NPR’s ‘Invisibilia’ Podcast Producer Abby Wendle Explains Norwegian ‘Slow TV’

NPR’s “Invisibilia” podcast dives into the hidden forces that influence human behavior. The podcast’s topics go deep into psychology, offering perspectives on the way we think and behave that never occur to most. A recent episode, “The Great Narrative Escape,” focused on the Norwegian television program “Slow TV,” a show that, to many Americans, would sound like impossibly boring programming. It’s an enormous hit in Norway, however. “Invisibilia” producer and journalist Abby Wendle joined “City Lights” senior producer to talk about the episode she pitched and researched, and the surprising fascination of “Slow TV.”

Wendle has reported for “Invisibilia” for six years. When she found out about Norwegian “Slow TV,” it didn’t occur to her that that was the story the producers would run with. “I had heard about ‘Slow TV,’ and was like, ‘That’s funny, that’s interesting,’ and I pitched it kind of as a joke… I did not think that it would get greenlit at all,” said Wendell.

“Norwegian ‘Slow TV’ is basically programming that goes on for hours… and sometimes even days, and I think actually there have been broadcasts that have gone on for longer than a week. It’s uninterrupted by commercials or breaking news, and it’s video of really mundane activities. So, the first couple of programs that they broadcast were of train journeys across Norway,” said Wendle. “They’ve done things like knitting and fishing, and there was a beautiful one of a reindeer herd migration.” “Slow TV’s” broadcasts have no scripting, no narratives, and no action – at least, not intentionally.