Changes for Radiotopia and Strangers
Some news from Radiotopia HQ: Strangers will be leaving Radiotopia at the end of 2017. The show was among the first podcasts to join the network when it was founded in 2014, and has since grown into a beloved podcast with a devoted audience.
Strangers explores the beauty and struggle of human connection by telling the fascinating, often hidden, life stories of people around us.
“Lea is one of the most passionate and hard-working producers I’ve ever known, and she’s built an amazing podcast over the years,” said Radiotopia EP Julie Shapiro. “She’s contributed greatly to the network, and has been an inspiration to other producers. Strangers will always be part Radiotopia family. We support Lea’s decision, and wish her the best in her next steps with the show.”
“I’m so deeply grateful for everything Radiotopia has brought me,” said Lea Thau. “I love this network, what it stands for and the people in it. I’m also excited about my new chapter, and I want the fans to feel both of those truths in a real way.”
Lea will continue to produce Strangers as a solo artist. You can continue to follow the show here or on Facebook. Listen to some of her favorite episodes and show moments below, described in her own words.
The Son, The Goddess and Leopoldo
Mostly my show is an excuse to tell deeply moving or highly entertaining stories. That’s the hope anyway. This story has a little bit of everything. It’s about Joshua Safran who was born in coven of lesbian witches in a Haight-Ashbury commune after the fall of Saigon. He hit the open road with his single mother, and things only got stranger from there.
Love Hurts
Occasionally, I use myself to get close to an issue, like why it is so goddamn hard to meet a man when you’re a 40-year-old single woman with an infant son and a freshly broken heart. In the Love Hurts series, I interviewed men I’d met through online dating to ask them why they’d turned me down. This is the first installment.
Lea in Trumpland: Alicia
Although the show is not usually political, the division in our country made me want to talk to people on the other side. I wanted it to be different from the other Trump voter profiles I’d seen, so I traveled around the country and stayed overnight with Trump supporters. I slept in their kids’ bedrooms, I got drunk and high with them, I dined with them and cried with them, to explore whether we could have anger and empathy in the same space at the same time.
The Truth
Sometimes Strangers stories get really dark. In this episode, Ashley’s husband, Corey, is accused of the worst thing imaginable. What follows sends the family on an ever-darkening journey, swinging between answers, hypotheses, emotions, and, ultimately, the truth. This story contains disturbing elements and is not appropriate for all listeners, and certainly not for children.
Big Jim and Smokey Joe
Sometimes we just love a great, old, hilarious romp of a story (who doesn’t?) In this episode, a waitress, a former bomber pilot, and a retired railroad engineer embark on the adventure of a lifetime.
