“We stumbled on this by accident and now feel compelled to tell everyone we meet about it, including you. First, we must warn you, it is truly very weird. Every episode features a piece of unedited, public domain, forensic audio – an interrogation or a trial or a 911 call. This is presented without introduction, narration, or comment. It’s helpful to read the episode description for context, but otherwise you’re on your own… These slivers of uncut actuality have a kind of mystical power – they are unsolvable puzzles, with an edge-of-life immediacy – and we couldn’t stop listening. New episodes drop randomly, as recently as yesterday.”
The Audit, issue #77
Forensic Transmissions is an audiophile’s curated collection of public domain audio files. It emerged out of my own search for a true crime podcast that contains only what’s most compelling to me–911 calls, trial clips, audio testimony, police interrogations, and other unexpurgated forensic audio–but without judgements, commentary, or product endorsements. Unable to find what I wanted, I began my own collection. “Forensic Transmissions” is for true crime lovers who enjoy hearing unfiltered, public domain audio. These recordings aren’t for everyone. Most people will no doubt find them tedious. But for those who share my audio obsessions, nothing on earth can be more riveting– not even televised versions of events, which, in my view, leave far less to the imagination. Listen carefully to this collection of audio files, and you’ll start to wonder what we think we’re doing here on this strange planet, hurtling mindlessly around the sun. Although the episodes are categorized as explicit, this is due to discussions and testimony of crimes rather than anything that occurs live on the air. The events unfold in real time, but the recordings are archival, which gives their urgency a paradoxical sense of loss.
The podcast is available here, and on iTunes. Episodes are released at random intervals, usually three or four each month.
