Senior Lecturer Julien Suaudeau Explores the Sounds of Philly in New Podcast
Since moving to Philadelphia in 2006, Julien Suaudeau has been listening to what the city has to say.
“Whenever I go away, I’m still in conversation with Philly,” says Suaudeau. “It doesn’t always take the form of a conscious process, but I carry the soundscape of the city with me.”
Suaudeau, who is a senior lecturer in the French and Francophone Studies department and heads the Film Studies program, shares his love of the sounds of the city in his new podcast Song of Philadelphia.
“I had the idea for Song of Philadelphia as I was walking in Paris one summer surrounded by very Parisian sounds,” says Suaudeau. “I found myself wondering which aspects of the Philadelphia soundscape I missed the most, or which Philadelphian sounds I would pick to explain my other home to people who have never been here.”
There are an infinite number of sounds in a city, he continues, that allow people to experience that city and build memories that are attached to it.
“This is the polyphony,” he says, “the stream of consciousness that I am trying to capture in the podcast.”
Each episode of Song of Philadelphia centers on Suaudeau’s encounter with a single Philadelphian, as, little by little, they build a sound mosaic of the city.
"Because this podcast is designed as a sound mosaic of Philadelphia, I think I will go on until I get tired of it — or Philadelphians get tired of me."
All episodes of the first season are now available on Hidden City and all podcast platforms. Suaudeau is working on different options for season two, which will be released in the spring of 2025.
“Beyond that, I will be sending sound cards from France when I go there in the summer. Because this podcast is designed as a sound mosaic of Philadelphia, I think I will go on until I get tired of it –– or Philadelphians get tired of me,” says Suaudeau.
“My plan is to record as much of Philadelphia as I can, not to put it in a museum like an artifact, but to highlight some of the deep-seated rhymes, overlays, matching notes in the infinite tap of experiences and memories that make up the city.”
For the second episode of the podcast, Suaudeau enlisted Assistant Professor of Education Chanelle Wilson, who spent much of her childhood in her grandparents’ West Philadelphia neighborhood.
"It was an incredible experience working with Julien on the podcast," Wilson says. "I was reminded of how and why Philadelphia has brought me so much joy, warmth, and a sense of belonging. Juilen visited where I'd lived, took in the city and its surroundings, and took an interest in my family and experiences beyond accepting what I'd shared at face value. That is a rare experience and one I cherish."
Suaudeau regularly assigns podcasting in his language and upper-level classes because it offers students an opportunity to work on a variety of world language skills (presentational writing, interpersonal communication, presentational speaking) while enhancing their critical thinking and digital literacy skills.
He’s considering creating a podcasting class in French and Francophone Studies that could be cross-listed with other departments and programs.
“Cities would be an obvious choice given what I am already doing in Philadelphia—something about French traces or French-speaking communities in the metro area, maybe—but I'm very open to suggestions, and I'd love to have students audio-journal about their wanderings around town. Stay tuned!”