Marconi & Me by Zoë Comyns

·46 min·4 clips

A podcast producer finds Marconi code books and twists their Morse code phrases into her own life story.

The episode 'Marconi & Me' by Zoë Comyns is a dramatic audio piece narrated by a podcast producer. She discovers Marconi International Code Books in a shop with her boyfriend, sparking a project about communication. The codes, originally used for Morse code in business and shipping, become a private language for the couple, who text each other phrases like 'GIRAC' to express intimacy. The narrator reveals her family background: her sister killed their mother because she believed her teeth were playing Greensleeves, and madness runs in the family. She works on various podcasts, including ones on fungi and pregnancy, while researching Marconi's life. Marconi, a radio pioneer, believed sound never dies and wanted to recover past sounds like the Titanic's orchestra or Jesus' sermons. The narrator connects this to her sister's mental illness, where she hears voices and sounds. She describes using the 'full Schwartz' interview technique with her sister, involving walkthroughs of their childhood home. During her pregnancy, a scan shows a possible brain abnormality in the baby, leading her to use Marconi codes about fault and blame. She later has two children and reflects on family as a network like trees and fungi communicating underground. The couple visits Crookhaven in Ireland, where Marconi set up a telegraph station, and they consider moving there. The episode includes interviews with a scientist debunking voice recovery theories and anecdotes about telegraph operators. It ends with the narrator alone, pondering recovery and silence, as the radio alarm beeps in dots and dashes. The performance features multiple voice actors and sound design elements, blending personal narrative with historical and scientific exploration.

As heard by us

A codebook becomes a private language for desire, sound, and the unstable history of a shared life.

Marconi & Me turns a set of Marconi International Code Books into a private language for desire. A podcast producer finds the books and reshapes their Morse code phrases around her own life, following a relationship through sound, touch, limited English, and a flight into family…

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Why you'd press play

Press play if Morse code, found code books, and an intimate relationship sound like ingredients for an unusually close drama.

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