News & Community

This summer we look forward to welcoming Jad Abumrad, the host and creator of Radiolab (radiolab.org), one of the world’s most popular podcasts. A public radio program, Radiolab is broadcast on 524 stations across the nation and downloaded more than 9 million times a month as a podcast. On most days, Radiolab is the second most popular podcast, just behind This American Life.

Abumrad employs his dual backgrounds as composer and journalist to create what’s been called “a new aesthetic” in broadcast journalism. He orchestrates dialogue, music, interviews and sound effects into compelling documentaries that draw listeners into investigations of otherwise intimidating topics, such as the nature of numbers, the evolution of altruism, or the legal foundation for the war on terror. In 2010, Radiolab was awarded the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, and in 2011 Abumrad was honored as a MacArthur Fellow (also known as the Genius Grant).

Abumrad will give a public lecture on Friday, June 19 in the Robert M. Kerr Performing Art Center at Quartz Mountain during the Summer Arts Institute. We can’t wait to see what inspired conversations his visit will spark amongst our students!

Abumrad’s appearance at Quartz Mountain is made possible by a generous grant from the Hearst Foundations.

(photo credit: Lizzy Johnston)