Music: A Force for Good (and Sometimes Evil)

Radio makers have many techniques at their disposal for crafting each story they tell, including one in particular that gets used and abused more than any other: scoring.

Music can lift a dreary voice or sink an entire piece, connect listeners to the emotional life of a story or leave them feeling manipulated - and pissed about it. RadioLab producer and host Jad Abumrad offers his perspective on how music can help or hurt a story, and in doing so, will quote smart people and play examples of scoring triumphs and tragedies.