# Antarctic Impact — Season One (Narrative Audiobook) A coherent 13-episode narrative audiobook exploring the Antarctic Impact hypothesis, plus an Epilogue. Each episode includes a cold open cue, optional recap, main body, teaser for the next episode, and credits. — ## Season logline A late-Pleistocene nitrogen-ice comet swarm reshaped Earth and left synchronized scars across the solar system. This series re-reads familiar geology, fossils, and myths through that lens and asks what planetary defense demands of us now. — ## Episode index (mapping and goals) - Episode 1 — Introduction to Antarctic Impact (from Front Matter) - Goal: Series setup, author’s POV, hypothesis overview, expectations for evidence and tone - Target duration: 15–20 min - Episode 2 — The Map That Changed Everything (from Ch. 2 Introduction) - Goal: Marie Tharp, pattern recognition, three-pillar claim - Target duration: 20–25 min - Episode 3 — The Main Event (from Ch. 3) - Goal: Antarctica paradoxes; impact narrative; Ninety East Ridge vector - Target duration: 22–28 min - Episode 4 — Antarctic Evidence (from Ch. 4) - Goal: Two Antarcticas, asymmetric ice, Wilkes anomaly, geothermal/ice cores - Target duration: 22–28 min - Episode 5 — The Mechanics of Catastrophe (from Ch. 5) - Goal: Mass/energy math, plasticization window, angle and Roche limit - Target duration: 22–28 min - Episode 6 — The Global Fracture Pattern (from Ch. 6) - Goal: Himalayas, Atlantic opening, Altiplano, Ring of Fire, rifts - Target duration: 22–28 min - Episode 7 — Timeline and Environment (from Ch. 7) - Goal: Younger Dryas, sea-level pulses, biomes, human recovery window - Target duration: 22–28 min - Episode 8 — Solar System Evidence (from Ch. 8) - Goal: Multi-world signatures; southern basins; volatile clues - Target duration: 22–28 min - Episode 9 — Other Worlds, Other Impacts (from Ch. 9) - Goal: Deep-dive Mars/Pluto/Triton/Uranus/Saturn system - Target duration: 22–28 min - Episode 10 — Dinosaurs and the Oil (from Ch. 10) - Goal: Exceptional preservation, mass entombment, rapid hydrocarbons - Target duration: 25–30 min - Episode 11 — Human Memory and Ancient Myths (from Ch. 11) - Goal: Convergent flood myths, refugia, cultural technologies of memory - Target duration: 25–30 min - Episode 12 — Origins of the Comet Swarm (from Ch. 12) - Goal: Planet Nine shepherd, ETNOs, testable predictions - Target duration: 22–28 min - Episode 13 — The Resurrection (expanded Ch. 13) - Goal: Survival, underground hypothesis, modern risk posture (season finale) - Target duration: 25–30 min - Epilogue — Afterword (from Ch. 20) - Goal: Close, next steps, research and preparedness prompts - Target duration: 5–10 min — ## Standard episode structure - Cold open (optional, 10–20s): evocative line or scene; quick hook - Opening music (5–8s fade) - “Previously on…” (15–45s): recap 1–3 bullets max; avoid spoilers - Main body (multi-segment): 2–4 major beats with clear transitions - “Next time on…” (15–30s): concrete hook, no overpromising - Credits (10–20s): season + episode ID, author, thanks - Closing sting (2–3s) — ## Tone and narration guide - Voice: confident but invitational; hypothesis-forward, not dogmatic - Tense: present for narration of ideas; past for events; avoid time slippage - Pacing: aim ~140–160 wpm; short sentences around dense claims - Speculation markers: use “we propose / suggests / consistent with…” - Safety: remind listeners this is a hypothesis; cite testable predictions - Consistency: say “Episode” and “Season One”; avoid “chapter/book” in audio script — ## Transitions (polish checklist) - Recaps begin “Previously on Antarctic Impact…” and end with a clean handoff line - Segment bridges: “Let’s turn to…”, “Here’s the mechanism…”, “Now, the test…” - Teasers: 1–2 sentences; start with action (“In Episode X, we…”) not promises - Credits format: “Antarctic Impact: Season One — Episode N: Title. Written and researched by Michael Madden.” — ## Style consistency (QC) - Units: km, km/s, GPa, ka (e.g., 12.9 ka); use en-dash for ranges (15–20 ka) - Numbers: thin space thousand separators (e.g., 2 300 km) optional if your typesetter supports - Hyphenation: “nitrogen‑ice” when adjectival; “nitrogen ice” as noun - Terms: “Younger Dryas”, “ETNOs”, “Roche limit”, “plasticization” - Cues: bracket style [Opening music], [Closing music], [Sting] consistent - Disclaimers: signal speculation vs. observation clearly — ## Length targets and pacing - Aim: 22–30 minutes per core episode (~3 300–4 500 words at 150 wpm) - Shorter: Episode 1 intro can be 15–20 minutes; Epilogue 5–10 minutes - If an episode runs long >35 minutes, consider moving a beat to the next episode — ## Production notes - File naming: `Episode_##_Title.md` (kept) - Master script to audio: export per-segment for punch‑and‑roll edit - Music: light underscore only at open/close + stingers at segment turns if desired - Loudness target: −16 LUFS (stereo) / −19 LUFS (mono); peak ≤ −1 dBFS - Silence trims: 200–400 ms between paragraphs; 600–800 ms at big transitions - Assets: keep a cue sheet per episode for music/SFX licensing if added later — ## Season-wide QC checklist - [ ] No “book/chapter” wording in episodes (use “episode/season”) - [ ] “Previously on / Next time on” present from Episode 2 onward (Ep1 can omit "Previously") - [ ] Credits block consistent across all files - [ ] Angle/units/phrasings standardized per style above - [ ] Hypothesis disclaimers appear where strongest claims are made - [ ] Teasers do not overclaim or introduce new terms without definition next episode — ## Roadmap / Next steps - Optional: generate an `index.json` with episode titles, word counts, and estimated duration - Optional: produce a single `SEASON_ONE_SCRIPT.md` that concatenates episodes for eReaders - Optional: add an image header per episode; align with website index - Optional: create a mini-trailer script (60–75s) sourced from Episodes 1–3 hooks If you want, I can auto-generate the `index.json` with actual word counts and duration estimates for each episode.