404 was a monthly live radio show which ran from 2016-2019 on Nürnberg’s community radio Radio Z. It was initiated by Lilly Urbat (graphic designer, photographer, video artist) and Emanuel Tannert (software developer), and covered online culture, art, and technology. In June 2019, the show relocated to Berlin and now permanently features artists Heyon Han and Leon Leube as co-hosts. It was rebooted as 404.earth – a podcast driven by artistic research, that negotiates the social and cultural implications of technological progress. The recording sessions themselves become a vehicle of artistic practice. All episodes produced so far can be found at https://404.earth/.
Episodes are loosely built around a main theme which has been decided before the show, and discussions usually run for 1-2 hours. Co-hosts can take on the roles of a moderator, interviewee, lecturer or interrogator at any time. Research is done before as well as during the podcast. Show notes and further learning material are made publicly available with every episode.
Although 404.earth is based on each participant’s research, rather than academic study, we think of ourselves as gatherers, harvesting berries and herbs from the wild fields, bringing them back at the end of the day to share with everyone around the campfire. This allows us to spontaneously and intimately deliver raw material, and be expressive on site. We become the medium that puts voice to knowledge and performs research for the public.
We believe that one can only learn when knowing becomes doing. The research here is then, in turn, becoming a part of the performance. This means that the creative process of transferring unstructured data into accessible information is performed live on the show. Hitch a ride to be part of the creativity and experience the road tests of 404.earth. Here, in some sense, we are all test subjects.
