meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Truth

The Joke

The Truth

The Truth

Film, Public, Mitchell, Prx, Fiction, Drama, Radio, Storytelling, Audio, Radiotopia, Story, Jonathan

4.73.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 November 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When an archivist in the future finds a single surviving joke, she risks her job to uncover its meaning, discovering forbidden laughter along the way. Written by Mary McDonnell, with direction, sound design, and original music by Jonathan Mitchell. Performed by Betsy Helmer, Josh Tobin, John Trowbridge, Alex Dickson, Brandon Zelman, Amanda Giobbi, Mary McDonnell, Davy Gardner, Hunter Nelson, Louis Kornfeld, and Cherie McMaster. Support The Truth by ⁠⁠subscribing to our ad-free feed⁠⁠. It’s $5, or $50 a year. You’ll get every story without interruption, but more than that, you’ll be supporting the survival of our show. Go to: ⁠⁠thetruthpodcast.supportingcast.fm⁠⁠ Follow us on... ⁠⁠INSTAGRAM⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BLUESKY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠THREADS⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠REDDIT⁠⁠ To learn more about our show, go to our website: ⁠⁠thetruthpodcast.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

The truth.

0:02.0

Come on.

0:07.0

Show me something.

0:12.0

The project began on March 26th.

0:16.0

Thank you.

0:20.0

My colleague, my slight superior, Darwin Walker, and I, had been tasked with preserving and

0:26.2

cataloging the contents of a small portable safe found in a recently excavated hotel room

0:31.1

from before the realignment.

0:32.8

The material remnants are fairly well preserved, indicating whatever damage the hard drive occurred

0:38.0

before it was placed in the safe.

0:41.3

Ms. Fern, do you agree?

0:44.3

Miss Fern.

0:45.3

I'm sorry?

0:46.3

I accept your apology, but not your distraction.

0:48.3

Focus is a crucial requirement of our role.

0:50.3

I found something on the drive.

0:52.3

You did? Digital discoveries are rare, with all of the advancements in technology and decay and hardware.

1:00.0

May I see?

1:01.0

Of course.

1:03.0

To find anything on a pre-realignment drive is exceptional and should be treated as such, no matter what information is found.

1:10.0

It reads as insignificant nonsense. I would archive it in...

1:13.6

But maybe it's some kind of code. I should try to figure it out first.

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 9 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Truth, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Truth and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.