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WNYC Studios Launches “10 Things That Scare Me”

WNYC Studios Launches “10 THINGS THAT SCARE ME,”
A Tiny Podcast About Our Biggest Fears

Film Directors, Police Officers, Political Operatives, Climate Scientists, Media Personalities, College Students, and Others Reveal What Keeps Them Up at Night

Listeners Invited to Join the Conversation with Their Own Lists

Debut Episodes Now Available Here

(New York, NY – December 4, 2018) — WNYC Studios today debuted 10 Things That Scare Me, a tiny podcast about our biggest fears.

In an innovative five-minute “Audio Listicle” format, episodes feature single subjects bravely revealing in their own words the top 10 things that keep them up at night, inform their choices, and shape their lives. From imposter syndrome to loneliness, the state of the world to the state of our love lives, feeling irrelevant to being outnumbered, (not to mention bugs, public speaking, and the dark!), personal fears are shared with astonishing candor as a humbling and utterly inescapable part of the human condition. 10 Things That Scare Me is intimate, surprising, vulnerable, and occasionally hilarious, with captivating music and sound design.

These mini-episodes include a wide range of voices which together comprise a snapshot of our culture at this unprecedented moment in time. This week’s episodes feature acclaimed music producer Rob Lewis, former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, novelist Ottessa Moshfegh, and dogsled racer Blair Braverman.

New episodes will be released every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

The podcast launches with an accompanying listener form where the audience can join the conversation by sharing their own list of fears. Responses will be considered for inclusion in future episodes.

“10 Things That Scare Me is an experiment in empathy,” said Paula Szuchman, Vice President of On Demand Content, WNYC Studios. “The show drops you right into the hidden world of a complete stranger whose fears invariably remind you of your own. These episodes are like little meditations, an opportunity to pause for a minute and feel connected to the people around you — even people who feel a world away. Which isn’t actually scary at all.”

Upcoming subjects include a Brooklyn deli owner, a retired obituary writer in Atlanta, a geologist in Texas, a line cook in New Orleans, a housecleaner, and some familiar names such as:

  • Movie director Paul Feig (Ghostbusters; Bridesmaids);

  • New York Magazine writer-at-large and author Rebecca Traister (Good and Mad);

  • Business executive Beth Comstock (former vice chair of General Electric);

  • Comedian Bassem Youssef;

  • Poet and 2018 MacArthur Fellow Natalie Diaz (When My Brother Was An Aztec);

  • Guitarist Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine);

  • Actress Lola Kirke (Gone Girl; Mozart in the Jungle);

  • Fantasy novelist Jeff VanderMeer (Annihilation);

  • Chart-topping DJ Dillon Francis;

  • Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano;

  • Chef and Netflix host Samin Nosrat (Salt Fat Acid Heat);

  • Best-selling author Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie);

  • Professional wrestler Colt Cabana;

  • On the Media host Brooke Gladstone (WNYC Studios);

  • Death, Sex & Money host Anna Sale (WNYC Studios);

  • Nancy co-host Kathy Tu (WNYC Studios); and

  • Radiolab creator Jad Abumrad (WNYC Studios)

10 Things That Scare Me is available online, via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Pocket Casts, and anywhere where podcasts may be downloaded.

 

ABOUT WNYC STUDIOS

WNYC Studios is the premier producer of on-demand and broadcast audio, home to some of the most critically acclaimed and popular podcasts of the last decade, including Radiolab, On The Media, Nancy, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Death, Sex & Money, Snap Judgment, Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin, and 2 Dope Queens. WNYC Studios is leading the new golden age in audio with podcasts and national radio programs that inform, inspire, and delight millions of intellectually curious and highly engaged listeners across digital, mobile, and broadcast platforms. Their programs include personal narratives, deep journalism, interviews that reveal, and smart entertainment as varied and intimate as the human voice itself. For more information, visit wnycstudios.org.