The listeners. Episode 1.

This radio documentary follows various professionals whose jobs are to listen for a living. Acoustic Biologist Katy Payne talks about her first experience of hearing the songs of humpback whales. The second 'listener' is David Powell who is a professional piano tuner. He explains how he tunes a piano. Finally, wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson records birds. A man lost his sight as a result of measles and his hearing is imperative. Julie Ryan is an operational member of the International Rescue Corps, an organisation which specialises in urban search and rescue. In response to disasters, sound is used to helpt to detect victims and the programme uses archival audio from various disasters. Finally, cardiac surgeon Jonathan Pitts Crick uses a stethoscope to listen to the sounds of the human heart in order to detect any abnormalities. he explains the sound of abnormalities such as a heart murmur.