The Power of the Voice

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In a single cubic inch of air, there are 400 billion billion air molecules. This makes the air an extremely high resolutional medium for carrying the voice. Voice is actually the movement that we impart with our vocal apparatus to the iner molecules around us. Our voices have all these layers of lozana baked into every syllable. We utter, molecular lazana. But if i were speaking now in ordinary life, you might detect other things in the layers of sound. You could hear anger, sadness, envy, resentment, tiredness, whatever.

Today, we are revisiting one of our favorite episodes: an interview with New Yorker staff writer John Colapinto. In his brilliant book, "This Is the Voice," John says that while opposable thumbs are handy, the voice is our species' greatest attribute. We rely on it to communicate and collaborate, woo our mates and protect our children, win wars and make podcasts. John would know. A vocal injury changed his relationship with his instrument and set him on a path to better understand what his voice means to him — and what the voice means to humanity.