UnReality Podcast Premieres -- Truth, Lies, Fact, Fiction

 I first heard of  U.K. podcaster Talia Augustidis in October 2023 when I heard an episode of Lights Out on BBC4. In her episode -- called Dead Ends -- Talia manipulates sound with tape hiss, plaintive voices from the past, and the mystery of her mother's tragic death from a fall from a cliff while on a business trip in Majorca.

In this episode, I felt the pain of Talia's loss, the frustration at not knowing her mother, hard questions about her mother's lifestyle, and the darkness surrounding her mother's death.

 It's a powerful episode, and the sounds she employs are poignant, somber, and wistful. Her narrative process in the episode is anything but circadian, and more like entering a dreamlike state.

 Listeners in the United States may not know her, but Talia Augustidis is an award-winning audio producer and community organizer. She is the host and creator of the podcast, UnReality, which has been featured in festivals from Florence to Reykjavik to New York. 

 UnReality presents short anthology documentaries about truth, lies, facts, fiction and the unknown. The first season was selected for Tribeca 2022 and played at festivals around the world, from Lucia in Florence to Phonurgia Nova in Paris to the IFC in Reykjavik.

The first episode of the second season launches on January 15th.  UnReality is an independent project, made in collaboration with Transmission Roundhouse, a socially engaged podcast platform located in London. I was fortunate enough to get a preview of the second season. My reaction is that it is a tour de force of narrative podcasting.

It isn't so much Talia Augustidis's voice that supplies the magic in UnReality. Her tone is understated with a slow, deliberate cadence, and a sonic smirk to her episodes that's hard not to enjoy. It's the sonic universe she creates by manipulating sounds, voices, time, logic, and perception. Her episodes are like being in a quantum physics puzzle. Is the cat in the box or not?

The first season of  UnReality explored the unconscious, the rainforest and the North Pole, but this season finds the unreal in the everyday… in comedy clubs, smutty novels and HR meetings.

The second season presents a short anthology of documentaries about truth, lies, facts, fiction, and the unknown. These episodes are like funhouse versions of reality. Through Talia's audio narrative, listeners experience a strong brew of emotions.

Episode One On The Cards - Imagine an entire company -- including the CEO -- getting laid off. This one is a shocker. The H.R. meetings meant to offer solace to employees backfire. The employees, however, resort to a deck of Tarot cards for support and an emotional lift.

Episode two -- Breakfast on Tiffany - is my favorite. In an effort to read a classic, Truman Capote's Breakfast At Tiffany's, Talia inadvertently downloads an e-book called -- Breakfast on Tiffany -- a bodice ripper with vivid descriptions of a threesome with Tiffany in the middle.

Episode three is a profile in courage. Talia decides to try standup comedy. In "Dad Jokes," Talia learns the hard truths and softer lies behind a stand-up comedy routine. As a cryptic, Freudian message from her unconscious, Talia discovers that her comedy routine consists of dad jokes at her father's expense.

These episodes expose audio podcasting at its very best. Talia Augustidis uses sound like a virtuoso violinist manipulates the strings.

Check out  UnReality. Be prepared to laugh, question reality, and marvel at the narrative excellence of a talented indie podcaster.