PODCAST · society
Listen Closely
by Alec Cowan
Half mood board, half audio journal. Basically an audio vlog from the days and life of podcast producer Alec Cowan.Sometimes ambient. Sometimes more. Headphones always recommended.
Episodes
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08.02.2026 | Critter's Dream Project | Florida, USA
A podcast about a video. Find eric andre x BLARF edit - "dream project" on Critter's YouTube channel, @TheMysticCritter. Listen to my first interview with Haze -- including a discussion on gender identity, a brain tumor, and alligators -- here. Produced by Alec Cowan.
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05.12.2026 | Backyard Birds | Seattle, WA
The recordings in this episode were recorded from (roughly) the same spot in my backyard from February to May. Produced in entirety by Alec Cowan.
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02.16.2026 | Training Data | Seattle, WA
What's your query? Produced in entirety by Alec Cowan.
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Start Here
New to Listen Closely? Here's your welcome mat.
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06.20.2025 | Noise, Water, Meat | Cannon Beach, OR
Humanity has had ways of recording what we see for as long as history has been recorded. But the way we hear? A very recent phenomenon. This is what $10 on Ebay will get you. Music heard in this episode: Time Forest - Hiroshi Yoshimura People on Sunday - Domenique Dumont Lágrimas Negras…
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06.27.2025 | AJ | Fruita, CO
AJ Schlechten is a woodworker and experimental artist in Fruita. Colorado. Find his website here and art here. Produced in entirety by Alec Cowan.
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04.01.2025 | Sounds of Spain | Madrid, Spain
A sonic tour through Madrid, Seville, and Granada, Spain. 00:00 - Walking through El Retiro Park 02:26 - Birds in El Retiro 04:23 - Watching a street performer in Madrid 07:40 - Walking tour at Puerta del Sol to Plaza Mayor 12:50 - Inside the Almudena Cathedral 14:15 - The Prado 16:30 - At the...
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01.18.2025 | Les marais | Seattle, WA
A sound walk through the marshes of Seattle.
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12.31.2024 | Playing Games | Seattle, WA
This story took three years to make. Sort of. Featuring: gaming sessions from 2022, 2023, and 2024. Video game noises courtesy of late-night searches on Freesound.org.
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6.15.2024 | Robe Canyon | Granite Falls, WA
Another day in the woods. A note: the text in this episode was AI generated. It comes from a ChaptGPT prompt asking for a podcast-styled narrative story about walking in the woods while it’s raining. I’ve tweaked language in places, and the rest of the production and music is completely original...
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Introducing Boom Town: A Uranium Story
My new documentary series -- "Boom Town: A Uranium Story" -- is officially releasing! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and find photos, transcripts, and references over at www.aleccowan.com/boomtown
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4.22.2024 | Sounds of Rome | Rome, Italy
A quick podcast tour through Rome (featuring a cameo from Florence). Sites featured include: 00:21 — Birds in our Roma courtyard 00:59 — Exiting our apartment onto the Tiber 02:38 — Walking down the Tridente, Via di Ripetta 03:50 — San Luigi dei Francesci 05:08 — Outside the Pantheon 06:01 —…
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3.23.2024 | Feel It | Chicago, IL
A funeral.
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1.15.2024 | W A L K I N G | Cape Flattery, WA
A relaxing walk through the woods at Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States.
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2022-2023 Year in Sound
The sounds that filled the cracks of 2022 and 2023 (I'm late, I know).
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08.27.2023 | Return to Roots | Grand Junction, CO
A trip home sparks my memory of crickets. A walk and talk featuring beavers, skiing, and the clicks of grasshoppers.
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7.30.2023 | To Make a Garden | Seattle, WA
Mary Oliver once wrote, "The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time." Poems are by: RikkyBoy399: https://freesound.org/people/RikkyBoy399/sounds/240389/ acclivity:...
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5.14.2023 | Sounds of Tokyo | Tokyo, Japan
A quick podcast tour through Tokyo.There were many more sounds I could have captured, but I've been a little burned out on audio lately. This is still a nice vignette of Tokyo's massive sonic fingerprint.Locations are as follows:01:24 — Tokyo Station04:59 — On the street by the Imperial…
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02.26.2023 | Birdsong (The Global Sunrise)
There's a cool concept called "The Global Sunrise." This is the idea that, as the dawn sun hits the earth, birds are waking up and singing their morning song. As daylight moves across the planet, there's a constant hum of new birdsong ringing out somewhere. So here's a little sonic experiment,...
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01.28.2023 | Fragments of an Infinite Memory | Seattle, WA
I turn on my phone, open TikTok, and the hours blur away. So much content, I had to make some more. Where were you when you made your first Facebook account? This is podcast #CoreCore. Sonic #NicheCore.
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11.03.2022 | Haze | Orlando, FL
*This is a language warning* Be a host body. Haze's linktree: https://linktr.ee/TheHippieTrippyFrog You can find Haze's content on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainSheo You can listen to Witchcraft Banjo here: https://anchor.fm/hippiehobbity/episodes
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9.29.2022 | Sounds of Paris | Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium
Some thoughts on listening and some things to listen to. Enjoy on a walk and with good headphones. 02:57 — Outside Newark Airport 04:10 — A bench in the Jardin des Plantes 05:54 — Walking the 5th Arrondissement 06:46 — A cafe outside Saint Chapelle cathedral 07:36 — Walking the 5th Arrondissement...
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09.06.2022 | Motif 1 Test 1
Combing frequencies, playing with pans, and a whole bunch of "WTF is this?"
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06.25.2022 | What would you do | Washington, DC San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA
I've always been bad at journaling. I've started four to five notebooks, but have only ever finished one (last year). Lately, I've been thinking about alternate life plans, spent time, different timelines. I revisited some experiences in my journal to remind myself a bit about who I am, and where...
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Freesound Exercise 3: Philosophies
It goes like this: use a random word generator to source ten sounds from freesound.org. Then, combine them together to make an interesting sound.
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1.10.2021 | Greg | Manila, Philippines
A mission leads to a change, a change to an opportunity. What's life like when you find sudden fame? Produced in its entierety by Alec Cowan.
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2.20.2022 | Poems in the Park
Join me for a sunny winter day in the park, along with some Mary Oliver poems.
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11.6.2021 | Waiting for the bus
Audio poem? Audio journal? An errant note on my phone turns into an experience.
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Freesound Exercise 2: Ventriloquism
It goes like this: use a random word generator to source ten sounds from freesound.org. Then, combine them together to make an interesting sound.
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2021 Year in Sound
The sounds that filled the cracks of 2021. -- How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 -- Your responses will not be used for anything without additional contact and will help shape the future sound of diary...
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Freesound Exercise 1: Almost a religion
It goes like this: use a random word generator to source ten sounds from freesound.org. Then, combine them together to make an interesting sound. "A religion, almost a religion, any religion, a quintal in religion, a relying and a surface and a service in indecision and a creature and a question...
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8.17.2021 | Send a postcard | New York, NY
Hello from the street, the tunnels, and a basement full of jazz. -- How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 -- Your responses will not be used for anything without additional contact and will help shape the...
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4.27.2021 | Leaving California | San Jose, CA and Seattle, WA
A chance for something new, and a chance to do something over. I ask the question: how do you leave a place properly? -- How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 -- Your responses will not be used for anything...
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The pacifistic origins of anime
In the 1940s, Osamu Tezuka was drawing manga panels in his spare time when he realized something: due to government censorship, nobody was willing to talk about the problems that led to WWII. And so, with a pen in hand, he set to change that -- and what he created ended up changing the world. --...
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3.21.2021 | Audio Playground, Assignment #18: Roll of the Dice | San Jose, CA
Roll a pair of dice. Make a 1-minute doodle inspired by that number. Guest prompt from Rob Rosenthal and Gwen. Audio Playground is masterfully put together by Sarah Geis, "a radio and podcast maker, editor, and teacher working in Chicago and beyond." Find more information at...
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1.1.2021 | The Same Ocean Twice | Crescent City, CA
"No man ever steps in the same [ocean] twice, for it's not the same [ocean] and he's not the same man." A routine post-vacation phone call diverges into that tricky exercise of remembering. And as Rachel Carson reminds us, can anything remember more than the ocean? -- How did this episode make…
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2020 Year in Sound
A compilation of the sounds that defined the tempestuous and exhilarating year, 2020. -- How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 -- Your responses will not be used for anything without additional contact and...
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2.8.2018 | The Train Retrospect | Eugene, OR
I find a trove of tape for a project that never materialized. This is audio behind the scenes, before the cuts, in their context and without it. Choo choo. -- How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 -- Your...
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12.6.2020 | Movin' Out (Michael's Song) | New York, NY
Moving in the middle of a pandemic is freeing, but it ain't easy. -- How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 -- Your responses will not be used for anything without additional contact and will help shape the...
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11.2.2020 | New Friends | Cape Town, South Africa
With some inspiration and help from YouTube Filmmaker Dan Mace, I reach out to a South African Musician in a shared Facebook group. -- How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 -- Your responses will not be…
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10.30.2020 | Circadian | San Jose, CA
7 months into a pandemic, and home is starting to spin. Enable the "Listen Closely" Alexa skill today to stay up to date on the latest log. How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 Your responses will not be...
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10.2.2020 | On the Road | Route 66 at Kingman, AZ
What makes a Great American Roadtrip? A look at the life on the road now and back then. Enable the "Listen Closely" Alexa skill today to stay up to date on the latest log. How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey:...
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8.15.2020 | The Pandemic Mantra | Marin Headlands, CA
"It doesn't matter how so slow you go so long as you do not stop." Enable the "Listen Closely" Alexa skill today to stay up to date on the latest log. How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 Your responses…
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8.7.2020 | An Intricate Context of Things
An Intricate Context of Things is my new lo-fi hip-hop album based on the things getting me through quarantine. Find the full album with instrumental tracks here: https://soundcloud.com/alec-cowan/sets/an-intricate-context-of-things How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please...
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6.28-30.2020 | Mountain Sunset | Trinity Alps, CA
Painting legend Bob Ross walks us through a painting come to life: the Trinity Alps in northern California, where hijinks and sore muscles are to be found. How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 Your…
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7.4.2020 | July 4th: Fire | San Jose, CA
Don't buy fireworks, people. How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 Your responses will not be used for anything without additional contact and will help shape the future sound of diary entries.
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6.7.2020 | This place called San Jose | San Jose, CA
A trumpet ensemble, drive-in COVID test, and annoying midnight bird walk into a bar. How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 Your responses will not be used for anything without additional contact and will…
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2.24.19 - 5.27.20 | This was Home | Seattle, WA
To be heard is a blessing and some days a miracle. I'm so thankful for my name and voice to have been weaved into the sound of this city, to be played over radios and heard through ears. To Seattle, the Emerald City and my welcome home for the past year. Goodbye. Thank you for listening. How did...
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5.31.20 | Summer '93, on tape | Grand Junction, CO and Mesquite, NV
The summer of '93 was a busy one. Fun times were to be had at the pool and on the golf course. Videocameras grab everything you see, but today the goal is to grab everything you can hear. How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey:...
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5.22.20 | No One But the Wind | Olympic National Park
Over the ferry, through the woods, to foamy shore and crystal lake we go. Recorded in Olympic National Park in Washington. How did this episode make you feel? If you have a moment, please fill out this short survey: https://forms.gle/SUcphdvFDRkN4eNa9 Your responses will not be used for anything...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Listen Closely have?
Listen Closely currently has 54 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Listen Closely about?
Half mood board, half audio journal. Basically an audio vlog from the days and life of podcast producer Alec Cowan.Sometimes ambient. Sometimes more. Headphones always recommended.
How often does Listen Closely release new episodes?
Listen Closely has 54 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Listen Closely?
You can listen to Listen Closely on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Listen Closely?
Listen Closely is created and hosted by Alec Cowan.
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