Over the past year, COVID-19 has had all sorts of ripple effects that most of us never imagined: Air pollution plummeted as people stopped flying. Companies closed their office buildings for good as working from home became the new norm. And here’s another change you might not have thought much about: The pandemic has radically altered how the world sounds.

On this episode, I’m joined by Berlin-based science journalist and multimedia producer Andreas von Bubnoff. He’s one of the creators of the Pandemic Silence Project. Together, we listen to recordings people around the world have submitted to his website, documenting how things now sound different where they live. If you’d like to submit a recording from where you live, you can do so here.

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Have you joined Far From Home’s fan discussion group yet on Clubhouse, the new audio-only social media app? I’m planning some cool events for the coming weeks and would love to have you participate! You can download the app here (unfortunately only for iPhone users for the time being), and if you need help getting in, drop me a line at info@farfromhomepodcast.org, and I’ll send you an invitation!

On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian documents fascinating stories from far-flung places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org