The Iron Heel is a lovingly-crafted audio drama adaptation of Jack London’s formative dystopian novel of the same name. What truly makes this three-episode adaptation shine is Untitled Theater Company #63’s unabashed embrace of London’s equally naked socialist views. The podcast uses old union songs (performed by a house band) to bridge scenes and segments. Each episode ends with an interview with someone relevant to the show’s themes. In a way, The Iron Heel is the inverse of Flash Forward, bringing non-fiction into the fiction world to compliment it perfectly.

There’s a live theatre feel so deeply engrained in the podcast one can feel the creators blocking out characters on a virtual stage. Character dialog is firmly shunted into one ear or the other in the stereo mix to emulate placement in a room. While I respect the artistic intentions behind this move, it does hamper an otherwise one-ear-friendly concept. There’s also a lack of transcripts, something aggressively easy to implement with a highly-scripted show. The Iron Heel is a passion project with the demands of a vinyl record. A bit precious about making the audience jump through its hoops, but the art contained within is worthwhile all the same.

We were fortunate to talk with creator Edward Einhorn about the podcast, how they differentiate from other podcasts, and their future plans in podcasting. See below for our full Q&A.

Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Podchaser

DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

EINHORN: I have been running a theater company for 25 years in New York City. During Covid, we turned to audio drama, and we’ve loved it so far. Our first release was The Resistible Rise of JR Brinkley, an original drama. I’ve always been a lover of audio drama, as a kid I would listen to recordings of old radio plays for fun. I’m very glad that I’ve finally had a chance to explore the form. And it gets some employment for our actors, which is a nice side benefit.

DISCOVER PODS: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to The Iron Heel?

EINHORN: The Iron Heel was the first ever dystopian novel, according to many. It was written by Jack London in 1908. It’s a fascinating book, part science fiction, part socialist “propaganda” (as London described it.) It influenced Orwell and Huxley, but it was also beloved by Leon Trotsky, who wrote a rave book review. We staged a version of the adaptation live in 2016, when it received a good review from the New York Times. The book itself was a mixture of romance and revolution, with a heavy dose of rhetoric. The narrative is about two young lovers fighting against an autocratic government controlled by the oligarchy. It’s set in the early 20th Century, which for London was the near future, though now it feels like an alternate history. We have leavened the narrative up a little with music, using the folk songs of Little Red Songbook, and we always put in a touch of humor as well. Each episode ends with a short interview with an expert, ranging from a professor who teaches labor history to Jack London’s biographer.

DISCOVER PODS: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners?

EINHORN: Our listeners love the quality of the acting–we use a mixture of Broadway and Off-Broadway performers. There has also been a lot of positive feedback on the songs, which were beautifully arranged by Richard Philbin. And the interviews have proved popular as well.

DISCOVER PODS: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using?

EINHORN: This was all recorded remotely, because of Covid. We use Cleanfeed to record, but with the actors they simultaneously recorded locally. There are some disadvantages, no matter how we set things up, there are slight differences in room tone, mic sound, etc. Most used AKG mics (which we provided) though some had their own recording setups.

DISCOVER PODS: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?

EINHORN: The biggest challenge is just having the work seen and noticed. We did pretty well with The Resistible Rise of JR Brinkley, but it’s hard to break through and reach people. We record under a SAG/AFTRA contract, which is great because it provides for the actors, but it’s expensive. Finding ways to fund the podcasts is also complicated. For The Iron Heel, fortunately, we were able to use some theater grants repurposed for audio drama

DISCOVER PODS: Where do you want to take your podcast?

EINHORN: I think it is time to look towards working with a podcast network. I’m not sure how that is done, however. Open to suggestions!

DISCOVER PODS: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

EINHORN: Listening to audio dramas like King Kirby, Playing On Air, and Hear Now. Also always enjoy Planet Money

DISCOVER PODS: Anything else you’d like to add?

EINHORN: To get a great sense of our work, it might be useful to drop by the Untitled Theater Company No. 61 website (untitledtheater.com)

Related posts:

Interview about Cryptids – a fiction podcast developed by a film company Podcast Spotlight: Immigrantly Podcast Spotlight: Humans, Now and Then
Tags