A new podcast from local NPR station KUT sends producers on a challenge: spend 24 hours straight in one Austin location, talking to whoever comes through. They did that four times on different dates, heading to Sixth Street, the airport, Bennu Coffee, and the city's Emergency Mental Health Dispatch center. Listeners are invited along for the ride in 24 Hours in Austin.

The project was inspired by an episode of This American Life titled "24 Hours at the Golden Apple," referring to a Chicago diner where reporters hung around for a full 24 hours and recorded whoever happened to stop by. But beyond that, these vox populi, or man on the street interviews are huge in popular culture, with content creators wandering around busy places like New York City asking if people are couples or how much they pay for their apartments. This is Austin's turn in the spotlight.

"I think one of the reasons that I wanted to do this podcast in the beginning is that I felt like we're kind of a bigger city now. It's not quite as friendly as it used to be," says producer Matt Largey. "People are a little bit more estranged from each other, and so I think some of the conversations that we hear in the course of this — they're with people that you'd never otherwise talk to, or never otherwise meet."

Matt Largey does "a little bit of everything" at KUT.Photo courtesy of KUT

Even locals who pride themselves on really getting around probably can't beat that allegation. In the first episode, out November 14, producers talk to more than 20 people they plucked off the street during the South by Southwest festival and conference, sometimes following them to their next destination. And it only covers the first half of the day.

Among the interviewees are some hotel workers from the front desk and laundry; an unhoused man resting on the street early in the morning; a breathless, Joe Rogan-loving bartender two years into being an Austinite; a valet who sincerely loves cars and hopes to one day own a car wash; some festival attendees including a CEO, musical artists, a talent agent, and a filmmaker; a snake handler giving a surprising lesson on reptile reproduction; and a taco-selling, Uber-driving, goods-reselling entrepreneur who comes to Texas to make money and goes back home to Mexico to spend it.

The tone of the interviews is largely positive, more in an "I can't complain" type of way than a zealous one. Some speakers address common gripes about Austin and South by Southwest, while others seem to be watching what they say. Regardless, a 60-second interview is not likely to miraculously transform any haters listening in, but it does paint a picture over the course of 51 minutes of a populace making it work one day at a time.

"For me, it's like there's this constant need to keep us kind of in a weird panic state with social media — and sometimes the media is part of that — to keep our attention very focused on, oftentimes, things that are really big and out of our control," says KUT manager of podcasts Elizabeth McQueen, who also co-hosts the station's music podcast Pause/Play. "Having our organization do a project that's really focused on ... the beauty, and the joy, and all of the things that are directly around us — it feels really good."

The next episode will focus on the nighttime portion of the 24 hours, and then the team of 20 producers (taking shifts to avoid burnout) move onto their other destinations. Largey says the team narrowed down its picks from an already small pool of places that are populated for 24 hours by prioritizing the diversity of people passing through. They also had to consider safety and get permission from whoever controlled each location.

Something about a coffee shop makes people more willing to open up.Photo courtesy of KUT

Presumably listeners will learn different things at the dispatch center than at the coffee shop. Largey was surprised to learn that the airport runs training drills when most customers aren't around, and that Sixth Street gets hosed down after the bars close. He also didn't expect to have much in common with one person he met at the coffee shop, who displayed an impressive ability to reflect on his life and choices after being in and out of prison and living on the streets. But that's what he found while recording.

McQueen and the podcast itself both emphasize that it's not the place that's the topic, but the people passing through it.

"All of those people are humans with these interesting, complex lives and stories," she says. "So for me, it's more about this reminder to all of us as a city, just about our own shared humanity and how much we have to learn."