1 00:00:15,436 --> 00:00:20,716 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Hey, it's Justin Richmond here with the preview of 2 00:00:20,756 --> 00:00:23,356 Speaker 1: a new audio book I had the pleasure of working 3 00:00:23,396 --> 00:00:28,196 Speaker 1: on at Pushkin Industries, called Inside Voice. Inside Voice is 4 00:00:28,276 --> 00:00:32,196 Speaker 1: by the actor Lake Bell, who's long bit obsessed with 5 00:00:32,316 --> 00:00:35,996 Speaker 1: our voices? Why did they matter in such deeply personal ways? 6 00:00:36,236 --> 00:00:39,116 Speaker 1: Why do we hate our voice? In writing the book, 7 00:00:39,436 --> 00:00:43,516 Speaker 1: Lake went down some really fascinating rabbit holes, exploring the psychology, 8 00:00:43,716 --> 00:00:48,516 Speaker 1: social science, and cultural constructs of our voice. She started 9 00:00:48,556 --> 00:00:51,876 Speaker 1: with the mechanics. In this excerpt, you'll hear Lake in 10 00:00:51,956 --> 00:00:54,916 Speaker 1: conversation with ear nose and Throat doc to the Stars, 11 00:00:55,156 --> 00:00:58,996 Speaker 1: doctor Randolph Schnipman. His office is filled with gifts of 12 00:00:59,036 --> 00:01:02,676 Speaker 1: albums and instruments and other memorabilia from a who's who 13 00:01:02,836 --> 00:01:06,676 Speaker 1: of grateful artists whose voices were strengthened or even saved 14 00:01:06,676 --> 00:01:10,316 Speaker 1: by doctor Schnipman. An Inside Voice, you'll also hear the 15 00:01:10,476 --> 00:01:15,076 Speaker 1: iconic voices of Drew Barrymore, Susie Esman of Curb Your Enthusiasm, 16 00:01:15,476 --> 00:01:20,396 Speaker 1: comedian Tracy Allman, Broken Record alum Jeff Goldbloom, and one 17 00:01:20,396 --> 00:01:23,716 Speaker 1: of my personal heroes. You'll know her from Jackie Brown 18 00:01:23,996 --> 00:01:28,516 Speaker 1: Coffee or Foxy Brown. Pam Greer if you're interested at 19 00:01:28,516 --> 00:01:31,676 Speaker 1: all in how our voices make beautiful music or why 20 00:01:31,796 --> 00:01:35,356 Speaker 1: we hate her own voices, I think you'll like this audiobook. 21 00:01:35,916 --> 00:01:41,156 Speaker 1: Inside Voice is available at inside Voice audiobook dot Com, Audible, Spotify, 22 00:01:41,436 --> 00:01:49,036 Speaker 1: and wherever audiobooks are sold. To fully respect anything, we 23 00:01:49,156 --> 00:01:51,836 Speaker 1: need to know what it's made of. So let's find 24 00:01:51,876 --> 00:01:55,436 Speaker 1: out what the voice is made of, shall we. I 25 00:01:55,476 --> 00:01:58,516 Speaker 1: think we need to consult an ear nose and throat 26 00:01:58,556 --> 00:02:03,916 Speaker 1: specialist aka a doctor to get an unboring scientific education 27 00:02:04,036 --> 00:02:07,596 Speaker 1: on the architecture of our vocal tools. God, if we 28 00:02:07,596 --> 00:02:10,236 Speaker 1: can only talk to the E n T doc to 29 00:02:10,316 --> 00:02:18,676 Speaker 1: the stars, someone like doctor Randolph Schnipman. Doctor Schnipman's entire 30 00:02:18,716 --> 00:02:23,276 Speaker 1: office in Los Angeles is lined floor to ceiling with records, 31 00:02:23,676 --> 00:02:28,876 Speaker 1: musical instruments, and other memorabilia from generations of grateful musicians 32 00:02:28,916 --> 00:02:33,996 Speaker 1: and performers whose iconic voices he has nurtured and even saved. 33 00:02:34,636 --> 00:02:38,036 Speaker 1: Schnipman himself is kind of an icon. The man could 34 00:02:38,116 --> 00:02:41,196 Speaker 1: rock a yamica and skinny jeans concurrently and make it 35 00:02:41,316 --> 00:02:46,636 Speaker 1: sing to boot. His own voice is pretty terrific. Long Island, 36 00:02:46,756 --> 00:02:52,796 Speaker 1: New York accent the best I'm an ear nose and 37 00:02:52,876 --> 00:02:57,276 Speaker 1: throat doctor. It's also known as an oto rhino laryngologist 38 00:02:57,596 --> 00:03:01,036 Speaker 1: otto for the ear, rhino for the nose, and laryngology 39 00:03:01,196 --> 00:03:04,196 Speaker 1: for the larynx of the throat. It is my mission 40 00:03:04,356 --> 00:03:07,396 Speaker 1: to help people get the best out of their voice, 41 00:03:07,476 --> 00:03:10,116 Speaker 1: and especially if it's going to help the function better 42 00:03:10,156 --> 00:03:13,156 Speaker 1: in society. Great. And if you had to kind of 43 00:03:13,196 --> 00:03:18,036 Speaker 1: break it down to the layman, everyday galler guy, what 44 00:03:18,116 --> 00:03:25,916 Speaker 1: are the main architectural structural infrastructure items inside our throats 45 00:03:25,916 --> 00:03:29,036 Speaker 1: and necks and noses that we need to pay attention to. 46 00:03:29,676 --> 00:03:34,596 Speaker 1: The vocal cords are a muscular structure that is has 47 00:03:34,636 --> 00:03:38,356 Speaker 1: a membrane lining on the surface and there's a little 48 00:03:38,476 --> 00:03:41,756 Speaker 1: lubricant in between the actual surface and the muscle that 49 00:03:41,796 --> 00:03:45,116 Speaker 1: allows it to vibrate. And when we phonate, we bring 50 00:03:45,196 --> 00:03:49,356 Speaker 1: those two structures together and align them. Similar to when 51 00:03:49,356 --> 00:03:51,756 Speaker 1: you're a kid and you pull two blades of grass 52 00:03:52,276 --> 00:03:55,596 Speaker 1: and put them between your thumbs and you then gently 53 00:03:55,596 --> 00:03:58,356 Speaker 1: blow through it. Those two blades of grass will vibrate 54 00:03:58,396 --> 00:04:05,556 Speaker 1: and make a noise. And depending on your aperture and 55 00:04:06,236 --> 00:04:08,836 Speaker 1: the force of your air that you blow and the 56 00:04:08,876 --> 00:04:12,716 Speaker 1: way you press your lips, and you can affect the sound. 57 00:04:13,116 --> 00:04:15,796 Speaker 1: That's really helpful because I do remember, you know, even 58 00:04:15,796 --> 00:04:18,076 Speaker 1: with my children. Now, if we get a blade of 59 00:04:18,116 --> 00:04:20,596 Speaker 1: grass that's a little thinner, it's kind of like, oh, 60 00:04:20,636 --> 00:04:22,316 Speaker 1: that's not going to do a great sound. If you 61 00:04:22,356 --> 00:04:24,756 Speaker 1: get a thicker one, you know, how fat is it? 62 00:04:24,796 --> 00:04:27,676 Speaker 1: How long is it? So you're saying, our vocal chords 63 00:04:27,796 --> 00:04:33,716 Speaker 1: and our vocal mechanics are all different shapes and sizes 64 00:04:33,756 --> 00:04:38,076 Speaker 1: and levels of strength and the breath that we've pushed through, 65 00:04:38,236 --> 00:04:41,956 Speaker 1: So that's going to all affect the variance and sound. Right. 66 00:04:42,156 --> 00:04:46,876 Speaker 1: But also it's not just the way you present the 67 00:04:46,916 --> 00:04:49,676 Speaker 1: air through those two blades of grass, but it's also 68 00:04:49,716 --> 00:04:54,236 Speaker 1: the actual blades of grass and how they are coordinated. Okay, 69 00:04:54,236 --> 00:04:56,876 Speaker 1: and here's a really interesting question, which is you know, 70 00:04:56,916 --> 00:05:00,276 Speaker 1: when you're like, oh, I sound just like my mother, 71 00:05:00,876 --> 00:05:05,676 Speaker 1: is that actually because mechanics of your vocal chords and 72 00:05:05,916 --> 00:05:08,596 Speaker 1: all the fun fixings in there are the same as 73 00:05:08,596 --> 00:05:11,036 Speaker 1: your mother's. Is it genetic to sound a certain way? 74 00:05:12,036 --> 00:05:16,436 Speaker 1: Is it genetic? Certainly? Bob Dylan and Jacob Dylan sound 75 00:05:16,596 --> 00:05:23,036 Speaker 1: very much alike. I'm getting people your own got my 76 00:05:23,156 --> 00:05:30,276 Speaker 1: window open, and yet I've heard Danny Harrison performing concert, 77 00:05:30,636 --> 00:05:33,196 Speaker 1: and he can sound like an exact duplicate of his father, 78 00:05:33,236 --> 00:05:53,036 Speaker 1: George Harrison noise. So there certainly are going to be 79 00:05:53,156 --> 00:05:59,156 Speaker 1: some genetic phenomena based on the way you're that instrument 80 00:05:59,596 --> 00:06:04,116 Speaker 1: is designed, and I think probably part of that will 81 00:06:04,156 --> 00:06:06,836 Speaker 1: also be affected by when you're raised by somebody who 82 00:06:06,916 --> 00:06:09,956 Speaker 1: uses their instrument that way you we will learn to 83 00:06:10,036 --> 00:06:12,996 Speaker 1: use it in a similar fashion. So I think there's 84 00:06:12,996 --> 00:06:16,156 Speaker 1: a combination. I think it's both. Just to pop in 85 00:06:16,236 --> 00:06:19,156 Speaker 1: here this concept hearkens back to the whole oh I 86 00:06:19,196 --> 00:06:22,396 Speaker 1: sound like my mother phenomenon, And I mean it's not 87 00:06:22,476 --> 00:06:25,156 Speaker 1: just like that for the ladies in the house. Let 88 00:06:25,196 --> 00:06:28,396 Speaker 1: the Dylan men remind us that, gentlemen, you probably do 89 00:06:28,556 --> 00:06:31,236 Speaker 1: sound like your pop. I mean, here's my dad. You 90 00:06:31,316 --> 00:06:33,956 Speaker 1: really don't want any advice for me, believe me. And 91 00:06:34,116 --> 00:06:36,596 Speaker 1: then my brother Houston is another exit there, and I 92 00:06:36,596 --> 00:06:39,436 Speaker 1: don't get off there. I get off fifteenth Street. No 93 00:06:39,476 --> 00:06:43,436 Speaker 1: one gets outsafe from this paradigm. Fellas. People have asked 94 00:06:43,436 --> 00:06:47,116 Speaker 1: me some of the albums that are records that are 95 00:06:47,116 --> 00:06:49,916 Speaker 1: hanging on my wall, They'll ask me, does that person's 96 00:06:49,996 --> 00:06:52,876 Speaker 1: vocal chords look different? And then the follow up question 97 00:06:53,036 --> 00:06:55,196 Speaker 1: is if you look at somebody's vocal chords, can you 98 00:06:55,476 --> 00:06:57,436 Speaker 1: predict that they're going to have a certain voice or 99 00:06:57,476 --> 00:06:58,796 Speaker 1: that they're even going to have a good or a 100 00:06:58,836 --> 00:07:02,476 Speaker 1: bad voice? And I'd say absolutely not. The structure itself 101 00:07:02,516 --> 00:07:06,476 Speaker 1: comes from a standard assembly line in terms of just 102 00:07:06,596 --> 00:07:10,436 Speaker 1: looking at it macroscopically, and it really comes down to 103 00:07:10,476 --> 00:07:15,476 Speaker 1: the way one uses it. You work in the great 104 00:07:15,516 --> 00:07:19,676 Speaker 1: Los Angeles, California aka Hollywood, and you treat so many 105 00:07:19,756 --> 00:07:23,876 Speaker 1: incredible voices and they come to you when in duress 106 00:07:23,996 --> 00:07:27,276 Speaker 1: or crisis, and so I'm curious if you could tell 107 00:07:27,316 --> 00:07:32,396 Speaker 1: me why someone like a Hollywood actor or a sort 108 00:07:32,396 --> 00:07:34,676 Speaker 1: of esteemed singer would even need an E n T. 109 00:07:35,076 --> 00:07:38,756 Speaker 1: What are the plagues and foibles that they go through. Well, 110 00:07:38,796 --> 00:07:41,316 Speaker 1: there's the entire range. I mean, they are people who 111 00:07:41,356 --> 00:07:45,716 Speaker 1: live in this real world and they have obligations to perform. 112 00:07:45,956 --> 00:07:48,876 Speaker 1: So I take care of all the uranos and throat 113 00:07:48,916 --> 00:07:54,956 Speaker 1: problems for performers specific to the performances. Performers can develop 114 00:07:55,236 --> 00:07:59,756 Speaker 1: problems from a cold causing temporary laryngitis, or they can 115 00:07:59,796 --> 00:08:03,396 Speaker 1: develop problems from excess of wear and tear, and that 116 00:08:03,436 --> 00:08:06,596 Speaker 1: can cause more long lasting problems that may or may 117 00:08:06,596 --> 00:08:10,636 Speaker 1: not be reversible. If you could kind of give us 118 00:08:10,676 --> 00:08:16,156 Speaker 1: an example of something that, anecdotally speaking, happened where you're 119 00:08:16,196 --> 00:08:18,476 Speaker 1: called in. You're the big guns and you're called in 120 00:08:18,996 --> 00:08:21,636 Speaker 1: to help. I guess one story that the sticks in 121 00:08:21,676 --> 00:08:24,196 Speaker 1: my mind was there was somebody performing at the Greek 122 00:08:24,236 --> 00:08:27,716 Speaker 1: Theater and I got called at about five o'clock before 123 00:08:27,836 --> 00:08:30,996 Speaker 1: her evening show, and there was an intro band, so 124 00:08:31,036 --> 00:08:33,636 Speaker 1: she had an extra hour and her vocal chords to 125 00:08:33,676 --> 00:08:36,356 Speaker 1: look swollen and inflamed, and she was very anxious to 126 00:08:36,836 --> 00:08:41,156 Speaker 1: not cancel. There's certain little treatments, little tricks that we 127 00:08:41,236 --> 00:08:45,396 Speaker 1: can do on site to try to help resolve those issues, 128 00:08:45,756 --> 00:08:49,996 Speaker 1: little techniques, topical treatments that we can try. Remember she 129 00:08:50,036 --> 00:08:52,236 Speaker 1: even they went out and they told the intro band 130 00:08:52,236 --> 00:08:54,556 Speaker 1: to play an extra couple of songs, so she could 131 00:08:54,596 --> 00:08:56,996 Speaker 1: even say that she could give it even more time 132 00:08:57,036 --> 00:08:58,956 Speaker 1: to work. And then I remember her going out and 133 00:08:58,956 --> 00:09:02,836 Speaker 1: performing and apologizing at the outset, saying that she had 134 00:09:02,876 --> 00:09:06,876 Speaker 1: been struggling. She apologized, and I think subsequent to that 135 00:09:06,916 --> 00:09:09,116 Speaker 1: she even offered them to come back and see her 136 00:09:09,196 --> 00:09:12,516 Speaker 1: perform at another time. Are there any voices that just 137 00:09:12,876 --> 00:09:14,556 Speaker 1: you hear it and you go, oh my god, that's 138 00:09:14,556 --> 00:09:19,156 Speaker 1: the most unsupported. They're killing their internal structures right now. 139 00:09:19,796 --> 00:09:22,396 Speaker 1: Is there a voice quality that almost offends you at 140 00:09:22,436 --> 00:09:26,076 Speaker 1: from a medical standpoint? Well, I mean there's certainly be 141 00:09:26,116 --> 00:09:29,396 Speaker 1: a lot of Harvey Fierstein voice. I mean, the way 142 00:09:29,436 --> 00:09:32,996 Speaker 1: he talks like this, it's probably a combination. I've never 143 00:09:32,996 --> 00:09:34,836 Speaker 1: looked at his vocal chords, but I'm sure they don't 144 00:09:34,916 --> 00:09:39,676 Speaker 1: look great, and mixing that up with his approach, which 145 00:09:39,716 --> 00:09:42,516 Speaker 1: is a real fry type of voice. I would say 146 00:09:42,556 --> 00:09:45,596 Speaker 1: that I hear Harvey Fierstein, and I say to myself, 147 00:09:46,196 --> 00:09:47,956 Speaker 1: that's a voice. I'd be curious to see what it 148 00:09:47,996 --> 00:09:50,916 Speaker 1: looks like, to figure out what combination of things is 149 00:09:50,956 --> 00:09:54,596 Speaker 1: he engaging and listening in order to get that voice. 150 00:09:55,636 --> 00:09:58,596 Speaker 1: I don't believe in God or gods or goddesses, but 151 00:09:58,716 --> 00:10:01,236 Speaker 1: I pray every day, sometimes more than once a day, 152 00:10:01,556 --> 00:10:04,596 Speaker 1: and I operate under a complicated belief system pretty much 153 00:10:04,596 --> 00:10:07,316 Speaker 1: of my own device, which I based on scientific laws 154 00:10:07,316 --> 00:10:10,636 Speaker 1: and humanistic principles, and in a while it works for me.