I listened to the second podcast: Homecoming, Season One: Episode 1
This narrative was a bit confusing to follow, but with the guidance of sound effects I was able to somewhat understand. I was really impressed by how much audio the podcast was able to pick up, and basically bring this narrative to life. The background noise and music, and the sounds all help give the listener a visual of what’s happening and evokes the emotion of a certain situation, as well as the character’s feelings. The audio also brings the senses to life, for example if someone is sniffling or coughing, or if someone is in the middle of chewing, or the light chatter between people in the background, or the noise of many cars passing by. This definitely shows the location and time of day by using these background noises.
Specifically, I really liked the whoosh sound of when the narrative was going from the present to the flashbacks. This sound effect really made it easy for the listeners to know that these situations were happening at different times, but they are still interconnected. Another specific situation I wanted to point out, was the sound of being on a call — the ringing and the distortion of voices from one line to the other, and also the sound of being recorded and possibly in an enclosed space.
I really liked this podcast because of how much sound effects it used. It really gave me as a listener a visual when listening to this narrative, and I could picture the situation at hand. Personally, I am a visual learner so I have a hard time with podcasts or pure audio to really follow what the storyline is, but with the help of sound effects I was able to understand the storyline a little better.