January 28, 2018

THE LIST

1. Still Processing - "We Have a Right To Be Mad"

Public anger is pretty contentious. It can be a mark of someone who is unhinged, breaking this unspoken tacitly understood societal norm, disrupting the stasis of quiet suffering behind placid expressions. Nevertheless, getting mad is part of being human, and healthy expression of this emotion might bring us all to a better place. This framing lens for a discussion of d'jour cultural topics (ranging from the Larry Nassar trial to the Grammy committee snobbing Ed Sheeran) has the power to engender frustration. But is also entertaining, as the Still Processing co-hosts unspool so many salacious threads of inquiry.

2. Radiolab - "The Voice in Your Head - A Tribute to Joe Frank"

If you're like me, you've never heard of Joe Frank. Or, at least you hadn't heard of Frank before his passing and subsequent media deification that took hold in the last week. The brief excerpts introduced on this episode lay bare the indelible influence of this radio pioneer. His style seems to emanate from a kitschy bit of the past whilst also packing a punch in the present, untethered and timeless in the best way. Listening to modern audio heroes Jad Abumrad and Ira Glass wax nostalgic about various encounters with Frank and his impact on their work is essential for anyone who has ever enjoyed a narrative storytelling podcast.

3. On the Media - "The End Is the Beginning"

Re-read that title, and be sure to note the subtle optimism. While OTM is a steady go-to listen week in and week out, the content doesn't always seem applicable to the politically agnostic. The reportage and editing is consistently phenomenal, but segments admittedly trend toward hopelessness (art imitates life, folks). This episode isn't much more in the puppies and unicorns camp, but there is a more broad appeal. These conversations range from parsing the #MeToo movement, to Facebook's media-landscape-altering algorithmic shakeup, and Brooke Gladstone's own tribute to Joe Frank, and will inform and engage listeners who are deeply entrenched in media study or the passive consumer of content shoveled into social media feeds.

HONORABLE MENTION

The Cracked Podcast - "How Predictive Text Gave Us A New Harry Potter"

Planet Money - "Tax Me If You Can"

SOMETHING NEW

Duolingo is the refuge for people who are motivated to learn a new language, but not dedicated enough to do so unless some element of gamification is involved. It's the closest thing to being CodeAcademy for language study, and has wide-ranging name recognition in the community of would-be learners. As someone who has pursued an understanding of Spanish for the past two-ish years, this platform has outlived its novelty. Duolingo does enable users to memorize vocabulary and completing sample sentences with base-level grammar skills, yet getting a genuine feel for the flow of a new language is so much more complex. Yes, I'm sure there are thousands of words I've not encountered, let alone committed to memory, but the bit of my Spanish armada most in need of work is continuity rather than precision.

"But Aaron," you cry out, incensed with my overly long lead-up, "what does this have to do with leading the masses to audio gold via the dulcet tones of your entrancing wordplay?" Well, friends, Duolingo now has a podcast! The Duolingo Spanish Podcast highlights true stories from native Spanish speakers, slowed-down and told at an intermediate level. Thematically rooted around travel, each 15-20 minute episode weaves a human tale of displacement and discovery, spanning a vast emotional landscape from show to show.

Host Martina Castro (of Radio Ambulante co-founderial fame) guides listeners by popping up sporadically to fill in narrative details in English. These guideposts function to re-orient flustered learners whose skill-level may not be up to the challenge, as well as grabbing wandering ears that may have drifted into whatever secondary task they may be completing. As an intermediate Spanish listener (to say nothing of my speaking ability), I have dedicated my sole focus to some episodes while trying to occupy that liminal space of attention-dividing with others. I'm happy to report that both methods work to various degrees. The stories are clear and slow enough for me to internalize the plot of each tale regardless of my engagement level, and I almost begin to feel competent if I am doing nothing but listening to a given episode.

My concerns about the shows mirror those about the platform. Can Duolingo scale to make this more vital to listeners with higher comprehension levels? Additionally, will the production ever move to a fully-immersive environment where everything is in Spanish? Episodes released to date have contained intermediate content, but I have yet to encounter a native speaker at any level whose natural speaking rhythm is so slow. Perhaps increasing the speed while maintaining a basic pool of vocab and grammar would net a larger audience. The bottom line is that there is ample room for tinkering. My hope is that Duolingo harnesses whatever big-picture success comes from their initial foray into podcasting to build out a more varied range of offerings for a diverse listener base. The Duolingo Spanish Podcast is certainly off to a good start, and I'd urge you to listen even if you've never attempted to learn Spanish before. Who knows, you might surprise yourself!

The Duolingo Spanish Podcast
From: Duolingo
Recommended for: Aspirational Spanish speakers, forlorn travelers.
Drop Schedule: Wednesday, Weekly
Average episode length: 15 minutes
Rating: Gotta Have It