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99% Invisible
99% Invisible

Audio Flux

January 20, 2026 • 37m

Summary

⏱️ 7 min read

Overview

This episode features 99% Invisible host Roman Mars in conversation with Julie Shapiro, co-creator of AudioFlux, a project that champions short-form audio documentaries in an industry increasingly dominated by long-form conversation podcasts. They discuss the origins of AudioFlux, its creative circuit structure, and share five remarkable three-minute documentary pieces that showcase the boundless possibilities of audio storytelling.

The Birth of AudioFlux: Reviving Short-Form Audio

Julie Shapiro and John DeLore created AudioFlux in 2023 as a response to declining morale in the creative audio community and the industry's shift toward longer formats. Drawing inspiration from Third Coast's Short Docs competition, they designed a project featuring three-minute audio pieces organized into themed circuits, each partnering with different artists. The project has become a celebration of audio for audio's sake, giving both new and experienced producers a chance to experiment outside their usual work.

  • Third Coast International Audio Festival previously hosted Short Docs competitions that inspired creative audio storytelling
  • AudioFlux was created in spring 2023 when both founders were between jobs and noticed industry fatigue
  • The three-minute format is inspired by pop songs and designed to be memorable without being daunting
  • AudioFlux has run six circuits over two years, partnering with six different creative collaborators
" Everything is longer and longer and longer and longer, so what if we could create some energy around a short form? "
" My mantra is like, it always works. You can always invite people to get creative and they will always respond in some fashion. "

The Sound of Silence: When Tinnitus Becomes Enlightenment

Gregory Warner's piece explores his wife Sana's experience during the pandemic's first spring when she discovered a mysterious tone accompanying her quiet moments of reading and meditation. What she initially embraced as a sign of enlightenment turned out to be tinnitus—the brain's refusal to let go of lost frequencies. The story beautifully captures how she reframed this diagnosis, choosing to see the tones as a sign of mental presence rather than just a symptom of loss.

  • During pandemic lockdown, Sana heard a ghostly tone during meditation that felt like a dome insulated by static
  • The tone enhanced everyday moments, making piano notes sound like pebbles creating musical ripples in a lake
  • A tinnitus specialist explained the brain overcompensates for hearing loss by filling in missing frequencies
  • Despite the medical diagnosis, the tones remain a sign for Sana that she's attained mental quiet
" Tinnitus is the sound of the brain's refusal to let go of what it once had. "
" It was like a dome I could enter that was almost insulated by static. It let me let go of all this high cortisol shit. "

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