Professor Emily Sendin of Miami Dade College presents Michael Vargas Arango with the winner certificate from the NPR Podcast Challenge.
Pella's request didn't sit well with Vargas Arango."You don't wanna know?" he recalls thinking,"I'm gonna show you how it is." Vargas Arango's podcast starts with an exchange between himself and the voice in his head:"Why would you tell them I exist? They won't understand."Then, Vargas Arango addresses the listener:"This is how I've been living my whole life. But you're probably wondering: What is this guy talking about? Who is he even talking to? Well, let me explain."
It's not always to illustrate his experience, he says. In some cases, it's a metaphor, where he uses distorted voice recordings as a"way to make fun of the prejudice that people have. Because they think that you're hearing these voices to try to go hurt someone," he says.This openness is pretty radical for Vargas Arango.
Talking openly about his condition and his treatment – which includes medicine and therapy – and then winning the NPR contest has also helped his family, he says.