“A pleasurable headache.” “A bristling feeling as if a bug flew past my ear.” “That tickly feeling you get in your stomach when you drive over hills.” Since the term Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) was coined six years ago, millions of devotees have struggled to describe the satisfaction they experience when listening to certain types of soothing sounds and voices. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Twenty-Three Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 43 Signal Boost How status anxiety drives culture. Arts & Culture Issue 38 Memes of Communication A conversation about digital folklore. Arts & Culture Issue 36 Designated Drudgery How to take a load off. Arts & Culture Issue 30 Knowing Me, Knowing You Think twice before seeking out your doppelgänger. Arts & Culture Issue 29 Mime Culture On lip-syncing and the allure of mouthing along. Arts & Culture Issue 26 Everything and Nothing It was Isaac Newton who suggested that black was not a color. History suggests otherwise.
Arts & Culture Issue 26 Everything and Nothing It was Isaac Newton who suggested that black was not a color. History suggests otherwise.