Technically Yours

Five years ago, Pearl broke Cord’s heart and moved away. Now she has moved back and is six months into her dream job, running the nonprofit OurCode. When the organization is rocked by scandal, Cord, a tech CEO, takes an open seat on the board of OurCode for a chance to talk to Pearl again. They start by keeping their interactions professional—Pearl won’t allow anyone to derail her future, and Cord still loses himself in his partners. But their unresolved emotional and sexual tensions can’t be ignored. The story establishes stakes using flashbacks to the start of the characters’ relationship to provide insight into their current defense mechanisms. Some of the conflict is plainly artificial—quitting a corporate board cannot be this hard—but the ticking clocks and emotional complications are strong enough to keep listeners invested. Narrators January LaVoy as Pearl and Joe Arden as Cord are skillful at character voices and pacing, even using pitch changes to signal the characters’ younger selves. The voice they use for nonbinary teen Tye shows collaboration and care.