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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.