How Does Radiolab’s “Colors” Hold Up Ten Years Later?

1x speed. Check. Good headphones. Check. Let’s do it.

The mighty mantis shrimp, hero of Radiolab’s “Colors” episode and see-er of super duper ultraviolet. Illustration by author.

It’s late 2014, early 2015, and this is my impression of every message board that discussed podcasts.

“Hey I just finished Serial and loved it. What else should I listen to?”

Cue dozens of people stepping all over each to say some variation of: “Oh ‘Colors’ from Radiolab for sure, it will blow your mind.”

I quickly became one of these people who dutifully recommended the episode every chance I could get after it also blew my mind.

This episode is some kind of special glue that binds together my “generation” of podcast fan, or those who got heavy into podcasts around 10–12 years ago (or as we can’t help but mention, before Serial).

There were already so many good podcasts by this point, even plenty of other phenomenal episodes of Radiolab, but there was something special about “Colors”. It felt like the height of what was possible for a podcast to do (yes, even though it also went out over the WNYC public radio airwaves). It had a combination of fascinating content with absolutely top notch sound design and creative formatting. For early podcast fans, you wanted to spread the podcast gospel, and you wanted something that could showcase what was possible for a podcast. “Colors” became the podcast equivalent to “have you heard the good news?”

“Colors” really did equally blow my mind and open my mind as to what was possible for audio. I always have and always will love a good interview or chat show, but the whole genre of highly produced and edited non-fiction audio storytelling was fully opened up to me with “Colors.”

At least this is how I remember it.

I have massive nostalgia for this episode and for this era of podcasting. But to be truthful, it’s been over a decade since I’ve listened to it from start to finish.

How does it hold up? Does it still deserve to be so recommended for newcomers, even today?

You should listen along

First up, if you haven’t ever listened or haven’t listened in a while, you should of course do that now. You have a few options…