Snap Judgment

We follow four hairstylists who compete in the 2019 Bronner Brothers Salon vs. Salon Hair Battle - the only hair competition of its kind. As one contestant puts it, "It's a platform that every stylist that I know would absolutely love and kill for." Come for the big personalities and stay for the ultimate hair show. Find out who wears it best... BIG thanks & love to all the stylists who shared...

When Adreanna Rodriguez was a kid, she was given a choice about whether or not she wanted to stay in her home state of California. It was a choice she’s reckoned with for her entire life. Today, over a decade after she made that choice -  Adreanna takes us with her to North Dakota to find out… what could have been. STORIES Mulatto Glynn’s brother wants him to take a DNA test but Glynn already know...

A scientist studying the minds of psychopaths gets dangerously close. A father’s inability to recognize faces tests his relationships. And a brother is reunited with his North Korean sister for the first time in over five decades. You can look human and you can sound human... but what happens when you take a good hard look inside and realize... you're missing something? STORIES If I Only Had a Hea...

Sieu is a young boy living in the big city of Phnom Penh, but he misses his old life in the Cambodian countryside. The air, the farms, but mostly… the animals.  When the Khmer Rouge promises a return to the land, Sieu has no idea how far he and his family will have to go. This story recounts aspects of the Khmer Rouge civil war including scenes of torture and death. Sensitive listeners, please be...

Hosted by Glynn Washington , Snap Judgment brings new voices to public radio and podcasting... voices that did not know the world of public media, and many voices that did not know they belonged. We build Snap Judgment’s signature sound around immersive audio, incredible first-person storytelling, and original scoring for each and every experience. Snap’s musical brand of storytelling dares listen...

There was a legend in central Maine, about a hermit who had lived in the woods, unseen, for 30 years. Then, in 2013, the police arrested a man named Christopher Knight. To learn more about Chris Knight’s story, be sure to check out Mike Finkel’s book, The Stranger In The Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit.  Check out The North Pond Hermit Song by Stan Keach. Produced by Joe Ros...

Glynn finds a cheap place to spend the summer… at a halfway house. This story was performed at Snap LIVE in Los Angeles and was presented by KPCC. Original Music by Alex Mandel, performed by Alex Mandel and the Snap Players (David Brand and Tim Frick). Watch the live performance! Sound design by Pat Mesiti-Miller Artwork by Teo Ducot Season 12 - Episode 10 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx...

Katie falls hard for Barys during a whirlwind trip to Belarus. But there’s a giant red flag she can’t ignore any longer. And two people who have the same name, live in the same city, and have the same professional interests soon find out what else they have in common. STORIES Real Love Boston-based writer Katie Simon is on assignment in Belarus when she meets and falls hard for Barys in less than...

A group of all-native girls with a lot to prove take on the future of their high school lacrosse team. And an ENT doctor learns to be comfortable outside her comfort zone. STORIES The Medicine Game A group of all-native girls with a lot to prove, take on the future of their high school lacrosse team. This story contains racially insensitive language. Sensitive listeners, please be advised. Thank y...

This week, Snap is proud to spotlight Suave ! This podcast captures the true story of a teenager sentenced to life in prison without parole & what happens when, decades later, he suddenly gets a second chance at freedom. It’s the story of thousands of juveniles sentenced to die in U.S. prisons told through one man’s journey of incarceration and redemption and his near 30-year friendship with j...

In the mid-70s, Conan was hired to direct and produce a nature documentary. But he wanted to do something more ambitious. The film he made became one of the most infamous movies ever, but his success came with deadly consequences... This episode contains a content advisory for graphic imagery and strong language. It describes scenes of both human and animal death. This story is not for children an...

An underwater photographer sets out on a quest to document harp seals and experiences a moment that becomes a part of her forever. This story contains descriptions of animal death in the wild. Sensitive listeners, please be advised Thank you, Jennifer Hayes, for sharing your story with us! Special thanks to Jennifer’s guide Mario Cyr and her husband David Doubilet. You can find Jennifer and David’...

Everyone in Pumpkintown is hunting for Sasquatch... except Ben Becker. He knows exactly where Bigfoot lives. This episode does contain strong language, sensitive listeners please be advised. This story originally aired on the Here Be Monsters podcast hosted by Jeff Emtman. They just dropped a new season… listen and subscribe for more awesome stories! Produced by Jeff Emtman Sound design by Pat Mes...

Fans and journalists embark on a seven-show tour with Rihanna… in seven countries, over seven days, on a Boeing 777, to celebrate her seventh album in seven years. Fasten your seat belts, it’s time for liftoff… This episode contains strong language and descriptions of a ‘rockstar lifestyle,’ sensitive listeners please be advised. Special thanks to Kristen Gwynne, Lawrence Bull, and Elizabeth Nakan...

When the biggest baddest bird in the wild is on the brink of death, one couple will do anything to bring her back home. Snap presents, “Birdzilla.” A Canadian love story. This episode discusses the subject of death and contains strong language, sensitive listeners please be advised. Thank you, Murdo Messer, for sharing your story with us! And all of us here at Snap are thinking fondly of the late...

A hip hop artist from Oakland leaves his mic behind to join the police force and fight for justice from the inside. This story includes scenes of police violence and strong language, sensitive listeners please be advised. Thank you, Jinho Ferreira, for sharing your story with us! Listen to “I Can’t Breathe” from Jinho’s hip hop group, Flipsyde. This story was adapted from the piece originally prod...

A woman recounts her Aunt’s fairytale love story and searches for her own Modern Romance. An African princess learns she is truly beautiful. And a precocious eight-year-old finds himself on the brink of a revolution when he applies lessons learned from a homework assignment to other areas of his life. STORIES Modern Romance In the second half of her life, Stephanie found her classic Hollywood roma...

In 1997, thirty-nine people took their own lives in an apparent mass suicide. The events captivated the media and had people across the planet asking the same question... ‘Why?’ 20 years later, those who lost loved ones and those who still believe - tell their story. Snap Judgment presents a special spotlight on Heaven’s Gate . Find out the story behind the cult that changed the world. Heaven’s Ga...

Six people, six different times and places, but they all find themselves in the same predicament, asking the same question, should they stop or should they go? BIG thanks to Tyler Estep, who first reported Philip Dean’s story for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Thanks also to Cole Richards and Randy Scott Carroll for recording assistance. Thank you to everyone interviewed for this story: Troy St...

An Iranian American examines herself and her life in a one-woman audio show that straddles the line between fiction and truth. Snap Judgment presents, “A Person Who Has Never Even Been Married...” a special spotlight on the Appearances podcast. This episode contains strong language, scenes of domestic turmoil, and mentions sex. Sensitive listeners, please be advised. From Mermaid Palace and Radiot...

2020 has been a YEAR, and Monaea Upton has a lot to say about it. This week we bring you an episode from the podcast Vice News Reports . Vice sent 17-year-old Monaea Upton a recorder and she’s been keeping an audio diary of her senior year of high school in North Minneapolis — during online school, the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, and a spike in neighborhood gun violence. We take you in...

What if after the craziest year on record somebody asked you… “what happened?” The Snap team spoke to some of the people that changed our world in 2020 to see if their stories have a part II. BIG thanks to all of the storytellers who let us take a little peek back into their lives for this special episode: Patti Ragan from “Zoo Nebraska” Naandar from “Letters from Lockdown - Gaza, Myanmar, and at...

A good samaritan pulls over to the side of the road to help a family in distress. A few weeks later, he realizes something is wrong. This episode contains some graphic imagery and strong language, sensitive listeners please be advised. BIG love and thanks so much to Dr. Ray Christian for sharing his story with us. If you loved his story he’s got plenty more on his podcast “What’s Ray Saying.” Prod...

Amaryllis was fast on track to become an established journalist when her mentor was kidnapped and killed by a terrorist group. She decided she had to give up the transparency of journalism if she wanted to truly help curb terror, and instead joined the shadow world of the CIA. But the shadow world had its own cost. A big thanks to Amaryllis Fox for sharing her story with us. You can buy her book o...

School shootings and their tragic aftermath have become an all too common story. But here’s one side of it that you probably haven’t heard. This story takes place at a high school in Portland, Oregon, where officials fear the next school shooter might be a teenage boy in their midst. This story does contain strong language, sensitive listeners please be advised. Bethany Barnes originally reported...