shove it to the ground, trying to hold himself up.” (03:56 – Trader 4)

4. Deep-Seated Skills and Community

• Longevity:

  “I've been in the ring 32 years. How do I sound?...the open outcry system ... is probably the most sophisticated, timely system that's in existence today.” (05:11 – Trader 1)

• Shared Knowledge: Veteran traders develop intimate knowledge of one another, learning to “read” the floor.

5. Volatility, Strategy, and Opportunity

• Market Dynamics:

  "Volatility makes money. War creates turmoil. Turmoil creates opportunity. I'm not suggesting that people want terrible outcomes, but I am suggesting that a lot of people depend on them." (05:47 – Trader 6)

6. Physical Conflict and Camaraderie

• Intensity & Humor: Physical altercations are not uncommon, but grudges are short-lived:

  “He keeps one hand on the guy's neck, takes the other hand in his pocket, throws down a thousand bucks and says, double it, because I'm gonna finish him off, you know. Two minutes later, they're out having a cup of coffee together.” (06:25 – Trader 4)

7. Aftermath of Tragedy: 9/11

• Memory and Loss:

  “There were members in good standing that had been on the trading floor the day before September 11th that we would never see again. ... Some of their positions in the pit were sort of silhouetted by the outline of their footprints. And people wouldn't step into those spots.” (07:48 – Trader 6)

• The episode hints at the deep community bonds among traders, and the way collective grief shaped their return to the floor.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Being Heard –

  “Sometimes I say to people, didn't you hear me bidding? And I know if they say, I didn't hear you, I know they're not telling me the truth because people always hear my voice. It's unique and it's a strong voice, too.” (02:54 – Trader 3)

• On Real-Time Competition –

  “Just because you want to sell it at $29.55 and you're offering $29.55, the guy next to you could be selling it. The guy in front of you could be selling it, the guy behind you could be selling it, and you might not have sold anything.” (05:36 – Trader 4)

• On the Aftermath of 9/11 –

  “Some of their positions in the pit were sort of silhouetted by the outline of their footprints. And people wouldn't step into those spots.” (07:48 – Trader 6)

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Sound Design & Artistic Concept (08:34+)

• Installation Piece Origins:
  Ben Rubin originally composed "Open Outcry" as a site-specific sound installation in the Winter Garden, part of the World Financial Center, commissioning it for the post-9/11 reopening.
• Spatial Audio Experience:
  Trader voices were played from speakers under palm trees, mimicking the human “floor”, while a female voice reading market data echoed from the dome’s heights, representing the abstract, ethereal nature of prices.
• Irony & Transition:
  The innovative soundscape was largely inaudible in its physical installation, finding new life as a compelling radio composition.

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Episode Structure & Important Timestamps

• 00:12–01:52 – Introduction by Jad Abumrad; context about Ben Rubin, explanation of open outcry, setup of the audio piece.
• 01:52–05:28 – Immersive documentary sound from the trading floor; traders’ rapid-fire shouts and banter.
• 02:54–03:56 – Traders discuss the necessity of strong, unique voices and reading the physical cues of others.
• 05:11–06:36 – Reflections on the sophistication of open outcry, volatility, and opportunity.
• 06:24–07:00 – Anecdotes about the physicality and camaraderie on the floor.
• 07:48–08:34 – Aftermath of September 11th: spaces left empty by lost traders, collective memory.
• 08:34–End – Jad Abumrad describes the installation origins and sound design of Rubin’s piece.

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Conclusion

"Open Outcry" captures the vivid, coordinated chaos of the trading pit, blending documentary realism with artistic abstraction. At its heart, the episode is a meditation on the role of human intuition, trust, rivalry, and community in markets that shape the world’s economy, all set to a theatrical, multi-layered soundscape that is as complex as the system it seeks to portray. For listeners, it’s a rare glimpse behind the curtain of global finance, told not through numbers, but through the voices and rhythms of those who live it.

Transcript

[Jad Abumrad]

I sh.

[Trader 1]

Quiet.

[Jad Abumrad]

You're listening to radio, the podcast from New York Public Radio.

[Trader 2]

Public Radio, WNYC.

[Jad Abumrad]

And npr. Hey, everyone. Jad here. For this week's podcast, I wanted to play you a piece from one of my favorite producers. His name is Ben Rubin, and he's. He's kind of hard to describe. He's sort of an audio artist, sort of a documentary producer, sort of a visual artist, if anyone's out there, has been to the New York Times building, the new one. He and his partner, Mark Hanson, did this sculpture, the crazy moving sculpture that is in the lobby. Any case, this is one of my favorite pieces from him. It's called Open Outcry. And I don't want to tell you too much about it, except that it's about commodities trading. You know, like when you picture the trading floor with hundreds of people screaming out the prices of commodities, there's a name for that. It's called the Open Outcry Trading System. And all those screaming people sort of in that roiling pit, determine on this sort of emergent level the price of oil or the price of an ounce of gold. So Ben decided to do a piece about this. And most of what you're going to hear in this is actual documentary sound he recorded on the trading floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange. There's also going to be a female voice, sort of an ethereal female voice that was recorded in the studio, obviously, which is actually her singing. The real price of commodities taken, you know, the raw data taken from one day, I think in September of 2002, though I'm not sure about that date. In any case, here it is. Open outcry from Ben Rubin on radiolabs.

[Trader 2]

Heating oil up 81.

[Trader 1]

50.

[Trader 2]

Cotton up 45. 80. Cotton up 45. 90. Orange juice, down 94.55. Gold down 32. 14. Silver, up 44. 78. Platinum, down Crude oil 30.

[Jad Abumrad]

48.

[Trader 2]

Cotton, platinum, down 49. 00. Platinum, cotton, down 45.

[Jad Abumrad]

85.

[Trader 2]

Silver, up 44.78. Crude oil, up 30.

[Trader 1]

50.

[Jad Abumrad]

3.

[Trader 2]

Silver, up.

[Trader 3]

Silver.

[Trader 2]

Platinum, down 49. 0, 40.

[Trader 3]

Sometimes I say to people, didn't you hear me bidding? And I know if they say, I didn't hear you, I know they're not telling me the truth because people always hear my voice. It's unique and it's a strong voice, too. If I'm selling October's, you know, you don't say. You say ock, and you don't say the full handle. You'll say like, ock at 10. So I just yell out auc at 10 ock.

[Jad Abumrad]

70. Bit.

[Trader 1]

5.

[Jad Abumrad]

5. 25.

[Trader 4]

So 25. A 75 bid at 78. You're not listening to one person at a time. You're hearing everybody speak at the same time. It's like going to a symphony and hearing every piece of the orchestra, but yet hearing the music at the same time.

[Trader 1]

And in the midst of that, you may observe, for instance, a broker that you've traded with for years. You know what his face looks like when he's laughing. You know what his face looks like when he's upset about something at home and suddenly he's got a nervous look.

[Trader 4]

You can tell when somebody's bluffing, when somebody's not bluffing. And these are all skills that are learned over time. It's really an internal gut feeling. And as far as just seeing the expression on somebody's face, face, the way that somebody's breathing, the way that somebody's leaning on someone else. I always knew when the guy behind me had a real order, because when he had a big, big order, he used to take my shoulder and shove it to the ground, trying to hold himself up.

[Trader 5]

These two. He's two minute two. So 50. These are two. He's too big, Nobody to have no. 5 and a half. W2. 4.

[Trader 2]

Silver. Up. Orange juice. Cotton.

[Jad Abumrad]

Up.

[Trader 2]

Gasoline, Natural gas, Up. Crude oil, natural gas, up.

[Trader 1]

Well, I've been in the ring 32 years. How do I sound? You know, the open outcry system, which is some people may look as an antiquated system, is probably the most sophisticated, timely system that's in existence today. If you believe in.

[Trader 6]

If you believe in it in a.

[Jad Abumrad]

Marketplace, this is as pure a form as it gets.

[Trader 6]

If everybody's buying, it's gonna be tougher to buy.

[Jad Abumrad]

Right?

[Trader 6]

Simple as that.

[Trader 4]

Just because you want to sell it at $29.55 and you're offering $29.55, the guy next to you could be selling it. The guy in front of you could be selling it, the guy behind you could be selling it, and you might not have sold anything.

[Trader 6]

Volatility makes money. War creates turmoil. Turmoil creates opportunity. I'm not suggesting that people want terrible outcomes, but I am suggesting that a lot of people depend on them.

[Trader 4]

It's all 50.

[Jad Abumrad]

I'm out. October.

[Trader 5]

October. Deck 100. Buy them. 100D sells D.

[Jad Abumrad]

The Tempest player.

[Trader 4]

There's a lot of money flying around moment to moment, you know, and there's a classic story, actually. It's about my father. And there was a time in Silver when he got into an argument with somebody and he had their neck down against the rail. And a guy looked at him and says, marty, even though that, you know, your chairman of the floor come in. I'm gonna have to find you 500 bucks for this. So he looks at the guy, he puts. He keeps one hand on the guy's neck, takes the other hand in his pocket, throws down a thousand bucks and says, double it, because I'm gonna finish him off, you know. Two minutes later, they're out having a cup of coffee together.

[Trader 5]

Martine at 23, Martin at 23. Two big 50 and 23. Two big Monte 50 and 23.

[Jad Abumrad]

Great.

[Trader 2]

Aluminum up, orange juice, platinum down.

[Trader 6]

There were members in good standing that had been on the trading floor the day before September 11th that we would never see again. I think people were very, very aware of their absence. In fact, the first trading day, for at least the first trading day, some of their positions in the pit were sort of silhouetted by the outline of their footprints. And people wouldn't step into those spots.

[Jad Abumrad]

That's open. Outcry by Ben Rubin. As you can probably tell, that piece was written right after 9 11. He was asked to commemorate the reopening of part of the World Financial Center. Most of it was still in rooms, but this one part, the Winter Garden, was opening back up. And so he was asked to make a sound piece to install in the Winter Garden. And this is a huge space with a grid of palm trees in the middle, a very, very high domed ceiling. And what he did was he installed speakers underneath the trees. And that's where the voices of the traders came from. But way up top on the ceiling, he had speakers which played the voice of that female ticker. So it's as if the traders are on the floor and high up above them, almost ethereally, is the price of the commodities. Kind of a neat idea, except he said in the. In the space, the sound was totally terrible. No one could hear anything. So he was happy, as are we, to have it be a radio piece. In any case, you can learn more about Ben at his website, ear studio.com. that's www.earstudio.com. you can also check out our website, Radiolab.org. we are supported by the Alfred P. Sloan foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the National Science Foundation. I'm Jad Abumrad. Thank you for listening.