I think it’s safe to say I have a pretty complex and possibly borderline unhealthy relationship with taillights. Perhaps it’s obsessive. I mean, it seems to be, because a podcast about obsessions recently had me on to not just talk about taillights, but also my own absurd attempts to make a Taillight Subculture, complete with taillight-based fiction. And, even more incredibly, there’s an actual dramatization with actors and sound effects from my taillight-culture murder mystery, Murder By Flashing Amber Light: A Mack Hardigraw Car Mystery! It’s like a dream come true!
The team over at Quartz did a stellar job on this podcast, especially when you consider the fact that taillights aren’t exactly the most expected general-audience podcast subject. But I love how willing they were to listen, to open their minds to the sublime beauty of taillights and really lean into the fan fiction aspects with the dramatizations.
There’s two dramatization sections, even! Stick around to the very end for the second one.
This was a blast. If you have a half hour to kill while doing your squats (don’t think I haven’t noticed) then I’d encourage you to give it a listen.
The Autopian Makes Some Predictions About 2024 And Jason Shows Up – The Autopian Podcast
Murder By Flashing Amber Light: A Mack Hardigraw Car Mystery
Kia’s Chief Designer Explains Why Kias Look So Good Now – The Autopian Podcast
I have to admit, as a hetero male, I’m generally more interested in headlights. But to each their own I guess.
Time to go to the taillight bar!
I actually hit a PR on squats yesterday while wearing an Autopian t-shirt so….that creeped me out a little.
But also, thank you.
Torch, you’re not a tail light fetishist but a modern SuperHero! The proof? Where do cops turn to find hit and run drivers? Right here! And always with shattered bits of *tail lights* that were left at the scene. Amazingly the passionate Lumiere subculture you seeded on this site keeps doing a bang up job of identifying the perp’s car.
(A major crime solver movie must be next. The Changli gets a new livery, an update of 2HP and Jason is seen during the intro wearing a cape and peering at bits of amber plastic through a monocle.)
“while doing your squats (don’t think I haven’t noticed)”
Oh, man, I’m so self-conscious now. If you noticed I need to do more squats without ever actually seeing me, I REALLY need to start doing squats.
Fun podcast to listen to! I was expecting more hardcore tail light fetish talk, but I guess I’ll have to come down to the Lumiere Rouge for that.
more mack hardigraw please.
I randomly post on Torch’s articles about getting more of these stories so I’m glad you have joined the fight for more Hardigraw content
Torch’s “The Tail-Tail Light” conveys a symbolic way of showing how one man drives himself farther into insanity through his own obsession.
“Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded –with what caution –with what foresight –with what dissimulation I went to work on this podcast about the tail light.
I feel like many aspect of your life culminated in these moments. The trajectory for tail light enthusiasm is astronomical!
I’m going to save this & savor it on the roof of the mall tomorrow
Is tomorrow when the zombie apocalypse starts?
Dawn of the Dead 2004
–that was going to drive me crazy.
nah: I service a lot of rooftop hvac. Good time to put the earbuds in & just cruise
Bingo!!
I’ve been warned about pod people.
https://www.theautopian.com/murder-by-flashing-amber-light-a-mack-hardigraw-car-mystery/
Holy crap, this is incredible. How did I miss this? If only it was narrated.
I missed it too. Now that I’ve read it, I feel like someone slipped something in my drink.
Wasn’t gritty, was it??
Sorry bout that. We mixed you up with someone famous that we were going to do a swap on. In our defense, all humans look alike to us.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would weep tears of joy after reading that masterpiece.