Love & Radio 

The Living Room

Diane, a married woman, is the host of a podcast that almost sounds like a diary entry. She starts off the episode describing these big windows that peer out into their neighbors apartment and how the first thing she noticed was the attractive mid 20’s couple. Oh and that they’re always naked and having sex. 

Their marriage, as she describes, is just a different stage than their neighbors. She and her husband just had a baby and can’t help but compare their lives to the couple’s. As the podcast goes on, she shares her observations of the couple mentioning that they sleep until 11 and they are always intimate with one another. 

After 7-8 months, they go through a lull without seeing them anymore through the window. But one day, as Diane is working from home she sees her again, followed by the boyfriend who has suddenly gone bald and thin. She realizes he is sick. Following that observation, Diane watches as he gets sicker and sicker. Moving from standing, to sitting to lying, she saw him grow to get worse and worse. 

Eventually, she took a pair of bird binoculars and stared directly into the window watching as family and friends said their goodbyes and worries. She could feel through the window that it was almost over. Time goes on and he eventually passes, and she has the epiphany that she is so a part of their lives but she wasn’t in theirs. Diane never found out their names.

The podcast was 23 minutes long with minimal sound and maximum narration. I think this story in particular could have been either a podcast or written. Having it as a podcast did work well, it was nice to hear the emotion in her voice when describing everything and adding a little giggle once in a while.I think there could have been more freedom with it being written, and the descriptiveness could have made the reader more attached than just a listener. As I said before it reminds me of a diary entry if anything, so having it as a written piece would have been better. 

Besides the talking, there was barely any sound that went behind or in between the lines. Once in a while they would have soft music in the back but very sparing amounts. I like that there was barely any sound because it would have been super distracting and shifts the mood to be less serious.