''Strangers'' is a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

hosted by Danish-born producer

Lea Thau Lea Thau (born 1971) is a Peabody Award-winning producer and director. She is the host and producer of the podcast ''Strangers'' and the former Executive and Creative Director of The Moth. Biography Originally from Aarhus, Denmark, Thau moved ...

. Initially part of

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

's Independent Producer project, ''Strangers'' became a founding member of PRX's

Radiotopia Radiotopia is a podcast network founded by '' 99% Invisible'' host Roman Mars and run by the Public Radio Exchange. The network is organized as a collective of some two dozen shows whose producers have complete artistic control over their work ...

podcasting collective in 2014. Thau announced in November 2017 that Strangers would be leaving the Radiotopia collective.

History

After a decade as executive and creative director for the storytelling organization

The Moth The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featurin ...

and having created both its short-form podcast and ''The Moth Radio Hour'', Thau was awarded a 2010

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

and radio station

offered that she produce her own show. Lea's concept for ''Strangers'' was to bring strangers together to share stories. Thau kept creative control and only used KCRW to mix the final product. By 2017, the show had 500,000 monthly downloads, and two full-time employees besides Thau. ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'' highlighted the show's 2014 arc on Thau's "life-altering heartbreak" as among the best in podcasting. ''

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

'' magazine recommended the podcast in 2014, and Southern California KPCC listeners rated it their favorite podcast in 2015.

Episodes

In 2014 Thau created the

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

"Love Hurts" about dating after being dumped by her fiancé while she was pregnant with their child. ''

'' ranked one installment of the series among "the 25 best podcast episodes ever." In April 2017 Thau released another miniseries called "Lea in Trumpland" as an exposé on

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

-supporters around the U.S. The series was a departure for the show usual showcase of "extraordinary stories of humanity." In another episode, "Debbie's Story," Thau interviews a young Iranian Jewish immigrant to the U.S about femininity, religion, and her family's harrowing experience in crossing borders.

Awards

In 2015 ''Strangers'' won KPCC's Public Radio Bracket Madness, beating stalwarts ''Radiolab'', ''This American Life'' and ''Invisibilia'' for best podcast of the year.

References

{{reflist

External links

*
Strangers
' on Radiotopia *
Strangers
' on Story Central *
Strangers
' on KCRW Audio podcasts