Image: Timothy at the fancy design store for the passive Smartphone speaker test (Mike Williams)

Since day dot we’ve been hunting for ways to improve on shouting, from the earliest human communication to the smartphone. Our drive to turn up the volume has helped shape a noisy, plugged-in world where it can be hard to remember the analogue building blocks of modern technology.

Volume without Sparks, by radio maker and RN sound engineer, Timothy Nicastri, is a how-to radio manual for amplifying sound without electricity. Nicastri works backwards from an organic smartphone speaker to the days of ancient Greek theatre and Stonehenge, landing on phenomenon such as sound powered telephones and the human microphone, along the way.

Volume without Sparks is a two-part program that concludes on our sister show Soundproof, ultimately arriving at the question: are volume and sparks inseparable? The program was made for ABC Radio’s Tony Barrell fellowship, which honours the curious spirit of one of the ABC’s great program makers.

Special Thanks: Mike Williams, SPACE Alexandria, Robyn Backen, Monica Gagliano, Magnus Bergsson, Glenn Kreisberg, Linda Eneix, Gregg Borschmann, Mike Taylor, Paul Gough, Freesound User: digfishmusic, Freesound User: babeledunnit.

Timothy Nicastri is a radio-maker and sound engineer who works across ABC Radio National’s documentary, arts and topical programs, digging into whatever catches the ear.