Science News and PRX present “The Deep End: Talk to Me,” A New Podcast Series Exploring the Depths of the Human Voice, What Losing One Means, and How Technology is Helping Restore What’s Been Lost

Hosted by 2025 National Magazine Awards finalist Laura Sanders

September 29, 2026—Renowned science, medicine, and technology magazine Science News and Pulitzer-winning public media organization PRX today announced Talk to Me, a new series from the acclaimed podcast The Deep End about our brains and ourselves. Debuting Tuesday, October 6, The Deep End: Talk To Me will traverse the depths of voice and communication, and is hosted by award-winning neuroscience journalist Laura Sanders of Science News. Talk to Me investigates a deeply human question: Our voices help make us who we are. What happens when we lose them? The series will also explore some of the new questions raised by technology that can separate a voice from a body.

Jules Rodriguez was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, several years ago. A stand-up comedian and podcaster, he lost his ability to talk but now speaks with an AI-powered cloned voice. The Deep End: Talk to Me will bring listeners inside his story, from when the disease began eroding his ability to speak, to confronting the loss of one of the most important parts of himself, to new technology that stepped in and changed the course of his life. Along the way, listeners will hear from the scientists racing to help.

The six-part weekly series is free on-demand across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, NPR One, and Overcast. An audio trailer is available now.

“Our voices carry so much of who we are. Our humor, our emotions, our identities,” says Sanders. “Getting to know people who have lost their voices changed the way I think about my own. I hope their stories will change the way listeners think about theirs, too.”

The Deep End: Talk to Me will tell the stories of additional people who’ve also lost their voice, including Patrick, a musician who uses a voice clone to compose and perform music, and Casey, a climate activist who now speaks with an experimental implant that decodes his intended words.. While such advances in technology offer extraordinary new ways to connect, they also raise questions we’ve never asked before: Is a human body necessary to make a voice special?  As technology gets better at speaking for us, where does that leave the messy, all-too-human act of talking to one another? How much of your voice is you?

The Deep End first launched in 2025 with a series on cutting-edge treatments for depression and was honored as a finalist for best podcast in the 2025 National Magazine Awards.

“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Science News, who masterfully bridge the frontier of science with the art of enlightening storytelling,” said Stephanie Kuo, VP of Audience and Content at PRX. “There’s never been a more important time to reconnect with what makes us human and the second season of The Deep End delivers exactly that.”

Press contact:

David Cotrone, PRX // david.cotrone@prx.org

About Science News

Science News is a nonprofit news organization that has been covering the latest discoveries in science, technology and medicine since 1921, and is published by the Society for Science. It offers readers award-winning news and features, commentary, multimedia and access to our deep archive. Concise, current and comprehensive, the magazine provides an approachable overview of all fields and applications of science and technology.

Science News Media Group also includes Science News Explores, which makes science accessible for younger audiences, as well as Science News Learning, which brings our journalism and lesson plans to almost 6,000 classrooms across the country.

About PRX

Celebrating more than 20 years as a nonprofit public media company, PRX works in partnership with leading independent creators, organizations, and stations to bring meaningful audio storytelling into millions of listeners’ lives. PRX is one of the world’s top podcast publishers, public radio distributors, and audio producers, serving as an engine of innovation for public media and podcasting to help shape a vibrant future for creative and journalistic audio. Shows across PRX’s portfolio of broadcast productions, podcast partners, and its Radiotopia podcast network have received recognition from the Peabody Awards, the Tribeca Festival, the International Documentary Association, the National Magazine Awards, and the Pulitzer Prizes. Visit PRX.org for more.