A part of BBC’s Between the Ears series is the episode “A Cow a Day”.In this episode producer and poet Pejk Malinovski follows a single cow through the streets of Varanasi,India, from morning till night. The episode showcases the question of “what happens when we slow down enough to see, and hear the world from another creature’s perspective? The story begins with the soft noise of city traffic, distant chanting from temples, and gentle clinking of cow bells. From the start, the listener is transported to the world through texture and sound.

The storytelling approach used for this episode is very observational and poetic. Malinovski has used the sound for empathy, like when he includes footsteps, bicycle bells, and snippets of conversation to tell the story of coexistence between humans and animals. Through the episode the listener can almost feel like there meditatively floating with the cow, following the rhythm rather than just the words. One sound that striked at me was when the cow wandered into the market and you could hear all the chaotic beauty of the city. This sounds included the sudden layering of horns, sellers shouting, and the cows slow heavy breathing.

The episode makes the listener feel calm and is able to show us that the impact of work is in the slowing of time. It really asks us to listen in a different way to the story, not just for surface level of the plot, but simply to be present. The story is centered around culture and place. The cow, which is very sacred in Hindu tradition, moves freely through the streets where spirtual life and daily routines are met. By following her journey, us as listeners are able to hear the heartbeat of Varansi itself. A Cow a Day shows us that storytelling is not merely about just the words, its about paying deep attention to details and truly listening.