Latest episode · August 18, 2026
The Bell Foundry
with Tessa Marchetti
Tessa Marchetti pours bronze the way her grandfather did — and explains why the waiting, not the pour, is the craft.
0:000:58
Cold open: one foundry left
The archive
Every episode
5 conversations so far. Each one has chapter markers and a transcript you can search, so you can jump straight to the bit somebody told you about.
EP 12 · August 18, 2026
The Bell Foundry
with Tessa Marchetti
EP 11 · August 4, 2026
Night Shift at the Seed Vault
with Dr. Halvard Bruun
EP 10 · July 21, 2026
The Typeface Detective
with June Okafor
EP 09 · July 7, 2026
Kingdom of the Model Railway
with Wilf Adeyemi
EP 08 · June 23, 2026
The Lighthouse Tapes
with Iris Kelleher
About the show
A show about people who can't stop making things.
Room Tone is an independent interview show recorded in kitchens, barns, foundries, and one lamp room. Every other week, Mara Voss sits down with someone who has given a suspicious portion of their life to a craft — and stays until the room goes quiet enough to hear why.
No panel, no news hook, no fifteen-second version. One guest, one obsession, and the sound of the place where it happens.
Your host
Mara Voss
Mara spent a decade as a location sound recordist before she started asking the questions herself. She still mixes every episode, and she still records the minute of silence — the room tone — before each interview. That minute is where the show got its name.
studio@roomtone.exampleHow often do new episodes come out?
Every other Tuesday. Between seasons we post short field recordings from places we visited but couldn't fit into a full episode.
Can I suggest a guest?
Please do — the seed vault episode started as a listener tip. Write to the studio with who they are and what they can't stop making. We read everything, even when we're slow to reply.
Where can I listen besides this site?
Anywhere you already get podcasts — search for Room Tone. This page is the show's home: every episode here has chapter markers and a searchable transcript, which the apps still can't do.
Are the transcripts complete?
Each episode page carries a transcript excerpt at launch, and full transcripts replace them as they're proofread. If you need one sooner for accessibility, email the studio and we'll move it up the queue.
Can I use clips from the show?
For classrooms, community radio, or anything non-commercial: yes, with credit to Room Tone and a link to the episode page. For commercial use, write to the studio first — we usually say yes.