We're four episodes into our pilot season of Sonic Journeys, with one more to go. This isn’t going to be a full episode; we just want to introduce you to our collaborators and let you all know about what’s coming next for Sonic Journeys. Host Stina Hamlin is joined by Sonic Journeys executive producer Tracy Rector (in a blanket fort) and supervising producer Jenny Asarnow (mostly behind the scenes). The 4th World Media vibe is all about care for one another as collaborators, and c...

Internal dialogue. Laughter. An ominous moment of dramatic sound. “Please answer me. I’m ready to listen now.” So far on Sonic Journeys we’ve been listening to a lot of documentaries, but today we’ll hear a drama. Thin Places, a short written and directed by Brit Hensel (Cherokee Nation), explores how the living can connect with those who have passed on. How does it feel to just listen to the quiet, and to sit in the not knowing? Content warning: subject matter (death) and s...

Often on Sonic Journeys we hear from filmmakers about how they work with sound, but today we’re trying something different: we’re just going to listen to a short film. “WASKA: The Forest is My Family” feels like bathing in a forest. It honors co-director Nina Gualinga’s grandfather, a leader who had a deep relationship with the powerful – and coveted – plant medicine Hayakwaska. Gualinga explains that the film “invites us to collectively question the ways in which we seek to heal oursel...

A gorgeous short film transports us to Alaska – to the birch trees, salmon swimming upstream, and the humans that care for them. Gath & K’iyh: Listen to Heal documents a community gathering on Lower Tanana Dene lands in Fairbanks, Alaska. Yo-Yo Ma plays cello as a group gathers together to grieve climate change and honor the land. Gath & K’iyh’s director Princess Daazhraii Johnson (Neets'aii Gwich'in) listens back on the film and shares her reflections about “how critical it is...

Welcome to Sonic Journeys, the podcast where we listen to films, and hear filmmakers from all over the world talk about how they shape meaning with audio. We’re kicking off the podcast by listening to Remaining Native. It won the 2025 Special Jury Award and Audience Award for documentary feature at SXSW. Remaining Native is a running film; it's a coming of age film; and it’s a film that showcases Indigenous resilience and resistance. It follows a Native American teenager from the Yarrin...

Close your eyes. Open your ears. Sonic Journeys is a podcast that explores the rich world of cinematic audio. With global filmmakers as our guides, we peel back the layers of sound design in film and immersive media. A podcast for story lovers, cinephiles, and deep listeners. Season 1 features independent films on the festival circuit right now, that you can't hear anywhere else. Join us to listen to film soundtracks and hear from the filmmakers about how they create meaning with sound. ...