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PAUL BAE (top) and TERRY MILES (Kristine Cofsky photo)
So you like NPR. You like people with pleasing voices who are able to mine fantastic but true tales from seemingly mundane events.
But you also like ghost stories. You like paranormal yarns that defy science and logic but still scare the hell out of you because, deep down, you want to believe.
Paul Bae is not unlike you.
The Vancouver teacher, writer, actor and comedian is one of the creative forces behind The Black Tapes Podcast, which is, as perfectly described on its website, “a serialized docudrama about one journalist’s search for truth, her enigmatic subject’s mysterious past, and the literal and figurative ghosts that haunt them both.”
Shorter version: It’s Serial meets The X-Files.
It’s quite a departure for Bae, familiar figure in Vancouver comedy circles, who recently appeared on CBC radio promoting his book “You Suck, Sir,” a collection of funny conversations he’s had with students.
“(The Black Tapes) is horror. It’s not funny at all and it’s actually scared lot of people … people are shocked by it.” said Bae. “It’s very NPR stylish. You think you are on your way to a very gentle documentary about paranormal investigators and their wacky lives but it turns into an episodic, serialized search for mysteries.”
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ALEX REAGAN and DR. RICHARD STRAND
“Journalist” Alex Reagan, whose delivery is reminiscent of Sarah Koenig of Serial/This American Life, hosts the Black Tapes Podcast. Her subject is Dr. Richard Strand, a “paranormal researcher/debunker.”
The characters and stories on The Black Tapes Podcast are fictional, but no one connected with the show is going to tell you that, because the intentional blurring of truth and fiction is part of what makes The Black Tapes so much fun.
Both Reagan and Strand have active social media accounts, and there is a website for the Strand Institute.
On a subReddit devoted to The Black Tapes, commentators try to figure out who the actors behind the voices are, while others debate whether the show is real or not.
Bae and co-creator Terry Miles, a Vancouver-based filmmaker, uploaded the first episode to iTunes on May 21.
It was an instant hit. The podcast averages 15,000 listeners per episode.
“We didn’t expect it to take off this quickly,” said Bae. “We only have six episodes. It’s only a month old and we’ve hit the front page of iTunes 18 times now. As soon as you open iTunes it’s right there in the new and noteworthy next to Shaquille O’Neal’s new podcast . . . sorry, I can’t say that without laughing.”
Advertisers are starting to take notice of The Black Tapes. Bae and company are entertaining sponsorship offers, including one from the company that represents Mailchimp of Serial fame, but in the meantime, the show, which has three full-time staffers, is attempting to fund itself with a Kickstarter campaign.
Image may be NSFW.
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Filed under: Now, STAFF Tagged: Alex Reagan, Apple iTunes, Internet Music Services, Kickstarter Inc., MailChimp.com, National Public Radio, Paul Bae, Richard Strand, Sarah Koenig, Science and Technology, Strand Institute, technology, Terry Miles, The X-Files, This American Life, Vancouver, Vimeo.com Image may be NSFW.
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