The Big Listen ended production in May 2018. While this site is no longer updated, all the content remains available for archive purposes.
Almost a decade ago, an Arizona man bid on the contents of a storage unit. When he opened the unit, all he found inside were boxes upon boxes of letters.
The letters were written by four brothers from Illinois — Ralph, Frank, John and Sanford Eyde — over many decades, beginning during World War II. Three were military men and one was a civilian.
The man who found the correspondence held onto the letters for years before contacting a reporter at The Washington Post about them. That reporter, national security writer Dan Lamothe, then did the most logical thing with the letters — he turned them into a podcast called Letters From War.
In each episode, voice actors read the Eydes’ letters. But not just any voice actors — all the voicing in the podcast is done by military veterans. So the letters resonate differently for them and you can hear it in the show.
What Else Is On This Week’s Show?
This is just one segment from the whole show! Click here to explore the entire episode, including interviews with Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin, hosts of Unladylike, and comedian Nicole Byer, host of Why Won’t You Date Me?
Call Me!
Do you have a podcast recommendation you’d like to share with us? We want to hear it! Give us a jingle on the Pod Line at 202-885-POD1 and leave a message. Then we’ll put you on the radio and you’ll be famous.
Thanks for listening, pals! ‘Til next time…keep listening, America.
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