It's true what they say:
silence can be deafening.
NEAR TOTAL SILENCE is a documentary podcast exploring the few remaining near-silent locations and experiences in the United States.
Blending elements of science, history, culture, and the art of sound, this series follows audio journalist Jill DeGroot as she works her way to zero decibels, questioning where silence lives, why it’s so hard to find, and why it matters anyway.
MEET JILL
Jill DeGroot is a Chicago-based musician, writer, and audio journalist. She has spent most of her life avoiding quiet moments by studying, critiquing, and creating sound.
She wouldn't be caught dead without a pair of headphones, can't fall asleep without a noise machine, and has racked up over 1,675 cumulative hours of podcast listening.
Despite what this photograph may lead you to believe, Jill had absolutely no business leaving the sound booth for any sort of horse-riding, desert-trekking, silence-searching funny business.
But against her better judgment, she set out on a journey across the country in an attempt to get as close to silence as possible, grappling with the frustrating task of hunting down such an elusive, slippery beast.
Join Jill as she encounters ghost towns, silent meditation retreats, abandoned buildings, eccentric clowns, and more in this new documentary podcast series.