Yellow Rain

Abstract

The critically acclaimed WNYC programRadiolabfound itself embroiled in a controversy for its recent podcast segment “Yellow Rain.” The intent of the segment was to indict the Reagan administration’s dubious pretenses for labeling yellow rain a chemical weapon. ButRadiolab’sinterview with survivor and historian Eng Yang took a harsh turn and concluded with one ofRadiolab’shosts, Robert Krulwich calling Yang’s experience hearsay. This essay uses the “Yellow Rain” controversy to highlight two important features of argumentation in the podcast context. First, podcasts feature what I call ‘the acoustics of strategic maneuvering,’ which describes the way sound itself acts as presentational force in the service of a standpoint. Second, podcasts ephemerality enablesRadiolabto revise their arguments to incorporate audience expectations.

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