Eighty Thousand Steps

What if you could walk into a story?

Welcome to an immersive experience that moves you—literally. You power this podcast, with your footsteps. This groundbreaking story marries form and content in an innovative twist. Eighty Thousand Steps is a six-episode limited series that gives voice to the migrant experience. It is about women taking charge over their stories, across generations. Poignant and inspirational, it features original music, audio, illustrations, and animations. Follow creator and host Crystal Chan as she solves a mystery. When she unravels a fantastical tale, she learns the shocking truth behind her grandmother’s escape from China. This trailblazing show goes far beyond a conventional podcast. It invites you to walk beside a refugee.

Why do you have to walk? Because one step at a time, you will uncover the power of movement itself. Compare your daily life with the dark and surreal path of a migrant. As you walk to the grocery store, or through a park, you examine your steps and stories next to a child refugee’s. Explore the contrast between political violence and a child’s interpretation. A trip around the block becomes something much more. This is a game that questions the game. Everyone has a story that keeps them going. Eighty Thousand Steps asks you to connect with your roots, and to listen to others and walk alongside them.

“A standing O. This is truly a lovely series, an inventive exploration of storytelling technology and a beautiful tribute to your grandmother.”

“Didn’t remind me of anything I’ve heard… I’m all about hearing stories we don’t usually hear.”

“You found a truly beautiful and original way of telling a tough and true story. Respect.”

What did you inherit from your family?

Not the stuff. But the stories. Lessons. Those are heirlooms too. Eighty Thousand Steps spans over ninety years and crosses the globe to tell a story both universally resonant and deeply intimate, one that’s inspired by a family secret and guided by the wisdom of elders.

When she was young, Crystal loved when her “Pawpaw”—grandma, in Chinese—shared life lessons through a fable when they walked together. Pawpaw transformed from an elderly lady into a magical storyteller, and Crystal from a bullied immigrant kid into a noble hero. Now, Crystal realizes Pawpaw was hiding hardship behind adventure. Two storylines intertwine: Crystal’s journalistic investigation and Pawpaw’s fable world. Pawpaw teaches us that sometimes it’s not a war or a border separates us. Eighty Thousand Steps leads you to walk right across the borders in your life.

Our Fresh Take on the Podcast Format

Our uncompromising commitment to innovation was driven by the authentic message of Crystal’s grandmother. We must physically walk to keep the story moving, a form of meaningful gamification. This draws us closer to the story in a way that transcends words. Walking becomes a metaphor for storytelling and a sign of love. It helps us empathize with the characters. Our market research revealed that 68% of users already listen to podcasts while walking. When we wanted to make a podcast that moves your body, mind, and heart, we thought: There must be an app for that, right? But when we spoke with consultants such as Adrian Hon (creator of the world’s best selling smartphone fitness games), we were told this had never been done before. We studied games, interactive fitness apps, storytelling podcasts, meditation apps, interactive documentaries, and augmented reality experiences. There were audio stories to listen to on walks, there were step counters that paired with narratives, and so on: but nothing quite like this.

Our small team—proudly diverse, young, and female-led—became podcast pioneers. We created a dynamic audio player specially designed to listen to while walking. You can play, pause or rewind but not jump forward past the point you’ve walked. Illustrations and watercolors gently scroll as you listen, bringing real photos and fantasy worlds to life. This refugee story is resonating with audiences. Listeners are hyper-engaged, opening our podcast app of 6 episodes on average 18 times. We also attracted listeners who don’t typically listen to immigrant stories or podcasts, and from all over the world. Eighty Thousand Steps proves that podcasts can change, grow, and flourish.

Next-level Cinematic Soundscapes

We faced an unusual challenge: plunging the listener into a sonic world so compelling that it’s an incentive to continue walking, and so believable that sounds impossible to capture on tape—including memories of historical events from decades earlier, or mythical worlds and creatures that don’t even exist—seem like they are happening right beside you in the present day. Highly unusual for a podcast, and an indie one at that, everything you hear was handcrafted from scratch, including dramatizations and recreations, and creative dubbing over Crystal’s conversations with her grandmother in Chinese.

Bringing new media tools into the sphere of podcasting, offering 360° audio was not only a technical achievement but allows the listener to feel like they are part of the journey. Listeners report ducking as an enchanted firebird “flies“ above them, or walking between the characters as if they could reach out and touch them. All of this was put together by our sound design team of two people: one sound designer/foley artist and one assistant sound editor. During the pandemic, with no access to studios, a spirit of play and experimentation was key. Recording was done everywhere from a tiny closet to a noisy hospital, and across Canada. Every decision was tied to enhancing the narrative vision. Even musical themes were composed to evoke an organic human walking pace.

Listen to our trailer

Put on headphones and enjoy this sample episode