| Strangers | |
| Hosting: | Lea Thau |
| Genre: | Storytelling |
| Updates: | Current |
| Length: | 30-60 minutes |
| Language: | English |
| Production: | Lea Thau, Paul Dreux Smith |
| Began: | January 12, 2012 |
| Provider: | KCRW, Radiotopia |
| Url: | http://www.storycentral.org/strangers/ |
Strangers is a podcast hosted by Danish-born[1] producer Lea Thau.[2] Initially part of KCRW's Independent Producer project, Strangers became a founding member of PRX's Radiotopia podcasting collective in 2014. Thau announced in November 2017 that Strangers would be leaving the Radiotopia collective.[3]
After a decade as executive and creative director for the storytelling organization The Moth and having created both its short-form podcast and The Moth Radio Hour,[4] Thau was awarded a 2010 Peabody Award[5] and radio station KCRW offered that she produce her own show.[6] [7] Lea's concept for Strangers was to bring strangers together to share stories. Thau kept creative control and only used KCRW to mix the final product.[8] By 2017, the show had 500,000 monthly downloads, and two full-time employees besides Thau.[9] Slate highlighted the show's 2014 arc on Thau's "life-altering heartbreak" as among the best in podcasting.[10] Los Angeles magazine recommended the podcast in 2014,[11] and Southern California KPCC listeners rated it their favorite podcast in 2015.[12]
In 2014 Thau created the miniseries "Love Hurts" about dating after being dumped by her fiancé while she was pregnant with their child.[13] Slate ranked one installment of the series among "the 25 best podcast episodes ever."[14] In April 2017 Thau released another miniseries called "Lea in Trumpland" as an exposé on Donald Trump-supporters around the U.S. The series was a departure from the show's usual showcase of "extraordinary stories of humanity."[15] In another episode, "Debbie's Story," Thau interviews a young Iranian Jewish immigrant to the U.S about femininity, religion, and her family's harrowing experience in crossing borders.[16]
In 2015 Strangers won KPCC's Public Radio Bracket Madness, beating stalwarts Radiolab, This American Life and Invisibilia for best podcast of the year.[17]