Last year, I became a regular contributor to Jalopnik, writing essays about people and their relationships with cars. Some of those relationships were haunting, some were heartbreaking, some were endearing, some were all of those things and all of them were complex. Those are the kinds of stories that move me. They seem to move you too. This year, I’ll continue doing the same. But I’ll also be doing something else: Hosting the site’s very first podcast.
Welcome to Tempest, Powered by Jalopnik.
It will premiere in March, and you can listen to it in any number of ways you find podcasts, as well as here on the site. It’s a seven-part series with a new episode every week.
On Tempest, you’ll meet some interesting people, learn about their experiences in cars and hear their incredible, true stories. Some of them will be bizarre, some of them will be funny, some of them will be poignant. They’ll all be personal, and they will all prove that every car story has a human story behind it.
You’re going to hear about a guy who’s made it his life’s mission to track down the very first (and also, very cool) car he ever rode in. You’re going to hear how the slowest guy in town became the fastest guy in town, and how his fall from the top was almost as quick as his laughingstock-turned-hot rod. There’s another story about a car repair that may or may not have been overseen from something or someone sent from above. Classic cars, uncomfortable vans, totaled trucks. Manual transmissions. Love. Death. Family. Friends.
These are unique stories—the kind that are better heard than read. At least, I think so. There’s something special about being able to hear characters tell their tales in their own words, with their own voices. I think you’ll agree when you check it out.
I hope you’ll tune in. This will be fun.
The podcast is produced by Fusion Media Group Executive Director of Audio Mandana Mofidi with editorial oversight from Patrick George and Kristen Lee.