Jad Abumrad loves a butterfly knife and a good springy pillow

<figure> <img alt="Jad Abumrad on a stoop in Brooklyn." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/Jad-WideEyedPortrait-14-Full.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">It's hard to overstate Jad Abumrad's impact on the podcasting world. He created and hosted <em>Dolly Parton's America</em> and <em>Fela Kuti: Fear No Man</em>, two Peabody Award-winning shows that offered unprecedented looks at the lives of two of the most important music icons of the last century.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Before that, though, he created <em>Radiolab</em>, an experimental NPR show that leaned heavily on creative sound design and eventually helped redefine what a podcast could be. In the early days of podcasting, shows were often just a couple of people talking at each other at a table (some still are), or lazily repackaged radio broadcasts. <em>Radiolab</em> instead told deeply repor …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1013381/jad-abumrad-radiolab-dolly-parton-fela-kuti-podcast-interview">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>