Boston, Mass. — December 20, 2017 — Hi-Phi Nation, the first sound- and story-driven podcast about philosophy, is the newest member of Hub & Spoke, a collective of thoughtful, high-quality, story-driven podcasts born in Boston in 2017. It's the first show from outside Boston to join the collective.
Hosted and produced by Barry Lam, Hi-Phi Nation was launched in January 2017 and has covered topics from whether and how we should respect the wishes of the dead to the morality of war and the travails of middle age.
Slate Culture Gabfest says of the show: "Hi-Phi Nation is going to fill a spot in my podcast listening that was aching to be filled, a really meaty, thoughtful, substantial show...that's presented in a very appealing, well-reported and well-packaged presentation." The Huffington Post says: "Philosophy is a topic that can feel inaccessible. That's not the case for this podcast...which extrapolates philosophical inquiries from real-life situations."
Hub & Spoke producers are committed to growing the audiences for all of the collective's shows through mutual editorial support and cross-promotion. Other hosts in the network will immediately begin promoting Hi-Phi Nation on their shows.
"I am a fan of all of the Hub & Spoke shows, and I feel that we are all kindred spirits," Barry says. "We all produce story-driven, idea-based shows, we love sound as much as story, and we all want to pass on knowledge. I hope we can all grow our listenership together."
"We couldn't be more excited to bring Barry into our growing community of independent audio producers," says Wade Roush, co-founder of Hub & Spoke and producer of the podcast Soonish. "I've been listening to Hi-Phi Nation since the beginning. I really admire the special way Barry takes on themes that are utterly unique and uses rich interview material and sound design to solve tricky narrative problems."
Zachary Davis, host and co-producer of Ministry of Ideas, says: "I'm thrilled that Barry is joining Hub & Spoke. He has been a pioneer in proving that serious ideas can also be seriously engaging."
Barry is an associate professor of philosophy at Vassar College with a PhD in philosophy from Princeton University. He launched the show while participating in a Humanities Writ-Large Fellowship at Duke University. The first season was made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Humanities-Writ Large Fellowship, the Frances Fergusson Technology Fund, and the Eleanor Nims Brink fund.
Hub & Spoke stands for compelling storytelling built around strong ideas, with high production quality and skillful sound design. The founding Hub & Spoke shows are The Lonely Palette, where art historian Tamar Avishai demystifies artists and their works through enchanting interviews and talks of a sort rarely heard in museums; Ministry of Ideas, an exploration of the ideas that shape our society, from producers Nick Andersen and Virginia Marshall and host Zachary Davis; and Soonish, a show from veteran technology journalist Wade Roush that tells the human stories behind the technologies that will shape the future.