Appearances
An audio mind trip into the fantasies and nightmares of Melanie Barzadeh and her quest for family connection, love and inner strength.
Mermaid Palace, Radiotopia · Mermaid Palace & Radiotopia
Show overview
Appearances has published 11 episodes, alongside 1 trailer or bonus episode during 2020. That works out to roughly 5 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 22 min and 33 min — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. Roughly 55% of episodes carry an explicit flag from the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Society & Culture show.
The catalogue appears to be on hiatus or wound down — the most recent episode landed 5.6 years ago, with no new episodes in over a year. Published by Mermaid Palace & Radiotopia.
From the publisher
FICTION There’s the family you grew up with: your mom, your dad, your siblings. And then, there’s the family you carry around in your head for the rest of your life. This show is about that second family, the one that lives within. From Mermaid Palace, Sharon Mashihi brings you Appearances, a one woman audio show that straddles the line between fiction and truth. Appearances brings to life an Iranian American family and community through the real and fantastical mental machinations of Melanie Barzadeh. Melanie is in her mid 30’s and desires nothing more than to become a mother. The difficulty of finding the right partner seems to be directly connected to the struggles witnessed in her home throughout her entire childhood. As Sharon Mashihi voice-acts all the characters in one family, the depth of the love, pain, and struggle is felt with honesty and humour at every turn.
Latest Episodes
S1 Ep 9Episode 09: The World
The finale.
S1 Ep 8Episode 08: Melanie Tells Her Mom
EThis is the episode where Melanie has to tell her mother. She is terrified.
S1 Ep 7Episode 07: AKA Episode 6 1/2 [Indecisive Artist]
EIt worked. Now Melanie has a secret. Only one person knows it. That one person... is Sharon Mashihi.
S1 Ep 6Episode 06: Ace of Hearts
EMelanie begins the process of acquiring sperm and getting pregnant.
S1 Ep 5Episode 05: Good Eggs
EWhile Melanie is preparing physically and spiritually to get pregnant, she receives news that yet again makes her spiral into uncertainty.
S1 Ep 4Episode 04: Last Ditch Effort
Melanie asks: Is it still worth trying to make it work with men?
S1 Ep 3Episode 03: Vida
EThis episode belongs to Vida, Melanie’s mom. We twist and turn through the caverns of her past and present to understand what it feels like, as Vida puts it, "to live with your heart outside your body."
S1 Ep 2Episode 02: A Person Who Has Never Even Been Married Fantasizes Incessantly About Divorce
Melanie is at her brother’s wedding and feeling out of place. She is unsure about long term relationships, so she takes us inside the intimate details of her parents’ marriage to find out why.
S1 Ep 1Episode 01: Voices
EIn this episode, we meet Melanie, her family—who appear as voices in her head—and her ill-fated lover as they discuss potentially having a baby, and her first pregnancy 9 years ago. [This episode contains scenes that deal with difficult topics, including abortion, and may be distressing for some listeners.]
Prologue
Part A of the prologue is a note from Sharon about why this podcast is labeled "fiction". Part B is a history of the town of Great Neck, as told by Faribah, the neighbor across the street. As Faribah always likes to say, "In this neighborhood, the windows are very important. What can you see when you look out of them, and what can everybody else see when they look in?"
Appearances Trailer
trailerAn audio mindtrip about an Iranian American woman, the family she carries around in her head, and the family that she wants to have.