Snakes

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 03:00:00 -0800

Noah and Naamah get another visit from God. Then they interview two snakes, Goose and Solomon.

Credits

Arie Rich played Goose the Snake, and Simone Webster played Solomon the Snake. Arie performs with Nox! at Washington Improv Theater. Follow her @arie_rich_yet. Simone performs with iMusical, Lena Dunham, and Hellcat at WIT. Follow her at @miss_simonewebster. Jamal Newman played Noah. Catch Jamal performing live comedy in D.C. at WIT. Follow him @thejamalnewman. Bethany Stokes played Naamah. Bethany performs with Nox! and The Hypothesis at WIT, indie team 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT, and sketch troupe Bad Medicine. Follow her @bethanysalright. Eli Okun played Japheth. Eli performs with Nox! and 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT. Krystal Ali played God. Krystal’s work as a performer and director can be seen regularly at WIT. "Ark" was created, written, produced, and edited by Tim Townsend. It was recorded and engineered by Selcuk Karagloan at Switch and Board Studios in Washington, DC. Cover art by small c studio. "Ark" is a co-production of Solar Driftwood and Collective Echo in partnership with the Antiquities Institute at the University of Tehran. 

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Horse & Donkey

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 03:00:00 -0800

Noah and Naamah interview a horse named Gingerbread and a donkey named Al

Credits

Devin Hiett played Gingerbread the Horse, and Madeline Dozier played Al the Donkey. Devin performs with Hellcat and Out Loud at Washington Improv Theater. Follow her @StairwayToDevinn. Madeline performs with Uncle Gorgeous at WIT and indie team 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT. Find them @wadelinepozier. Jamal Newman played Noah. Catch Jamal performing live comedy in D.C. at WIT. Follow him @thejamalnewman. Bethany Stokes played Naamah. Bethany performs with Nox! and The Hypothesis at WIT, 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT, and sketch troupe Bad Medicine. Follow her @bethanysalright. Eli Okun played Japheth. Eli performs with Nox! and 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT. “Ark” was created, written, produced, and edited by Tim Townsend. It was recorded and engineered by Selcuk Karagloan at Switch and Board Studios in Washington, DC. Cover art by small c studio. “Ark” is a co-production of Solar Driftwood and Collective Echo in partnership with the Antiquities Institute at the University of Tehran. 

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Peacocks

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 03:00:00 -0800

Noah and Naamah interview two peacocks, Wilhemina and Chimmy Chu

Credits

Eva Lewis played Wilhemina the Peacock, and Darnell Eaton played Chimmy Chu the Peacock. Eva performs with Lena Dunham and The Broken Bones at Washington Improv Theater. She’s also on the sketch team, M.I.S.T. Follow her @EvaRLewis. Darnell Eaton performs regularly with WIT ensembles The Broken Bones and Lena Dunham. Follow him @darnellde. Jamal Newman played Noah. Catch Jamal performing live comedy in D.C. at WIT. Follow him @hell0newman. Bethany Stokes played Naamah. Bethany performs with Nox! and The Hypothesis at WIT, indie team 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT, and sketch troupe Bad Medicine. Follow her @bethanysalright. Eli Okun played Japheth. Eli performs with Nox! and 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT. "Ark" was created, written, produced, and edited by Tim Townsend. It was recorded and engineered by Selcuk Karagloan at Switch and Board Studios in Washington, DC. Cover art by small c studio. "Ark" is a co-production of Solar Driftwood and Collective Echo in partnership with the Antiquities Institute at the University of Tehran. 

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Flying Squirrels

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 03:00:00 -0800

Noah and Naamah get a visit from God. Then they interview two flying squirrels, Mabel and Shubert

Credits

Katie Munn played Mabel the Flying Squirrel, and Steven Karig played Shubert the Flying Squirrel. Katie and Steven perform with indie team That's So You in Washington, DC. Jamal Newman played Noah. Catch Jamal performing live comedy in D.C. at Washington Improv Theater. Follow him @hell0newman. Bethany Stokes played Naamah. Bethany performs with Nox! and The Hypothesis at WIT, indie team 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT, and sketch troupe Bad Medicine. Follow her @bethanysalright. Eli Okun played Japheth. Eli performs with Nox! and 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT. Krystal Ali played God. Krystal’s work as a performer and director can be seen regularly at WIT. "Ark" was created, written, produced, and edited by Tim Townsend. It was recorded and engineered by Selcuk Karagloan at Switch and Board Studios in Washington, DC. Cover art by small c studio. "Ark" is a co-production of Solar Driftwood and Collective Echo in partnership with the Antiquities Institute at the University of Tehran. 

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Beavers

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 04:10:21 -0800

Noah and Naamah interview two beavers, Cedar and Balsa

Credits

Clare Mulligan played Cedar the Beaver, and Patrick Fleury played Balsa the Beaver. Clare performs with Hellcat at Washington Improv Theater. Follow her on Instagram at @kuhlayer. Patrick performs with Lizard Girl at WIT. Find them @lizardgirlimprov. Jamal Newman played Noah. Catch Jamal performing live comedy in D.C. at WIT. Follow him @hell0newman. Bethany Stokes played Naamah. Bethany performs with Nox! and The Hypothesis at WIT, indie team 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT, and sketch troupe Bad Medicine. Follow her @bethanysalright. Eli Okun played Japheth. Eli performs with Nox! And 1-800-FIRE-DEPARTMENT. "Ark" was created, written, produced, and edited by Tim Townsend. It was recorded and engineered by Selcuk Karagloan at Switch and Board Studios in Washington, DC. Cover art by small c studio. "Ark" is a co-production of Solar Driftwood and Collective Echo in partnership with the Antiquities Institute at the University of Tehran. 

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Ark: The Trailer

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 06:56:39 -0800

Flood myths were common to many ancient cultures — Chinese, Greek, Norse, Irish, Aboriginal, Mayan. The most famous flood myth, the Hebrew Bible story of Noah’s Ark, is theologically pivotal to all three of the world’s major religions. What happened on that boat determined the rest of history. 

Noah’s story, along with the rest of what is called the “primeval history” section of the book of Genesis, was likely written down in the 6th century BCE. Its authors were influenced by other flood myths, like the Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem from ancient Mesopotamia written 2,000 years before the birth of Christ. 

In 2018, graduate students from the Antiquities Institute at the University of Tehran were excavating a portion of the Çalköy Cave system on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey when they uncovered 26 ceramic amphorae containing reels of ancient audio tape. 

The Institute’s scholars have since theorized that sometime during the Bronze Age, a collective of Akkadian Empire priests placed the recordings inside the caves, which lie just 300 miles from Mt. Ararat — described in Genesis as the resting place of Noah’s ark. 

AIUT researchers spent years restoring the magnetic coating before daring to place the delicate film in a playback recorder. In 2024, when they finally held their breath and hit “play,” what they heard was astounding: a clear and complete recording of Noah and Naamah — captured by their unemployed son Japheth — discussing life aboard the ark with thousands of animal pairs. 

In partnership with the Antiquities Institute at the University of Tehran, we have digitized a selection of those 5,000-year-old interviews and now present them publicly for the first time in this historic podcast.

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